Border area meeting of Chiefs of Defence
(April 11) The issues of preparation of the international exercise CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2013, possibilities of development and sharing capabilities within V4, cooperation in operations abroad and within the EU Battlegroups, modernization projects, joint purchasing and cooperation in the field of training were addressed during a negotiation between the Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Republic and the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovak Republic held on 10 – 11 April in Luhačovice. Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek and his Czech counterpart Petr Pavel talked about development of cooperation within the Prague Multinational Logistics Coordination Centre MLCC, which will host the largest international standardization logistics exercise CAPABLE LOGISTICIAN 2013. With the participation of 1,800 persons and 600 pieces of equipment to be deployed, it will be the largest logistics exercise ever held within NATO. One of the issues raised was also the establishment of the Joint Logistics Support Group JLSG within the V4 countries to enhance capabilities of control and coordination of logistics support not only in NATO-led operations, but also in operations under the auspices of EU. The Generals discussed also the issue of setting up the joint V4 Battlegroup unit to meet the needs of the EU in 2016 and the possibilities of cooperation in the field of pre-deployment preparation and training prior to being deployed to operations abroad.
● The members of the Diving unit of the Engineer Battalion in Sereď became part of the European international project PHYPODE at the reservoir in Čierna Voda nearby Galanta. There are researchers from 7 different EU countries who participate in this project. The project is based on the evaluating divers’ vigilance, their reaction time and space orientation. According to the results, the divers will be able to react under increased working pressure of nitrogen in the profound depths.
Minister paid a visit to Brazil (April 10) The Slovak Republic is interested in enhancing the bilateral rela ons with Brazil in the defence sector. The Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic Mar n Glváč, who met with his Brazilian counterpart of the defence sector Celso Amorim in Rio de Janeiro, confirmed it. ‘The mutual coopera on of our both countries is also significant from the economic and trade rela ons point of view,’ stated the Minister of the Defence of the Slovak Republic. The two Ministers of Defence will entrust working groups from both countries with the task of crea ng a coopera on agreement. ‘Despite the fact that Slovakia is a much smaller country in comparison to Brazil, I am convinced that Slovakia can offer various products, which Brazil could be interested in’, stated the Minister Glváč. A working visit to the Federa ve Republic of Brazil is an opportunity to establish business rela ons for the Slovakian entrepreneurs, who par cipate at LAAD 2013 Interna onal Defense and Security Fair these days. ‘We agreed on the fact that the defence industry is very significant for both our countries, however, it will be necessary to define the possibili es of our current coopera on,’ stated the Head of the Department of Defence. The Defence Minister Mar n Glváč invited his Brazilian counterpart to come to Slovakia on an official visit. The Head of the Department of Defence in Brazil accepted the invita on. According to the Minister Glváč, the meeng in Slovakia could take place with the a endance of the Visegrad Group (V4) members. Celso Amorim is the former Minister of Foreign Affairs in Brazil. During his second term as chairman of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, he inaugurated the Embassy of Brazil in Bra slava. The Minister of Defence also visited the Honorary Consulate of the Slovak Republic in Rio de Janeiro during his stay in Brazil.
● The Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek visited the garrison Hlohovec on the 9th April. Garrison commander Lieutenant Colonel Adrian Melega welcomed Lieutenant General Vojtek, who was accompanied by the chief of the NCO Sergeant Major Vladimir Beluš. The Garrison commander explained to the guests the main tasks and functions of the Multipurpose Battalion. The delegation visited the training area Bojničky where the field company under the supervision of Capt. Miroslav Selecký was conducting the combat training in built-up areas. ● The joint training of dog handlers of the AF SR and ČR took place in Horehronie from 9 to 12 April. Apart from the Czech colleagues, the Police Corps’ dog handlers of the SR, the Prison and Justice Guards Corps (Financial police), participated. The members of the K7 civil association’s dog handlers/rescuers of the Slovak Republic took part for the first time. The Slovak and Czech dog handlers trained at the Excessive and Unusable materials’ base in Nemecká, where they encountered an ideal area for searching with help of a great number of equipment. They trained in the Training and Kynology Center of the Military Police in Hronsek – Vlkanová. They also underwent the night training in the mountains of Slovenské Rudohorie nearby the biathlon premises of Osrblie. ● Two meetings of the NATO working groups for the Capability Panel CAP/3 took place at the Ministry of Defence during the 8 -11 April 2013. Representatives from Belgium, the Czech Republic, Canada, USA, Hungary, Germany and several other countries participated in these meetings. At the first meeting they dealt with the revision of the NATO Civil/Military Frequency Agreement 2002. The second meeting was dedicated to the preparation of the NATO countries’ standpoints on the World radio-communication conference WRC ’15 in the field of Frequency Management. ● Specialists authorized and certified by the Department of Defence conducted the annual training of professional drivers and employees of the MoD and GS AF SR, who have a permission to use service vehicles, on 10 April. More than 130 participants recapped their knowledge on current traffic rules and first aid. The participants underwent testing under the supervision of Military Police. According to Roman Čiernik, the Head of the Department of General Support of the MoD, this is a new approach to saving finances and to making use of the internal resources of the department. ● The Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek announced the 12th Art Competition called Children paint pictures of soldiers for the primary schools pupils. The participants can send their paintwork together with their address, their telephone number and their date of birth until 17 May to the mailing address of the Monthly Obrana. The participants of the best paintwork in the category of younger and older students will win valuable prices. Their work will be published on the Slovak MoD web site and the winners will participate in the celebration of Children’s Day with the Armed Forces SR which will take part in Giraltovce on 1 June.
