Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek at the EU Military Committee (November 13) The subjects of the EU Military Committee meeting at the level of Chiefs of General Staff and Chiefs of Defence of Member States, held on 12-13 November in Brussels, were defence and security within the preparation of the European Council in December 2013. The Slovak delegation was headed by Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek. He met and discussed with Chief of the Cypriot National Guard Lieutenant General Stylianos Nasi. Lieutenant General Vojtek presented a commemorative medal for the 20th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic to his counterparts – Lieutenant General Petr Pavel from the Czech Republic, General Tibor Benkö from Hungary, Lieutenant General Mieczysław Gocuła from the Republic of Poland, permanent military representatives and ambassadors of the Slovak Republic to NATO, the EU and Belgium. ● Under the lead of members of the fire station Hlohovec of the District Directorate of the Firefighting and Rescue Corps in Piešťany, the members of the military firefighting unit of the Transportation battalion completed the specialized training programme. The practical part was aimed at mastering their skills in the field of operating machines and the firefighting vehicle Tatra-815 CAS 32.
Memorial at Ružinov (November 16) On Saturday, Minister of Defence Mar!n Glváč commemorated the 24th anniversary of the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day at the Ružinov cemetery in Bra!slava. The commemora!on ceremony was held at the Memorial of Executed and Martyred Poli!cal Prisoners of Communism. „It is important to commemorate this day, because next genera!ons should know what happened back then; so that we can appreciate what we have today, and do not take it for granted,“ said Glváč. President of the Slovak Republic Ivan Gašparovič a#ended the ceremony as well. „We cannot forget the hardship in the absence of freedom, and we have a duty to remember the vic!ms,“ he stated. The ceremony was organized at the cemetery in Ružinov by the Poli!cal Prisoners – Union of An!Communist Resistance.
Veterans Day (November 11) On Monday, Minister of Defence Mar!n Glváč commemorated Veterans Day at the military cemetery in Petržalka – Kopčany. On this occasion he presented commemora!ve medals to one of the two last living veterans of the Western resistance, re!red Colonel Milan Píka, and Ailsa Domanová, the widow of the veteran who par!cipated in the na!on’s Þght for libera!on during the World War II. Miroslav Košírer, who has been taking care of a military bunker in Petržalka, received a commemora!ve medal of the 20th anniversary of the Armed Forces of the SR from Chief of the General Staff of the AF of the SR General Lieutenant Peter Vojtek. From 11 a.m. on Veterans Day, soldiers in Bra!slava, Banská Bystrica and Košice distributed informa!on leaßets and poppies – a symbol of remembrance of soldiers who have died during war!me. To date, there are 7 942 registered veterans in Slovakia, who applied for this !tle.
EOD Unit at Airport
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(November 14) Explosive ordnance disposal units from the Interior and Defence departments a#ended for the Þrst !me a joint training at the airport in Bra!slava. Military specialists from the Na!onal EOD Centre in Nováky and members of the Border Control Sec!on of the Police Force of the SR prac!ced a suspicious material response in an aircra% of the Slovak Government Flying Service. “I am pleased by the fact that the specialists from both departments could prac!ce in condi!ons simula!ng a real scenario and share their experiences. It’s necessary to highlight the work of our EOD specialists, who saved countless number of lives during the ISAF opera!on in Afghanistan,” said Minister of Defence Mar!n Glváč. The training at the Bra!slava airport was held from 11 to 15 November.
● On 13 November, the chemical, biological and radiological defence battalion, declared as a reserve of deployable forces as from 1st January 2014, and the OPCW unit, declared as a contribution of the AF SR to OPCW as from 1st January 2014, passed through the 1st stage of the Combat Readiness Evaluation (CREVAL) carried out by the evaluation team of the Commander of the Land Forces of the AF SR. The Commander of the evaluation team Colonel Miroslav Hatala concluded that the CBRN battalion is fully prepared, in compliance with the required class of readiness. The OPCW unit will be further evaluated in the premises of the CBRN Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany on 5 December.
