Veterans Day being established as a tradition in Slovakia
(16 November) To mark Veterans Day, the State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence, Miloš Koterec paid his respects at the Western Resistance Movement Participants Memorial on Šafárik Square, Bratislava. Organized by the SVK Ministry of Defence together with the Embassy of the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, the commemorative ceremony was attended by the last two surviving veterans of the Western Front residing in Slovakia, Milan Píka and Štefan Miklánek. “Today we not only honour the memory of those who died in all war conflicts, but also pay our respects to the veterans who are still among us. I am pleased to say that Veterans Day has gradually established itself also in Slovakia. On this day we express our compassion with and pay our respects to the victims of wars and conflicts. This also concerns the 57 servicemen and women of the SVK Armed Forces who died on duty and will forever remain in our hearts and minds,” said Miloš Koterec. Towards the end of the ceremony at the Western Resistance Movement Participants Memorial, the State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence presented the 70th Anniversary of the Slovak National Uprising and the End of WWII Commemorative Medals to Milan Píka and Štefan Miklánek. ● Chief of the General Staff of the SVK Armed Forces Lt Gen Milan Maxim was the head of SVK delegation at the European Union Military Committee (EUMC) negotiation in Brussels held on 12 – 13 November. The Greek Gen Mikhail Kostarakos was elected as the new Chair of EUMC. He will take over the position currently held by the French Gen Patrick de Rousiers in November 2015. The future EUMC negotiation on the CHOD level will be held on 19 May 2015 in Brussels.
Remembering November '89
(17 November) SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč commemorated the 25th anniversary of Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day at the Executed and Tortured Prisoners’ Memorial, located at the cemetery in Vrakuňa, Bratislava. “November 1989 marks a decisive period in the history of our nation. Over the period we were fully committed to pursuing the struggle for freedom and democracy and we were victorious in the struggle. The results of the Velvet Revolution, which we are commemorating today, belong to all of us living in a democratic society. Yet, after such a long time, freedom and democracy are not to be taken for granted and we should value the fact that we live in a free society,” said Martin Glváč, head of the SVK MOD. Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day was also observed by Miloš Koterec, State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence, who partook in a commemorative ceremony at the Freedom Gate Memorial in Devín, Bratislava.
● The session of the Military Council of the SVK Land Forces Commander under the lead of Brig Gen Ondřej Novosad was held on 13 November 2014 on the premises of Nitra-based mechanized battalion of the 1st mechanized brigade. The Land Forces Commander was provided with information on the defence standardization system, on the current state of defence spending, on the outcomes of physical fitness testing of professional soldiers, as well as on preparedness of personnel, equipment and rolling stock for winter operation. The particular Land Forces Commmander’s measures to be adopted in the above areas in the near future were defined. ● The training and cynology division Vlkanová – Hronsek held the purpose-oriented training aimed at shooting from short and long guns. The training was part of the pre-deployment preparation of the SVK Armed Forces’troops declared to the Resolute Support Operation, Afghanistan. The main focus was on a safe weapon handling, on how to aim the gun and open a fire and on how to remove possible malfunctions. ● On the occasion of the Veterans’ Day, the SVK Air Force Commander Brig Gen Miroslav Korba, his Deputy Col Vladimír Kováč and Commander of the Combined Wing Sliač Col of the GS Vladimír Lisý attended the gathering at the memorial of WWI in Sliač and in at the Roman- Catholic cemetery in Banská Bystrica to pay tribute to those who fought in war conflicts of the 20th century. On this occasion, Brig Gen Korba and Col Lisý collected commemorative medals of the War Veterans’ Union of the Slovak Republic. Among those awarded were also three participants of fights of WWII, the serving and retired members of the SVK Armed Forces and respected public figures. ● On 11 November, members of the Land Forces Command Support battalion commemorated heroism of those who fell for peace and freedom in theatres of the world wars. In the Peace Square in Trenčín they handed out one thousand red poppies.
