Reconstruction of Battles on River Hron (July 27) In Starý Tekov three hundred volunteers from military history clubs undertook a reconstruction of WWII battles on the river Hron, with audience measured in thousands. The enthusiasts from Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Romania taking part in the reconstruction were equipped with contemporary weapons, light and heavy track equipment and gave demonstration of battles between the Red Army and the Germans in places where the Bratislava – Brno operation began in March 1945. The event organized in Starý Tekov is one of the largest of its kind in central Europe and was for the first time held in 2005. In the morning it started with a march-past and a static display of historical military equipment, to include a tank destroyer Stuck and self-propelled gun Sexta, and continued by dynamic shows prepared by the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic and the Police Corps of the SR, to include activities of the mechanized platoon, air drops of the police paratroopers, rapid response unit’s intervention against a dangerous perpetrator or an intervention of a riot police. ● Exercise DESERT HORSE II, which was held on 8 - 18 July in military training area facilities at the military district in Lešť, was successfully completed after the combat firing practice. The aim was to prepare and put to a test two force protection platoon, command of the force protection company and members earmarked to perform tasks at the international HQ RC (south) in ISAF operation, Afghanistan, in an area of operations at the Kandahar Airfield base (KAF). Readiness and preparedness for deployment was personally verified by the Chief of the general Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek. The professional soldiers declared to ISAF within this rotation will undergo advanced training in August.
Incident Could Not Be Prevented (July 23) There was no breach of safety rules and procedures in respect of the incident in Afghanistan, when Staff Sergeant Daniel Kavuliak was killed and the two other soldiers suffered grievous wounds. The death and wounds occurred while performing standard opera"onal tasks. These are the preliminary conclusions made by the Commission of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR, which inquired into the circumstances of the tragic event right in Afghanistan. The inves"ga"on on the part of coali"on and Afghan forces is s"ll going on. “The conclusions of the Commission suggest that the members of our unit, which was tasked to perform the force protec"on tasks at ECP 5 in the KAF base, carried out reconnaissance of terrain and of the individual access routes within the base, as a part of their prepara"on as a rapid response team. The a#acker launched a machine gun Þre and the direct a#ack took three minutes. The vic"ms incurred wounds in the Þrst seconds of the incident and it was impossible to prevent this incident resul"ng into the severe wounds,” stated the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek. The assault on the Slovak soldiers was made by an Afghan soldier from the tower based out of the KAF base and the Afghan security units take full responsibility for this sector. “It follows from the conclusions of the Commission that thanks to a rapid response on the part of the soldiers there were no major damages and no more lives were lost. At the "me of the incident, the equipment of the members of the AF SR was in full compliance with the applicable security level declared at the KAF base and fully conformed to the par"cular security situa"on,” added Lt. Gen. Vojtek. The a#acker was seized when leaving the tower, but on Sunday, July 14, he managed to escape from custody. “We do believe that he will be seized and surrendered soon so that jus"ce can be done. We also believe that the circumstances of his escape will be thoroughly inquired into and inves"gated,” stressed the Minister of Defence Mar"n Glváč.
● HQs of the Bratislava garrison contributed to the opening of the 38th annual Bratislava street festival on 19 July, known as Summer of Culture in the Old Town Centre – Bratislava 2013. In the historical centre of Bratislava there were performances held of the military brass band under the baton of Capt. Boris Hokina. They played compositions of classical and popular music and received an enthusiastic response from the wide public. ● On 24 July, under the Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe, a verification group from Ukraine made an inspection of the declared control subject Nitra. After presentation and answering questions, the inspection team checked equipment and installations, fencing, accommodation facilities, mess-hall, dressing station and railway station, where the military equipment is loaded. The Ukrainian team concluded that the battalion Nitra complies with the standards set under the international agreements.
