Happy Courage Day (22 October) A civil defence education training and sport event called ‘Courage day’ was organised for sixty students of Albert Einstein High School in the military bunker BS-8 in Bratislava’s Petržalka district on Tuesday by members of the Recruiting group Bratislava. High-schoolers heard from a volunteer Miroslav Koširer, the founder of the Civic Association Save Petržalka Bunkers, about the history of building and saving the bunker. Students were given an opportunity to feel, touch and experience history through various historical items, uniforms and weapons. In the recruiting tent, they learned about the present-day Armed Forces of the SR, which celebrate the 20th anniversary this year. Moreover, students had a chance to try on the modern equipment of professional soldiers – a modular webbing combat system.
● On 20 October, a jubilee 10th annual 22nd mechanized battalion’s Commander’s Cup shooting multi-competition was held at a firing range of the Club of Reserve Soldiers in Michalovce. In the competition of 28 participants from Michalovce, Košice and other partner shooting clubs, Vladimír Hamadej from the home Club of Reserve Soldiers achieved score of 416.36, which ensured him a convincing victory. Pavol Beca, his colleague from Michalovce, placed second and Dušan Krankus from the Club Košice finished in third place. ● On Monday, 21 October 2013, based on a requirement posed by the Russian Federation, an observation flight was made over our territory, with the An-30B aircraft, to verify that no activities that would be in violation of or contrary to the Open Sky Agreement are performed in the installations or training facilities of the AF SR. The verification flight was made from the military airport Kuchyňa in the vicinity of Malacky. The material and technical support were provided by the members of the transportation wing Kuchyňa.
Ministers in Brussels (22 October) Cyber protec!on, reforms in the Alliance, an!-missile defence or the Connected Forces Ini!a!ve – these topics resonated at the mee!ng of Defence Ministers in Brussels. “We discussed how to increase the efficiency of our efforts through coopera!on, in order to manage with falling military budgets the best way possible. A slumping defence budget is not just a problem of Slovakia,” said the Minister of Defence of the SR Mar!n Glváč. The aim is to develop and maintain such cyber defence capabili!es so that the Alliance would be able to face new threats such as cyber a%acks. „The protec!on of cyberspace is one of the Alliance’s top priori!es, and a lot has been done in this Þeld since the 2012 Chicago Summit. Towards the end of the month, a new NATO Centre should start its opera!on, and be ready to respond to any cyber incidents,” stated Glváč. The NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen informed Defence Ministers on preliminary conclusions of various reform ini!a!ves.
Looking for Strategic Partner
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(21 October) A strategic partner for the Military Repair Plant Trenčín (VOP), Joint Stock Company, will be chosen by the selec!on commi%ee. Members of the commi%ee opened the tender envelopes from two bidders at the Ministry of Defence on Monday. The Ministry is determined to stabilize the company and maintain employment through strategic partnership. n the interest of transparency, the department invited representa!ves from Transparency Interna!onal and the Fair-Play Alliance to the opening of the envelopes with Þnancial bids. Both members of the Defence and Security commi%ee and the tenderers were present at the opening of the envelopes. The selec!on commi%ee will assess and evaluate the following criteria: the rate of the rent (50%), the cost of acquisi!on of the circula!ng assets to be sold (10%) and a number of jobs a tenderer undertakes to maintain for a period of 5 years (40%). In case the tendering process is successfully completed, the winning tenderer is expected to enter into an agreement with VOP as from 1 January 2014.
● The Commander of the Air Force of the AF SR Brigadier General Miroslav Korba handed over the medals commemorating the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the AF SR to the representatives of the local government, who cooperate with the HQ of the Air Force of the AF SR. The medals were awarded to them by the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek.
State Secretary in Finland (21 October) From 15 to 17 October 2013, the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic Miloš Koterec made a visit to the Republic of Finland. He met with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Finland Lieutenant General Arto Räty, with the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Finland Marcus Rantal and with the other representatives of the Ministry of Defence and Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They discussed the topical defence and security issues and shared the experience of the regional cooperation both within the V4 and NORDEFCO (defence and security cooperation of the Nordic countries), respectively. Equally, they focused on the preparation of the December 2013 European Council, which will address the Common Security and Defence Policy. The State Secretary extended a formal invitation for the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Finland to visit Slovakia.
● On 22 October, as a part of their initial military training, the candidates of the preparatory state service took part in the Traditions’ Day, which was organized by the members of the Educational and cultural activities’ Section of the Personnel Office of the AF SR. On the agenda there were lectures on the national and military traditions, 20th anniversary of the establishment of the AF SR and military symbols. The event was concluded by the ascent of mount Háj-Nicovô, where the participants paid tribute to the perished soldiers buried at the local military cemetery. ● The traditional event of selecting the best noncommissioned officer of the Topoľčany – based 1st mechanized brigade was held on 23 October. The five commissioners assigned Corporal Martin Baboš as the best soldier in the category of E-1 to E-4 and Sergeant 1st Class Milan Vlček as the best non-commissioned officer (above the rank of E-4), both of them from the 12th mechanized battalion Nitra. ● On 24 October, the last commander’s preparation of the 2nd mechanized brigade in this training year was held, with the members of the Headquarters and commanders of the directly subordinated battalions being present. The lectures were presented on the topics like elimination of threats and threat prevention, which is a part of the training of the professional soldiers to be deployed to the international crisis management operations, or the electronic warfare and countermeasures to be employed against the improvised explosive devices.
Ceremony in London On Sunday, 20 October, a commemoration ceremony on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the founding of Czechoslovakia was held at the international Brookwood Military Cemetery near London. Delegations from the representative offices of the Czech and Slovak Republic laid wreaths at the memorial to honour Czechoslovak soldiers who fought in the Battle of Britain during World War II. Colonel Arnošt Polák, Ret., Chairman of the Free Czechoslovak Air Force Association, and Major General Ivan Schwarz, Ret., the oldest airman from Slovakia living in Britain, acted as deputies for Czechoslovak veterans.
Combat Firing of Anti-Aircraft Brigade (24 October) From Monday to Thursday, the 2nd battery of the antiaircraft division Igla from the AntiAircraft Missile Brigade Nitra took part in the combat firing in the premises of the Military Technical and Testing Institute Záhorie. “Although the core of the battery’s equipment is the portable antiaircraft missile complex Igla, the combat firing relies mainly on the previous generation missile system S2M, since the combat firing practice is basically the same and, compared to Igla, it is remarkably economical,” stated the Commander of the brigade Colonel of the GS Miroslav Lorinc. For the purpose of the combat firing practice in Záhorie, the soldiers used S2M missiles, produced in the 80-ies, since there are large stocks of S2M held in ammunition stores. “The soldiers were tasked to engage and hit a helicopter in a hanging position from an armoured personnel carrier OT-90 at a distance close to three kilometers,” said the Commander. The soldiers engaged targets with a temperature similar to that of a hot helicopter engine. “They launched 38 S2M missiles and achieved excellent results,” concluded the Commander of the brigade. Once being led to the Military District Záhorie, the soldiers also practiced machine gun firing as well as their topographical and signaling skills.
eBULLETIN MoD SR
October 21 - 27, 2013