Solemn memorial service
(4 November) On the occasion of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, a solemn memorial meeting of members of the Defence Department was held at the Memorial of Reconciliation on the premises of the SVK Ministry of Defence. Graced with the presence of Chief of the Military Office of the President of the Slovak Republic Lietutenant General Marián Áč, First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Slovak Republic Lieutenant General Peter Gajdoš, Vicar-General of the Ordinariate of the Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the Slovak Republic Col Mons František Počurek and other guests, the ceremony started when the participants lit candles, observed a minute’s silence and joined in prayer for those who had fallen in the fight for freedom and for their country. The commemorative meeting continued in the Hall of Fame at the Ministry of Defence. Those present lit candles and paid tribute to the fifty seven members of the SVK Armed Forces, colleagues and friends, who lost their lives in the line of duty and whose names are inscribed on a memorial plaque. ● The 1st Mechanized Brigade Topoľčany HQ structure was transformed into a new optimized one on 1 November. The new structure was introduced by Brig Col Ján Bujňák, GS, and it also includes new professional soldiers, who were promoted to higher ranks during a welcome ceremony. ● On 1 November, organizational changes took place at the Mechanized Brigade Prešov HQ as well. The Staff was divided into specialized Bodies for Operations and Operation Support. At the ceremonial gathering, Brigade Deputy Commander Ján Parimucha welcomed nineteen new soldiers and congratulated eight servicemen on their promotion.
Run in honour of veterans
(5 November) On Tuesday, Minister of Defence Martin Glváč fired a starting pistol to start a run in tribute to war veterans. The first annual run was organized by the Department of Defence on the occasion of the World Run Day and the Veterans Day. The start, as well as the finish of the 5,5 km run, was symbolically at the military cemetery from WWI in Petržalka – Kopčany. The core of participants was made up of some 50 soldiers of the SVK Armed Forces, who ran dressed in field uniforms and equipped with personal equipment. “The run in honour of the war veterans is a unique opportunity to commemorate and pay tribute to all the veterans. I am most glad to take up this opportunity to convey my special thanks,” stated the Minister of Defence and added he believed the run would start a tradition. This year, also the successful sportsmen from MSC Dukla Banská Bystrica took part in the run. “The purpose of events like this is to commemorate those who fought for freedom and peace,” said Matej Tóth, the European Vice-Champion in 50- km-walk. Victory in the 1st annual run was won by a member of the 5th Special Forces Regiment Žilina. As for females, 2nd Degree Private Nikola Lapošová was the fastest runner. During the run, all the participants wore a symbol of the Veterans Day – a wild poppy – and when the run was over, the participants laid poppies, in a symbolic gesture, on graves and lit candles.
State Secretary in Brussels
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(8 November) On 6 – 7 November, the State Secretary of the SVK MoD Miloš Koterec had negotiations in Brussels with NATO representatives on implementation of measures to strengthen the eastern border of the Alliance. With Alexander Vershbow, Deputy Secretary General of NATO, they discussed development of relations between NATO and Russia, namely in the light of development in Ukraine. M. Koterec emphasized a need to augment the presence of the Alliance in those member countries that are most affected by the crisis. He informed the Deputy Secretary General of NATO of the contract on a purchase of the two Spartan aircraft, which has just been signed. A. Vershbow underlined a need to meet the obligations assumed at the Summit, i. e. to enhance defence investments of the Slovak Republic. The State Secretary and the NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Defence Policy and Planning Heinrich Brauss discussed the results achieved in the process of implementation of the Readiness Action Plan, which was approved on NATO Summit in September. With the other representatives of the Alliance he talked about a future NATO mission to Afghanistan and about possibilities of the engagement of the Slovak companies in the Alliance’s procurement processes, and raised the issue of NATO support with respect to the maintenance of capabilities of the Slovak Armed Forces.