Visit to Central Slovakia
(July 25) The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek made a working visit to the military units in garrisons Martin, Banská Bystrica and Sliač. He was accompanied by the Director of the Acquisition Agency (AKA) of the MoD SR Pavel Kavacký, who was informed of the maintenance capabilities and capacities in the selected units of the AF SR and related problems in the field of maintenance and supply and in the field of infrastructure. The purpose of the visit was to evaluate production capacity of repair and maintenance units, with the aim to make the best of their own capabilities, assets and repair and maintenance capacity so that the savings of finances may be achieved. At the end of his working visit, the Chief of the GS AF SR and the Director of the Acquisition Agency concurred on the need to enhance effectiveness and flexibility of the system of supplying spare parts, which is in operation todate. They greatly appreciated professionalism of experts operating in the visited working places where repair and maintenance is provided.
● State of health of the Slovak, who was shot in head by a terrorist at the military base in Kandahar, Afghanistan, has significantly improved and he is not in danger of his life. The medical condition of the other wounded soldier, who had suffered a penetrating chest trauma, is stabilized and the soldier underwent several surgeries last week. Both wounded soldiers are provided with medical care in the US military hospital in Landstuhl, Germany. ● On 26 July, the members of the Engineering battalion of the Land Forces in Sereď donated blood in cooperation with the National transfusion station at the Faculty Hospital Nitra. Despite a holiday season, 34 members and employees of the engineering battalion donated altogether 17 liters of blood, without remuneration. The engineers from Sereď have since 1993 been taking part in a humanitarian activity A drop of blood from an engineer and so far more than 5,600 donours have donated blood within this activity. ● At the end of July, the members of the helicopter wing in Prešov took part in celebrations to mark both the 750th anniversary of the earliest written reference to the village Poľanovce and the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. They organized dynamic shows and demonstrations of their combat skills, weapons and military equipment. The participants of the celebrations were given a chance to see a static display of Mi-2 helicopter or try on an equipment and armament of a professional soldier, as well as protective personal equipment.
Farewell to Attaché
(July 23) The Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek met with Colonel Krzystof Jonca on 23 July on the occasion of the end of his term as Defence Attaché of the Republic of Poland to the SR. Lieutenant General Vojtek expressed his thanks to the departing Defence Attaché for an excellent cooperation during his 2-year engagement in this position and awarded him with the Commemorative medal of the Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR, 1st Grade.
Young Canoe Slalom Racers from Dukla Stand Out in the Word Championship
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(July 22) “I am most glad to hear about the success of the young sportsmen from the Military Sports Centre (VŠC) Dukla Banská Bystrica and about the success of other racers in the age category of under 23 in the World Junior Championship achieved in Liptovský Mikuláš. Their success attests to the assumption that we can look forward to the success comparable to the success achieved by Martikán or Kaliská in the past.” These were the words of appreciation by the Minister of Defence Martin Glváč in respect of the remarkable achievement of our sportsmen. In the competitive environment of 45 countries, the Slovak representation ended second in the World Championship held on 17-21 July, after the Czech Republic and before France. Out of 28 Slovak racers, 16 were from Dukla Banská Bystrica, with their training centre being based in Liptovský Mikuláš. The gold medals for Slovakia, in the categories
of individuals, were won by Jakub Grigar (kayak, under 18 – see photo) and Patrik Gajarský (canoe, under 23), both of them from VŠC Dukla Banská Bystrica. The title also went to the canoe team entirely made of Dukla members, 3xC1 of under eighteens, composed of Martin Mračna, Marko Gurecka and Tomáš Ďurný. Next gold
eBULLETIN MoD SR
medal was won by a team 3xC2 of under eighteens, with Dukla having two canoes, being represented by Martin Šimičák, Jakub Skubík, Igor Michalovič and Jakub Tomko. The team 3xK1, in the age category of under 18, ended in the second place, its members being Jakub Griga and Peter Blasbalga from Dukla. In the bronze kayak team, in the category of under 23, two out of the three members (Sgt. Martin Halčin and Miroslav Urban) were from VŠC. As for the girls, Pavlína Matulaniová ended up in the fourth place in the category K1 of under 18, hence achieving the best position within VŠC Dukla. Peter Mráz, the main couch of the sporting division of water slalom Dukla Banská Bystrica/ Liptovský Mikuláš, very much appreciates the other seven advancements to the finals, where the water slalom racers won three fourth positions, one fifth position, two seventh positions and one tenth position.
July 22 - 28, 2013