Prior to Deployment to Afghanistan
(November 14) The ceremonial parade of the troops to be deployed to ISAF was held on 14 November in the premises of the 21st mixed mechanized battalion Trebišov before they would leave for Afghanistan. The parade was held in the presence of the representatives of the Armed Forces and representatives of both the state administration and local government. The Commander of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic Brigadier General Ondřej Novosad wished every success to all the concerned 166 members of the Armed Forces of the SR. He stressed that their conduct and performance in Afghanistan would not only speak volumes about their unit or themselves as individuals, it would also build up the reputation of their country.
● Prof. Ing. Jozef Štulrajter, CSc, the Head of the Department of Information Science at the Academy of the Armed Forces of Gen. M. R. Štefánik in Liptovský Mikuláš, was presented with the Award of the Minister of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the SR, Dušan Čaplovič, in the category Personality of Science and Technology 2013. He received the award for excellent results in the field of science and technology and for their implementation in practice and in university education. ● On 15 November, the members of the General Staff of the AF SR attended the ceremonial meeting held in the Club of MoD SR to commemorate the Day of the Fight for Freedom and Democracy. “We commemorate November 1989 as a symbol of the fight for values of freedom and democracy, which we as soldiers seek to promote and preserve even beyond our national borders,” said the Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek in his address. ● With the aim to verify the functionality of the new concept of command and control of the Armed Forces of the SR at the state of war, the members of the General Staff took part in the separate tactical exercise Fresh Breeze 2013/l, the next one of the series of separate tactical exercises conducted at the General Staff of the AF SR since 2012. The purpose of the exercise was to test the concept’s reliability and operational ability when a simulated crisis situation is to be resolved. ● On 15 November, the Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek met with the new US Defense Attaché in the Slovak Republic LTC Matthew D. Atkins, accompanied by the US Air Attaché in the Slovak Republic LTC Andrew J. Taylor. The Chief of the GS appreciated the cooperation with the Office of Defense Cooperation, US, in the Slovak Republic and with the National Guard of the State of Indiana. Equally, he extended his thanks for the American support and assistance in the field of education and training of members of the AF SR.
Competitive Exhibitions
On November 7, the ceremonial evaluation of the competitive exhibitions Litera, Gallery MIL, FotoAtak and VideoAtak was carried out. Traditionally, this was held under the auspices of the Director of the Personnel Office (PO) of the AF SR Col. Ing. Ivan Sálaši. Many distinguished guests graced the event with their presence, to mention just Rector of the Armed Forces Academy Brigadier General Boris Ďurkech, Vice-Rector for Military Issues Col. Ing. Ľubomír Matta, Chief of the Personnel Management Division of the Operations Support Staff of the GS AF SR Col. Mgr. Maroš Brláš, Director of the Language Institute Lt.Col. Ing. Patrik Adamec or Deputy Director of the PO of the AF SR Lt.Col. Ing. Milan Litvaj. Altogether 93 competitors with 385 contributions took part in the competition. More details and a photo gallery to be found at http://osveta.mil.sk/.
Family Comes First
(November 15) Minister of Defence Martin Glváč met with the children and wives of the soldiers deployed in Afghanistan. He assured them that their fathers’ and husbands’ work in Afghanistan is both meaningful and very important. “Also by this way they can learn more about the work of their relatives. They can speak with soldiers who experienced such separation from their families, and get to know more about the conditions soldiers operate in Afghanistan,” said the minister. „However, the most important thing has always been and always will be their safe return home, to Slovakia, alive and healthy,“ he stressed. Families can anytime turn to a military psychologist, who is available to them during the separation from relatives. The meeting held at the unit in Martin was appreciated by the relatives, for whom an interesting programme was prepared. Children could see military equipment and draw pictures to their fathers, which the Department will deliver by Christmas.
eBULLETIN MoD SR
November 11 - 17, 2013