Excellent performance (April 8) A group of the Slovak repair technicians specializing in D-30 artillery system significantly contributed to the successful accomplishment of one of the decisive exercises of the 205th Corps of the Afghan National Army (ANA). The Slovaks were deployed to check the condition of the artillery equipment prepared for the Corps’ live- firing in FOB Wolverine in the province Zabul. However, the D- 30 artillery guns required not only a regular check but also a considerable repair. Within 7 days, under a live-firing, they managed to repair 5 out of six artillery guns. Malfunction detected and removed was serious enough to endanger human lives. The representatives of the 205th Corps of the ANA and commanders of RC(s) expressed appreciation and gratitude to our repair technicians. ‘We owe them a debt of gratitude for saving the largest exercise of the year from failure’, concluded the commanders of the Combined team Uruzgan (CTU) and Task Force (TF) Raider.
Life saved in Cyprus (April 9) The Peacekeeping Force Commander Major General Chao Liu and the Chief of Staff Colonel Angus Loudon have highly appreciated the fast and professional intervention of the Slovak soldiers, which led to saving the life of a member of UNFICYP. The acknowledgement for saving the life goes to Lt Col Jaroslav Marko, Lt Martin Pavlík, SSG Kamil Stehlík, SFC Ivan Kérim and SFC Ján Závadský. Maj Dragan Dobrič, the member of the Serbian Armed Forces serving with the blue berets in Cyprus, felt nauseous and lost consciousness during the meeting held in the office of the Chief of the engineer corps to HQ UNFICYP on 9 April. The members of the engineer corps SLOVCON gave first aid to him until the rescue team arrived, who transferred Major Dobrič to the hospital in Nicosia. After being diagnosed with heart failure, he was immediately operated on. Now he is in stable condition and there is no immediate danger to his life.
A visit of the SACT Chief of Staff to Slovakia
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(9 April) Vice Admiral Tony Johnstone – Burt, the Chief of Staff to NATO’s Supreme Allied Command for Transformation arrived for a visit of the Slovak Republic on 9 April. At the General Staff of the AF SR in Bratislava, the UK Royal Navy Vice Admiral met with the Chief of the General Staff of the AF SR Lieutenant General Peter Vojtek. The Vice Admiral makes visits to the NATO Centres of Excellence in Europe and decided to learn more about the first NATO institution in Slovakia – the Explosive Ordnance Disposal Centre of Excellence (EOD CoE) based in Trenčín. Lieutenant General Vojtek informed the guest of the current development in the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic. They talked about the topical issues of transformation of the Alliance in the context of impacts of a financial crisis on defence budgets of NATO member countries.
Vice Admiral Johnstone – Burt accepted the invitation of Mr. Ivo Samson, Director of the Institute for Security and Defence Studies of the MoD SR, to participate in a round table discussion to be held on 10 April on the goals of transformation and on the intentions and objectives of NATO. He highlighted the priorities of defence capabilities as viewed by ACT and the key challenges for a successful transformation of the Alliance. He appreciated the effort that Slovakia has put in within a fairly short period of time and expressed his belief that, in cooperation with ACT, Slovakia will be able to build ‘the most relevant armed forces capable of adjusting to the future challenges’. The round table was moderated by an analyst of the Institute for Security and Defence Studies, Mr. Alexander Hersi. The representatives charged with the task of
eBULLETIN MO SR
shaping and implementation of the defence and security policy from the Ministry of Defence, General Staff of the AF SR and Ministry of Foreign and European affairs, together with experts from non-governmental organizations, participated in the meeting.
April 8 - 14, 2013