● The new 13th Mechanized Battalion Levice Staff Chief since 1 November is Maj Radoslav Kalaba, who was welcomed during a ceremonial parade by Lt Col Dušan Michálek, Battalion Commander. The 3rd Mechanized Company Commander is Capt Ladislav Gurský, and 1st Lt Jozef Bačko was appointed as the new 1st Mechanized Company Deputy Commander. ● On 4 November 2014, at the SVK General Staff, Col Ivan Pach (Chief of the Combat Preparation Division, Strategic Planning and Capability Development HQ, SVK General Staff) was awarded a silver Medal for Co-operation with the Armed Forces of the Polish Republic by Tomasz Siemoniak, Polish Minister of Defence, and Col Zbigniew Komański, Defence Attaché of the Polish Republic to Slovakia. The Medal serves as an acknowledgement for his work and merits for the development of the Joint Force Training Centre (NATO JFTC) in Bydgoszcz, Poland, where Col Pach worked as a Chief of the Exercise and Training Centre. ● On 3 November, members of the Multinational Contingent Sector 4 in Famagusta, Cyprus, honoured the memory of their departed relatives, friends, as well as soldiers fallen in military operations, and lit candles at memorials on the grounds of Camp General Štefánik. The ceremony was celebrated by military chaplain Capt Szakala, and in the evening a service for the closest departed was held in the St. Cyril and Methodius Chapel. ● At Sliač AFB, On 4 November, the Slovak Verification Centre (SVC), SVK MOD organized an instructional assignment with commanders of declared sites, facilities under inspection, military units and business enterprises coming under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, the Treaty on Open Skies, and the Vienna Convention 2011. They evaluated the results of the inspections of the declared sites, facilities and quarterly trainings of the SVK Armed Forces’ members responsible for the documentation. Maj Jozef Zadžora, representative of the SVC, assessed the inspection activities held in 2014 on the territory of the Slovak Republic as well. ● On 4 November, Col Milan Hamar, Director of the SVK Military Police, presented 1st Lt Maroš Klačko, Division of the Police Performance Support, with a letter of thanks for his representation of the SVK Military Police in an excellent and highly professional manner, and for outstanding results reached during his studies at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, USA. ● To mark his jubilee and for his significant participation in representing the Military Police in public during the years 2009 – 2014, Col Milan Hamar, Director of the SVK Military Police, awarded Jozef Žiak, editor of the SVK MOD’s monthly Obrana, the Military Police Medal, Class III. ● On 6 November, Lt Gen Milan Maxim, Chief of the SVK General Staff, headed negotiations of the Chief of the SVK General Staff’s Military Council at the SVK Land Forces Command in Trenčín, and Brig Ondřej Novosad, SVK Land Forces Commander, welcomed the participants. Among them, there were Lt Gen Peter Gajdoš, 1st Vice Chief of the SVK General Staff; Pavel Macko, 2nd Vice Chief of the SVK General Staff; Operations HQ Commanders Brig Ondřej Novosad, Brig Miroslav Korba and Col Martin Stoklasa; Brig Boris Ďurkech, President of the SVK Armed Forces Academy; and CSM Vladimír Beluš, Senior NCO of the SVK Armed Forces.
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Seminar on co-operation
(5 November) On 4 – 5 November, at the SVK MOD’s Club, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Defence Attaché Office in Bratislava together with the Institute for Defence and Security Studies organized a specialized event focused on bilateral British-French military cooperation, with guests from Great Britain, Slovakia, Belgium, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Croatia and Slovenia. The first day they familiarized themselves with the topic and opened a discussion; the next day was dedicated to case studies presentations on bilateral and trilateral military co-operation of Great Britain, France and the Benelux countries, with a potential overlap and inspiration for Slovakia and its partners within the Visegrad Group.
Airlift Reaction 2014
(3 November) A complex staff drill entitled AIRLIFT REACTION 2014 has showed itself as the final part of the Kuchyňabased Transport Wing (TW) staff members’ preparation and training. The drill was aimed at training the staff members in performing an internal crisis management operation. The preparations, plans, performance and evaluation of this military distributed exercise followed NATO standards and requirements of Bi-SC 75-3 Directive. Joint Exercise Management Module (JEMM), SharePoint and designated communication systems of the SVK Mobile Communication System (MOKYS) served as support tools of the exercise AIRLIFT REACTION 2014, and by organizing the same, NATO directives were implemented into the training of TW Kuchyňa, and at the same time the TW personnel improved their skills and interoperability in such military exercises. The drill contributed to acquiring experience and lessons learned important to increase the efficiency the Transport Aviation staff members. On the 1 week of November, members of the NC EOD Nováky disposed of the artillery ammunition in the premises of the Military Technical and Testing Institute (MTTI) Záhorie. “They were AGAT/JRKK 122 mm rockets made in Slovakia and used in system Modular. In concert with MTTI Záhorie, we developed a technological procedure, a partial delaboration, whereby we reached considerable savings,” stated Maj Štefan Zreničík, Chief of the Capabilities’ Development Centre at the NC EOD Nováky. So far, members of the NC EOD have primarily focused on disposal of aerial cluster munitions, this was the first time they disposed of artillery ammunition. In the near future they will dispose of 122 mm rockets AGAT/JRKK, aerial cluster bombs, submunition delivered by RBK cluster bombs, as well as KMGU blocks. Ammunition, which is to-date in inventory of the SVK Armed Forces, needs to be disposed of by the end of 2023, in accordance with the international obligations. The estimated related costs are EUR 5,552 million. Slovakia’s ambition is to become, in 2015, a signatory to the Convention on cluster munitions. The accession process has started this year and after government’s and parliament’s approval, the ratification documents will be deposited with the depository until the end of June 2015. For the Slovak Republic, the Convention will take effect and be in force on and after 1 January 2016.
November 3 - 9, 2014