JFC Brunssum Commander visits Bratislava (12 August) The Chief of the SVK General Staff, Lt Gen Milan Maxim welcomed the Commander of the Allied Joint Force Command (JFC) Brunssum, the Netherlands, Gen Hans-Lothar Domröse at the SVK Ministry of Defence on 12 August. During mutual negotiations, the partners addressed the issues of the upcoming exercise Slovak Shield 2015, as well as coordination of activities and higher interoperability of training of the SVK Armed Forces and training of NATO forces. They discussed the prospects of the SVK Armed Forces in the structures of the JFC Brunssum, with the emphasis on the Multinational Command – NorthEast, Szczecin, Poland. According to Lt Gen Milan Maxim, the SVK Armed Forces consider cooperation with JFC Brunssum to be effective, beneficial, and important. Within the command structures as well as the NATO Forces structure, the most SVK Armed Forces’ members serve at the JFC Brunssum, that is 11 servicemen. ● Declared members of the anti-aircraft missile group S-300 PMU of Nitra-based anti-aircraft missile brigade are deploying on 17 – 18 August to Bulgaria for the historically first firing of their anti-aircraft missile system. The Joint Air Defence Firings will be held at Cape Shabla on the Black Sea coastline. According to the group commander Col Peter Janota, they carried out thorough preparations for the combat firings. The preparations were completed by a tactical exercise at the turn of June and July in the Training Area of Military District Lešť. The combat firing is the highest and most important form of training to enhance combat skills and practise co-ordination of units and air defence systems. The mobile multi-channel antiaircraft missile system S-300P is designated for protection of the important installations of the state from a multi-assault by the current and prospective means of aerial assault under the conditions of both the active and passive interference. ● Early in the morning of 5 August 2015, six members of the technical maintenance and scheduled operations squadron transported a fighter-aircraft MiG-21 from the combined wing Sliač to the SNU Square in Zvolen. The abnormal and excessive load was towed on the public roads by a towing vehicle of the Armed Forces. Transport was accompanied by vehicles of the Slovak Armed Forces, Military Police and Police Corps. The exhibit promoting the Slovak International Air Fest SIAF 2015 attracts attention and interest of children and adults.
Military preparation is drawing nearer
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(11 August) The 12-week training for civilians who decide to undergo voluntary military preparations should result in gaining basic knowledge and skills necessary to perform tasks of the SVK Armed Forces and the crisis management. Besides getting an allowance for completing the course, the first 150 graduates of the training program will be provided with free accommodation and boarding. According to the proposal, the allowance should go up to €375. As this benefit cannot be considered an income, the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Finance came to an agreement that there will not be a tax imposed on the sum, despite the caveats of the latter. “Together with the Minister of Finance, we have concurred that the graduates of the course will not pay the income tax from the allowance. I believe that young people will be interested in the training, which has been missing since the termination of the conscription,” stated the SVK Minister of Defence, Martin Glváč. He also added that the project would begin next year and that after some time more than 150 citizens would have the opportunity to undergo training each year. According to Chief of the SVK General Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim, money should not be the main motivational factor for the potential applicants to undergo training. “Besides being provided both financially and materially, the candidates for the voluntary military training should, in particular, demonstrate a high level of patriotism and the sense of responsibility for the safety of their country,” he emphasized. The participants will be provided with the necessary equipment, compensation of travel expenses to and from the place of the course, as well as other benefits in the field of social and health insurance. According to the proposal, the citizens undergoing the training should receive €375, but this amount does not have to be final. The interdepartmental consultation on the draft bill has already finished, and after the assessment the draft bill will be submitted to the Government of the Slovak Republic.
