Tougher Fire Inspections in Záhorie (August 2) The area of the military district Záhorie was on fire again on Friday morning. According to preliminary information, roughly 0.5 hectares of 15-year-old forest has been damaged. Damages are estimated at 5.000 Eur. The fire was probably initiated due to failing to meet the fire-fighting measures and bans, in relations with a heightened risk in the summer season. Since this is the 4th fire in this area, the MoD will increase the control and vigilance by the military police focused on complying the fire-fighting measures issued by Firefighter Corps. According to the regulation of the District Directorate of Fire Rescue Service in Malacky, it is forbidden to smoke, use open fire, burn herbs, shrubs and forest cover and make fire from 22 July 2013 until further notice. The owner, the caretaker or the forest manager is responsible for the compliance with these regulations. ● A ceremonial march of the members of the Transport Battalion in Sereď took place on 26 July on the occasion of its 4th anniversary. The present Commander Lieutenant Colonel Ferdinand Muríň handed over command to Major Zuzana Kraushuberová and handed in commemorative batches to selected members of the Transport Battalion. Lieutenant Colonel Muríň has been sent out from the Slovak Republic in order to fulfill tasks as a specialist of the Joint Force Training Centre in Bydgoszcz, Poland in representation of AF SR in NARO and EU.
Soldier Returns Home (August 2) The severely injured soldier who was shot in the chest was transported from the American Military Hospital in Landstuhle, Germany to the Central Military Hospital in Ružomberok on 30 June, where he will undergo follow-up treatments. The other of the two injured soldiers remains hospitalized in Germany. ‘I am very pleased to see that the injured soldiers’ health condi!on is ge"ng be#er. The health condi!on of one of the soldiers has improved so much that we could transport him to Slovakia. He will certainly be under supervision of the top quality doctors and, moreover, he will be closer to his family,’ stated the Minister of Defence of the SR Mar!n Glváč. The health condi!on of the soldier, who was shot in the chest, is stabilized a%er having undergone difficult surgeries according to the military doctors. ‘It is so far not possible to determine the length of the follow-up treatment which he must undergo in Slovakia,’ the doctors stated. In the case of the second soldier, the doctors do not recommend his transporta!on yet. His health condi!on has stabilized. He will con!nue the treatment in Germany as it was agreed with the American doctors. In conversa!on with the 1st Deputy Chief of Defence of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Major General Miroslav Kocian, the heavily injured soldier appreciated the health care he had received so far from the American and Slovak doctors. ‘When I compare his state of health one day a%er the incident in Afghanistan with his state today in hospital I can say that he is in a completely different condi!on. During our visit the soldier mainly appreciated the care we offered him and as his colleague’ stated Maj.Gen. Kocian. The injured soldier has a long-las!ng treatment ahead based on a recovery process.
● From 23 to 25 July, the members of the G10 and I 10 professional training of military expertise carried out sharp shooting from small arms in the area of barrier shooting-range in Sučany. The shootings were directed at independent conduct of accurate shooting on firm and vanishing targets during day and it was also directed at performance of tasks in time limit. A special attention was paid to acquire solid habits in individual target search, to determine the distance to these targets and to demolish them. The preparation of the Professional soldiers continued until 1 August by closing training at PC Sučany.
Contribution Award (July 31) The State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic Miloš Koterec welcomed Colonel Krysztof Jońca as his mission as a defence attaché of Poland in the Slovak Republic has come to the end. Colonel Jońca served as a defence attaché from 1. December 2011. From 2003 to 2006, Colonel Jońca served as deputy of the military attaché in Slovakia. The State Secretary presented the leaving Polish military attaché with a plaque for his contribution in the area of military bilateral relations.
