Combat Service Support Brigade formed
(November 4) The Headquarters of Joint Logistic Support Group (HJLSG) of the Training and Support Forces (TSF) of the AF SR is a term of the past as of 31 October 2013. On 1 November 2013, the HJLSG was reorganised, and from its foundations the Combat Service Support Brigade Headquarters was formed. The newly formed Headquarters was ceremonially put into operation on 31 October 2013 at the Barracks of the Slovak National Uprising in Trenčín. Chief of Staff for Support of Operations of the GS AF SR Brig. Gen. Juraj Krištofovič, Commander of the TSF AF SR Colonel of the General Staff Martin Stoklasa, members of the Club of Generals of the Slovak Republic, former commanders of the group, representatives of Trenčín local administration and others participated in the ceremony. A part of the ceremonial muster was the awarding of military medals and badges of the Chief of the GS AF SR to the selected professional soldiers and employees. Brigadier General Juraj Krištofovič and Colonel of the GS Martin Stoklasa wished to Colonel of the GS Ján Žarnovický, the Commander of the newly formed brigade, every success in fulfilling the demanding tasks.
● Fostering national and military traditions, organising and supporting a wide range of cultural, social and educational events – these will be the responsibilities of the Centre for Cultural and Educational Activities in the Barracks of the Slovak National Uprising in Podborová, which was ceremonially opened on 5 November in Zvolen by Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lt. Gen. Peter Vojtek.
Saving Finances (November 5) The Ministry of Defence will save Þnances with respect to the post warranty repair service and maintenance of the passenger cars. The Ministry has terminated the inexpedient framework agreements concluded yet back in 2011 and based on the new public tender it selected the new suppliers who will deliver their services for lower prices. In some cases, the previous price was several fold higher. The Department of Defence divided the subject-ma!er of the procurement into three separate public tenders and into individual parts according to the types of vehicles. Among the criteria considered was not only the “lowest price per standard hour”, but also “the amount (percentage) of the reduc"on in supplier price for spare parts and opera"on liquids”. “The problem with the contracts concluded by our predecessors was that the total price for repair service eventually increased, the gross-up being caused by the price for spare parts and opera"on liquids, which were not included in the criteria assessed in the compe""on. Hence the price for the whole service went up. That is why I am glad that we managed to Þnd the way to lower the costs. Now we can invest the saved Þnances in the military equipment,” said the Minister of Defence of the SR Mar"n Glváč. The companies selected by the previous leadership relied to a great extent on sub-contractors, i.e. other repair companies that would deliver the services required, and invoiced the over-priced spare parts, opera"on liquids and inappropriate amount of repair service and maintenance work. The Ministry of Defence will thoroughly and consistently monitor the services provided, using the control so$ware that would prevent invoicing the over-priced delivery of spare parts as well as over-charged repair and maintenance ac"vi"es. The public tenders for post warranty repair service and maintenance were separated according to the types of vehicles. The framework agreements will be concluded for a period of four years. The new system of running the tender was applied in the Slovak Republic as a whole, and the tenders were not separated for western, central and eastern regions respec"vely, as it used to be in the past. The total amount of the Þnances saved will be enumerated based on the actual par"al orders.
● From 30 to 31 October, a reciprocal negotiation was held between the Military Aviation Authority of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic and the Office of Military Aviation of the Slovak Defence Ministry. Its subject was the exchange of experiences in the field of the integration of military and civil air traffic control, the assessment and evaluation of capabilities of military aircraft and aviation personnel. Both sides placed emphasis on the possibility of cooperation in relation to the changes following the Defence White Paper and the upcoming changes in the legislation regulating the field of military aviation in the Armed Forces of the Czech Republic.