● On 5- 8 August, the 12th European Western Shooting Championship was held on the premises of a firing range in the village Domaniža. The competition saw 270 riflemen from 16 countries. The multifunctional battalion of combat service support brigade Hlohovec was tasked with ensuring support for the event, namely by providing the transportation vehicles, power generators, service personnel and several types of containers. The support activities carried out in public contribute to the further improvement of skills of professional soldiers, and can be viewed as part of their training under real operational conditions, preparing them for an immediate deployment in the emergency situations in the Slovak Republic in support of domestic population. ● In 2013, after a lapse of several years, the Slovak Ministry of Defence renewed a tradition of issuing the Year-Book of the MoD of the Slovak Republic. In these days, distribution of the 2014 Year-Book of the MoD of the Slovak Republic has started. On 150 pages it provides a summary of activities of Defence Department and SVK Armed Forces in the past year. Part of the publication is a re-print of all the 53 editions of our e-Bulletin issued in the past year. The Year-Book will also be available in an electronic format on MoD web page. Preparation for press, to include editorial revision and graphics, was carried out by the Section of Defence Press of the Human Resources Department at the SVK MoD.
Slovak Sands 2015
In the first week of August, the 7th annual Slovak Sands 2015 was organized by the association Slovak Sands in the military training area Záhorie. The event was held in the spirit of the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. On the ceremonial parade, the participants could see the WW II period military equipment and weapons. The pleasant atmosphere was created by an interesting programme to include displays of military equipment and demonstration of fights and encounters. Particularly attractive were dynamic demonstrations of the Military Technical and testing Institute Záhorie, driving in sand, fording and swimming. The programme included both the dynamic demonstrations by the SVK Armed Forces and static displays. The members of Levice-based 13th mechanized battalion presented weapons and equipment of the mechanized units, as well as military vehicles and other equipment in the inventory of the armed forces. Dynamic demonstrations focused on the activities carried by patrols, response to IED assault and reaction to contact with enemy. The final part of a demonstration comprised both the simple and complex actions within a close combat. This year’s event was graced with the presence of 2nd Deputy of the SVK General Staff Maj Gen Pavel Macko.
Visit to Famagusta
On 6 August, the UN Special Advisor on Cyprus Espen Barth Eide, accompanied by the top political UNFICYP representative Lisa Buttenheim and Chief of Staff UNFICYP Col Tim Wildish, paid a visit to Gen Milan Rastislav Štefánik Camp in Famagusta. They were welcomed by Chief of Staff Capt Stanislav Vaník, Sector 4 Deputy Commander. The top representatives arrived to visit the facilities in Varosha, which the Greek inhabitants had left back in 1974, and to visit the buffer zone in the area of responsibility of the Slovak platoon in the vicinity of the village Dherynia, since the process of negotiations is currently going on with the leaders of the island on the issue of opening a new crossing point at Dherynia between north and south. Special Advisor Eide expressed his thanks for the useful information and for being provided with insight into the overall situation, and for hospitality of the Slovak soldiers and keeping peace at places which are, in a long-term, potential sources of tension.
Preparations of SVK Armed Forces Honour Guard in full swing (12 August) At Bratislavabased Vajnory Barracks, the SVK Armed Forces Honour Guard is finishing its intensive training. The goal was to harmonize and coordinate the activities of the Honour Guard members, so that the newcomers would master individual exercises, and all members would improve in giving flawless and dignified performance while representing the SVK Armed Forces on the occasion of the upcoming 71st anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising. The new drill teams’ members are perfecting their performance in sabre drills and exercises with the vz. 52/57 semi-
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automatic rifle, rendering military honours on the spot and on the move, as well as doing exercises with the Standard of the SVK Minister of Defence, the Standard of the Chief of the SVK General Staff, and the state flag. They also rehearse the show programme – demonstrations of exercises with weapons both on the spot and while marching, accompanied by modern music. According to the SVK Armed Forces Honour Guard Commander, Lt Gen Walter Teiml, the key to an effective training is that all the members of the guard unit fully understand their role. Thereafter, working with professional soldiers is easier and more meaningful.
August 10 - 16, 2015