Commanding NCOs meet in Zvolen (10 December) HQ SVK Air Force hosted a meeting of senior NCOs in command, headed by the Chief NCO of the Slovak Armed Forces, Sergeant Major Vladimír Beluš. The main aim of the gathering was to evaluate the efficiency of the NCO command structure of military groupings and units. The NCOs were joined by Chief of the General Staff Lt Gen Milan Maxim and SVK Air Force Deputy Commander Col Vladimír Kováč. At the conclusion of the event, Sergeant Major Vladimír Beluš and the SVK Chief of Defence handed over the 2014 Best SVK Armed Forces NCO Award and presented military medals and badges to selected section members and NCOs. ● On 3 – 5 December, cynologists of the Military Police divisions and of the SVK Armed Forces units gathered at the Professional Cynologists Assembly, held by the SVK MOD. The goal of the session was to brief on the changes in the Military Police organizational structures, which came into force on 1 September 2014; to unify the drill techniques of military working dogs (MWD) and MWD handlers; to explain new MWD training methods; to set the heading of military cynology; and to comment on the Directive of the SVK Defence Minister № 62/2007 on Cynology, and on the Methodical Instructions of the Military Police Director in the field of cynology. ● On 10 December, SVK Land Forces Commander Brig Ondřej Novosad, in the presence of the Land Forces HQ main officials, subscribed the SVK Land Forces planning documentation for the following training year. Thanks to this, directly subordinated units and groupings have better conditions for finishing their planning process.
(10 December) SVK soldiers will continue to operate in Afghanistan. They will join a new non-combat NATO mission, called Operation Resolute Support (ORS). The SVK government approved the mandate for deployment of up to 66 SVK Armed Forces members to Afghanistan on 10 December. Under the new scheme, the SVK contingent will commence operations in ORS as of 1 January 2015. The mandate is still to be approved by the Slovak Republic National Council. “We have always acted as a responsible member of the North Atlantic Alliance. At the Wales Summit, we made an official statement on our contribution to the new mission, as we remain committed to working towards the stabilization of Afghanistan,” said SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. On 28 November 2014, the North Atlantic Council made a decision to launch Operation Resolute Support. Being a non-combat mission, ORS is geared towards training, advising and assisting the Afghan National Security Forces. Once approved by the Slovak Republic National Council, the SVK contribution will be comprised of Special Operations Forces (SOFs), HQ military staff, ROLE 1 and 2 medical facilities, National Support Element, and Deployable Communication and Information Systems Module (DCM-C).
Saving millions of euros
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(9 December) The SVK MOD has managed to save millions of euros in public procurement over the past few month by conducting electronic auctioning. Whether that is goods, services or even energy – these all have been purchased by the SVK MOD at much lower prices. Electronic auctioning has made it possible to bring down procurement costs by dozens of percent. For example, the gas and electricity bill for the SVK Armed Forces Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš was reduced by €2 million. Or consider the purchase of towed airport sweepers for AFB Sliač where the winning bidder offered a price by nearly 50 percent lower than originally expected. “Thanks to electronic auctioning purchases, we have significantly saved financial resources, which may, in turn, be invested into the modernization of the SVK Armed Forces,” noted SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč. The recent purchase of computers for the SVK MOD is a case in point. Over €2 million was saved against the original estimate. The contract for the supply of 4,000 computers and 1,000 notebooks was valued at €5 million, however, as a result of the transparent and fair competitive bidding process involving 6 bidders, the final price was over 40 percent lower than originally estimated. Moreover, an IT expert was, for the first time, invited to join the preparation stage of the electronic bidding process to provide counselling on the entire course of the bidding process, which greatly contributed to the reduction in the final price.
Return from Bosnia
(11 December) In the village of Nová Polianka, SVK Armed Forces Commander Brig Ondřej Novosad together with Training Battalion Commander Col Róbert Kecsö ceremonially welcomed the Slovak servicemen and women who had just returned from the EUFORALTHEA operation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The members of the SVK Armed Forces were awarded the SVK Minister of Defence Medals for their service in the military operation and 11 soldiers received the Military Veterans Badges. The SVK Armed Forces Commander presented the best members of the rotation with gifts of the Chief of the General Staff.