Quiet Memorial Service (November 4) On the occasion of All Souls’ Day, the General Staff Headquarters and members of the AF SR commemorated all those who had fallen in the line of duty. First Deputy Chief of the GS AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Gajdoš and Chief of the Military Office of the President of the SR Lieutenant General Marián Áč lit candles in their memory at the Memorial of Reconciliation. Those present paid tribute to and commemorated with reverence each of the fifty five colleagues deceased abroad. A quiet memorial was dedicated to the soldiers who sacrificed their lives in the line of their duties in Slovakia during the twenty years of existence of our Armed Forces.
● On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic, Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek presented medals to the mayors of the municipalities regularly cooperating with the Helicopter wing of Colonel General Ján Ambruš in Prešov. The Mayor of Kapušany, Jozef Pribula, and the Mayor of Fintice, Terézia Gmitrová, have received the commemorative medals from the Commander of the Helicopter Wing, Colonel Róbert Tóth. ● The assessment of the inspection of declared military installations, units and facilities, which was held on 6 November in Sliač under the auspices of the Slovak Verification Centre MoD SR (SVC), was the objective of the methodical work of the Commanders’ of the declared places. This was done in order to comply with international treaties. The aim of the Commanders’ meeting was to asses and evaluate the results of the inspection of the declared places, facilities and quarterly preparations of those members of the Armed Forces of the SR who are responsible for the documentation under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces, the Treaty on Open Skies and the Vienna Document 2011. At the end of the meeting, SVC representatives thanked the Commanders of the declared places and facilities for their proactive approach to their tasks. ● In the premises of the Training, Analytical and Supply Centre (TASC), CBR Defence Facility Čereňany, training for an OPCW team (the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons) was held in pursuance of Slovak obligations. The CBRN Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany offers training with live toxic chemical agents not only to our armed forces, but also to the armed forces of other NATO countries and to OPCW inspectors. The team was composed of organic units of the Rožňava-based CBRN Battalion, an equipment decontamination squad and units from the CBRN reconnaissance company.
Tribute to Veterans (November 10) State Secretary of MoD SR Miloš Koterec and First Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lt. Gen. Peter Gajdoš commemorated Veterans Day at the Western Resistance Participants Memorial at Šafárik Square in Bratislava. The memorial service was also attended by the last two living veterans of the Western front that reside in Slovakia, Milan Pikna and Štefan Miklánek, the widows of veterans and their families. „We speak of the victims, the struggle and suffering of both civilians and soldiers, and the damage caused by wars. Whether people are forced to live amidst war, or they are granted to live in peace, a life itself is composed of individual stories. The stories and fates may vary, but the legacy of freedom fighters remains the same. Above all, it is about respect for life and freedom,” said the State Secretary.
Exercise STEADFAST JAZZ 2013 a Testament to Professionalism of AF SR
www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
(November 7) “STEADFAST JAZZ 2013 is a breakthrough exercise, during which the NATO countries jointly train and practice their skills and capabilities in the field of defence, interoperability and de-
ployment, be that in the Allied countries or in the third countries within the international crisis management,” stated the State Secretary of the Ministry of Defence of the SR Miloš Koterec, who in the Polish training area Drawsko – Pomorskie attended dynamic demonstrations. “I am glad to see that this exercise bears a testimony to the fact that the Armed Forces of the SR are highly professional and as such they will become a part of the NATO Response Force (NRF) 2014,” he concluded. He reminded that this was the first NATO exercise that would implement the requirements posed by the Connected Forces Initiative, i. e. maintaining the degree of interoperability and capabilities of the Alliance gained in ISAF, Afghanistan.
eBULLETIN MoD SR
The exercise was held mainly on the territory of Poland, with contribution of Latvia and the Headquarters in France. 6,000 soldiers from 17 NATO countries, Sweden, Finland and Ukraine participated in the exercise. Also the members of the multinational Chemical, biological and radiological defence battalion took part in the exercise. Our Land Forces were represented by 23 soldiers, one of them in the command post in Latvia. They provided the special capabilities for the multinational CBR battalion under the French command. Equally, the members of the Deployable Communications and Information Systems Module (DCM C) from Ružomberok took part in this largest ever allied exercise of the NATO Response Force.
November 4 - 10, 2013