● Vladimír Hospodár ended his activity as the head of the Museum Department of the Institute of Military History in Svidník after almost 2 years. He Institute of Military History in Bratislava Miroslav Čaplovič announced a selection process. Information on the process can be found in details on the following web site www.vhu.sk under the tag named Career. Written applications for the selection process can be sent until 20 August. The selection process will take place on 11 September at the premises of the Military History Museum in Svidník. ● Ten members of the Combat Service Support Military Advisor Team (CSS MAT) under the command of Maj Štefan Zemanovič returned from the Uruzgan operation in Afghanistan to Slovakia in very early hours on 2 August, thereby the almost 5 years long formation and preparation of the ANA troops came to the end. The Military Advisor Team, whose activity significantly helped to improve the Afghan Security Forces mostly in the past 7 months, ended on 24 June 2013 what brought the end of the operational task of the last unit of the Armed Forces of the SR in the Afghan province of Uruzgan. ● On 1 August, the gate for the newly recruited professional soldiers in the Regional Center of natural clothing of the Multifunctional Supply Base West Nemšová was opened. Under the supervision of the instructors in the training battalion Martin, the soldiers will continue with a nine-week basic military training and after its successful completion a ceremony is awaited. There are 23 women among the 91 candidates for the preparatory civil service. ● During the weekend, a Mi-17 helicopter with Bambi Buckets from Prešov helped to extinguish the fire of forest cover in Blatnica, in the district of Martin. Firefighting and Rescue Corps requested the help of soldiers because it was very difficult to access the area. In case of another request from the firefighters, soldiers are ready to provide them with another helicopter.
VOP Trenčín kicks off the selection for strategic partner
www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
(July 31) The Military Repair Plant in Trenčín (VOP) started the selection process for a strategic partner through a public competitive bidding process. The conditions for the interested applicants are published on the website of the company. The announcement regarding the competitive bidding process was published in three national newspapers. The strategic partner should join the plant by 1 January 2014. “Our main goal is to find a partner for the plant who will be able to ensure sufficient outside business and that way the company does not depend on the commissions from the Defence department. At the same time, we place great emphasis on the fact that the future partner maintains the employment in the plant and people do not lose their jobs,” explained the Defence Minister of the SR Martin Glváč. The public competitive bidding process for a strategic partner for VOP Trenčín will have 2 rounds. In the first round, the registration of the applicants will take place as well as an assessment whether requirements were met. In the second round, the basic information and documents about the possession of the company will be made available for the applicants; on this basis they will be able to submit their bids. Only companies with a valid permit for trading with defence materiel can take part in the public competitive bidding process. The criteria that the committee will consider at the evaluation of the bids are: the amount of the rent (50%), the purchase price for the net current assets (10%), and the number of jobs which the interested applicant will undertake to maintain during the period of five years (40%).
eBULLETIN MoD SR
New SVaP Commander (July 29) Training and Support Forces (SVaP) of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic have got a new commander. The State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic Miloš Koterec appointed Colonel Martin Stoklasa to this post. The present Commander Brigadier General Ľubomír Svoboda leaves the post to take the position of the Chief of Staff in the NATO Joint Forces Command. Brigadier General Ľubomír Svoboda held the position of the Commander of the Training and Support Forces since July 2012. His departure is a consequence of the NATO organizational structure. Based on the agreement of the Chiefs of the General Staffs of the Armed Forces of the member states, the Slovak Republic acquired one international post of a 'General' rank. Nowadays, there are about 70 Slovak soldiers mostly Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels who holds high – ranking positions in NATO, according to Koterec. Colonel Stoklasa worked as Chief of Staff of the Training and Support Forces of the AF of the SR. The new position is a challenge for him. ‘The processes are being optimized in the AF of the SR, new elements in the brigade combat safeguarding and streamlining of the logistic processes is awaiting us and my duty is to ensure these processes are being provided fluently,’ stated Stoklasa after being appointed to the post. Martin Stoklasa is 44 years old. He was the Chief of the Immediate Reaction Battalion of the AF of the SR; he acted as Deputy Chief of Staff of the Support Mission in Kosovo. He graduated from National Military School in Washington, and acted as the Commander of the ISAF strategic planning department.
July 29 - August 4, 2013