● 50 participants of the Officers Course, Armed Forces Academy Liptovský Mikuláš, visited the Military Police Training and Cynology Division Vlkanová-Hronsek on 10 December to familiarize themselves with the Military Police members’ activities and competences. They saw practical demonstrations of Military Police MWD handlers as well as interventions performed by general training group instructors. ● On 10 December, Military Police Director Col Milan Hamar awarded members of the SVK Police Force Col Milan Pilip, Col Tibor Sekula and Col Ivan Lechner the 3rd Class Military Police Medal (bronze) for their significant contribution to co-operation with the SVK Military Police. ● On 9 – 10 December, the Gemer-Malohont CBRN Battalion Rožňava welcomed a delegation from the 314th Weapons of Mass Destruction Warning Centre, Army of the Czech Republic, headed by Lt Col Jaroslav Bartoš. The introduction of the battalion by Commander Lt Col Oliver Toderiška was followed by a presentation of the CBRN centre, its amenities and technical equipment. The next day the delegation saw a static demonstration of the battalion’s special military vehicles and armaments. A specialized discussion on the methods and options for evaluating the radiological, chemical and biological situation took place as well. ● During the Advent season, members of the 1st Mechanized Brigade organized a Clothes Donation Event again, for one of the Slovak largest shelters for the homeless, situated in the town of Kláštor pod Znievom and able to house almost 200 people. ● The Cyprus Military Skills Competition, in which the UNFICYP mission members have battled it out every six months since 1980, took place on 3 December. The participants were grouped into eight eightmember teams from individual sectors and HQ. Team Bravo, composed of Sector 4 Hungarian and Serbian soldiers, won the first prize and the Slovak-Serbian Team Alpha ended at the 4th place.
Twenty years of the IHM
(11 December) At the SVK MOD, a ceremonial gathering was held on the occasion of the 20th foundation anniversary of the Institute of Military History (IHM). On behalf of the SVK Defence Minister and himself, State Secretary Miloš Koterec expressed his belief that “the Institute will continue to fulfill an irreplaceable role as the MOD’s institutional memory based on strict principles, and from which we can not only draw wisdom of the past times, but we can avoid our predecessors’ mistakes as well”. Col Miloslav Čaplovič, Director of the IHM, evaluated its history and thanked its founders. Maj Gen Pavel Macko, 2nd Vice Chief of the SVK General Staff, also expressed his appreciation and gratefulness to the IHM´s nearly 70 employees, based in Bratislava, Piešťany and Svidník.
Military deed of the year
SVK Minister of Defence Martin Glváč has announced the 18th edition of the “Military Deed of the Year” survey, with three categories: Lifesaving, Help to the Public, and Friend of the Army. To participate in the survey one has to send their nominations until 28 February, 2015, to the address: Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic, Marketing Section, 8 Kutuzovova Street, 832 47 Bratislava, or via electronic mail to: cinroka@mod.gov.sk.
New soldiers complete training
(10 December) The final training exercise for trainee soldiers, members of the Basic Military Training Company, culminated at the Sučany Garrison Training Area. The 24-hour exercise was geared towards enhancing the expertise and survival skills of trainee soldiers in field conditions and to prepare them for the conduct of combat missions. It also tested their orientation skills, basic offensive and defensive combat skills, as well as psychological and physical readiness. The final exercise numbered a total of 158 trainee soldiers in the preparatory state service, of whom 22 were future servicewomen. The soldiers had been undergoing training at the Martin Training Battalion since 13 October. Michal Halas, a native of Ružom-
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berok, who had achieved sustained performance in all phases of the training, turned out to be the best soldier on the course. He had lived in London for the last 7 years before returning home. “I was just homesick. And wanted to do something meaningful,” said soldier Halas, who will be assigned as a machine gun operator to the Martin-based Mechanized Battalion. The passing-out parade for the trainee soldiers took place on Friday, 12 December, at the parade grounds of the Training Battalion Martin.
December 8 - 14, 2014