Cooperation with Turkey
(13 November) Minister of Defence Martin Glváč met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey Gülhan Ulutekin. They evaluated bilateral relations of the both countries, namely in the field of defence industry and in the field of education and training. “We take advantage of an opportunity to further develop excellent relations between our countries, whether it be through participation in courses offered by the Armed Forces Academy or through participation of soldiers in training provided in our top training centers,” he said. The Turkish Ambassador appreciated the offer to mutual cooperation. One of the issues raised at the meeting was a requirement of the Republic of Turkey to establish a military cemetery in Bratislava. “I have already addressed Minister of the Interior in this respect and asked for his support so that the initiative can begin taking tangible shape,” concluded Head of the Defence Department.
Seminar on Presidency
(13 November) On the premises of the SVK MOD Club, the intradepartmental seminar was held on the upcoming SVK Presidency in the EU Council in the second half of 2016. The seminar officially opened by an address made by Miloš Koterec, State Secretary of SVK MOD. The seminar saw 37 representatives from Defence Department, responsible for the individual fields of preparation for the Presidency (priorities, logistics and security, human resources and educational activities, budgetary resources). In three panel discussions, the representatives of Defence Department assessed and evaluated the two-year process of preparation for the Presidency and projected the steps to be taken by 2016.
● In honour of all the war veterans, the employees and members of the SVK MOD and GS donated blood on 11 November. In the morning, 1st Deputy of Chief of the GS of the SVK Armed Forces Lt Gen Peter Gajdoš visited the mobile blood transfusion unit. The members of the Department of Hematology and Transfusiology of the Central Military Hospital Ružomberok provided for a successful course of the event.
Paying respects to veterans
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(11 November) SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč honoured the memory of war veterans at the military cemetery in Petržalka – Kopčany, Bratislava. The commemorative event coincided with the end of the First World War, as the whole world marked Veterans Day. “On 11 November we pay tribute to all soldiers – veterans, irrespective of whether they fought in the world wars or deployed on operations abroad – to the former for what they fought for and won for us and to the latter for safeguarding the hard-won peace, freedom and democracy,” said SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. In his speech at the commemorative ceremony, SVK Chief of Defence Lt Gen Milan Maxim emphasized that Veterans Day pays tribute to all soldiers, including the contemporary ones. “There are many commemorative events but this one stands out from the historical and contemporary viewpoint,” said the SVK Chief of Defence.
● One of the accompanying events organized on the occasion of the War Veterans Day was a presentation of the book “Our soldiers in the Persian Gulf – the Slovak and Czech troops in Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm 1990 – 1991”. The authors of the book, Imrich Purdek from the Military History Institute and Pavol Vitko, the editor of the monthly Obrana, focus on the activities of approximately 150 Czech and 50 Slovak soldiers of the special chemical battalion.
Remediation of environmental burdens via EU funds
(11 November) The SVK Ministry of Defence has brought the competitive bidding for remediation of environmental burdens to a successful end and is now entitled to draw on EU funds. To sign a contract on remediation of environmental burdens has taken over a year since the proposals for a non-repayable financial contribution were submitted to the SVK Ministry of Environment for approval. “Until recently nobody came up with a solution to the polluted locations which are subject to land remediation. This was because there were not enough financial resources available in the past. However, we looked into ways to eradicate this problem and we applied for EU funds. I am pleased to say that we have achieved what others had only been worried about. Thanks to this, the SVK MOD will save over € 11 million in its defence budget,” said SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč.
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The contractor for the land remediation works was selected in a transparent public bidding process. The subject-matter of the contract includes drafting the project and implementing the remediation works at six different sites. In implementing the remediation of environmental burdens, emphasis will be laid on selection of most effective methods, quality, complexity and financial efficiency of works. The land remediation scheme is designed to improve the quality of surface and ground waters, as well as air and soil conditions. The land remediation works will be focused on the sites at Rimavská Sobota, Ivachnová, Nemšová, Sliač and Lešť which the Soviet Army had used for stationing their vehicles and for storing fuel and environmentally hazardous chemicals. The said locations had been heavily contaminated due to mishandling of petroleum-based chemicals and poor storage standards.
November 10 - 17, 2014