For Service Participation
(September 26) Defense Minister Glváč decorated 123 Slovak soldiers returning from the 6-month rotation in the ISAF operation in Afghanistan with medals for Service Participation in a Military Operation. “I am extremely pleased that all of you have returned alive and in good health,” said Glváč at the Sliač airport during the ceremony. “We have decided to welcome them at the airport, since we expect they want to join their families as soon as the medical examination is over,” Glváč explained to journalist later. The defense minister claimed the decision whether our soldiers remain in Afghanistan in the same locations or move to different areas, would be arrived at soon. “Anyway, we should remain in the mission to the very end — that means until 2014,” he added. The Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Peter Vojtek said that although the mission ended in 2014, it did not mean allied troops would leave Afghanistan for good. “The mission's character changes from combat to support. We already train Afghan soldiers and policemen so that they could manage their own country,” said Vojtek. The situation in Afghanistan is far from calm. In the past six months 46 rocket attacks were mounted against the military base where Slovak troops were staged.
In Need Of Bold Solutions
www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
(September 24) “We at the Defense Ministry need to adopt new and bold solu ons to make sure our Armed Forces retain their essen al capabili es in order to fulfill their du es and commitment both at home and with respect to our allies in NATO and in the global interna onal community,” said Defense Minister Mar n Glváč at the ceremony held on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day. “Every cent that we save will be spent on the military equipment, arms and accouterment,” declared Glváč, adding that even if the defense budget is lower than usual, more funds will be spent on the Armed Forces than in the past. “We are cu ng all unessen al expenditures and streamlining all past contracts, looking for maximum op miza on, diver ng funds into meaningful projects.” In reply to the proposed changes in the social security system Glváč recognized the a tude of professional soldiers as well as the efforts made by the Chief of the General Staff. “We s ll have to fine-tune our priori es in maintaining this system. Otherwise we would only stand and watch it disintegrate to the detriment of us all,” said Glváč. In the words of the Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Peter Vojtek, the celebra ons of the Armed Forces Day present an opportunity to pay our tribute to all the women and men in uniform. Special credit goes to all the Armed Forces members who put their lives on line in interna onal missions in Afghanistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, Georgia and Syria. “I want to express my immense gra tude for their devo on in carrying out the taxing tasks. But I also want to thank all professional soldiers - male and female - who perform their du es at home, in difficult and demanding condions,” said Vojtek. Defense Minister Glváč and the Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Vojtek awarded selected individuals commemora ve medals and badges for exemplary performance of du es. On Monday Glváč also paid homage to the late former Defense Minister Jozef Stank by placing a wreath at the tomb of the la er at the Ružinov cemetery in Bra slava in the presence of Stank´s daughter and grandson. The ceremonial act was made a part of the Armed Forces Day program. The Armed Forces Day is celebrated annually on September 22nd , marking the historical event of 1848 when the Slovak volunteers at Brezová pod Bradlom won their first ba le against the Hungarian Guardsmen. Since 1997 this day had been celebrated as the Slovak Army Day, made such by the order of the then Defense Minister Ján Sitek. A er the Slovak Army changed its name to the Slovak Armed Forces, President Rudolf Schuster declared in 2002 this day the Slovak Armed Forces Day.
● All three parties who had registered in the invitation to tender for the Military Repair Works (VOP) Nováky strategic partner have submitted their bids. The commission appointed by the company's management opened the sealed envelopes in the defense minister's presence. The commission will now evaluate the bids and their compliance with the set criteria. Due to the fact that stabilizing the company is one of the top priorities of the current MoD leadership, the announcement of the winning party is to be expected very soon. ● The Operations Staff in cooperation with the Friends of Military Chemists Union NGO organized from September 20 to September 22, 2012 the 4th annual Czech-Slovak military chemists border meeting on the occasion of the Armed Forces Day and the 20th anniversary of the day the Chemical Protection Brigade relocated from Lešany to the Rimavská Sobota garrison. More than 60 current and former Czech, Dutch and Slovak professional soldiers arrived at the training facility in Lešť. The meeting also included a working session of radiological, chemical and biological protection (RCHBO) experts, which culminated in a practical demonstration of the DEKVOZ decontamination vehicle belonging to the RCHBO battalion from Rožňava and the walkthrough of the Lešť training facilities. ● On Monday, Sept. 24, the Commander of the Training and Support Forces (SVaP) Brig. Gen. Ľubomír Svoboda met the German Defense Attaché Lt. Col. Lars Ukerwitz in Trenčín. During a short briefing Brig. Gen. Svoboda introduced the structure of SVaP and duties performed. At the conclusion of the meeting Svoboda awarded Lt. Col. Ukerwitz the SVaP´s Commemorative Plaque. ● The JACKAL STONE 2012 international exercise held from September 13 to September 25, 2012 in Croatia was the largest Special Operations exercise n Europe yet. Its main goal was to enhance cooperation and interoperability among the militaries of the participating nations. Special Forces units from the Czech Republic, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia and observers from seven other countries participated in the exercise. The Slovak Air Force was represented by 12 soldiers from the Prešov Helicopter Wing and an Air Force Command member. ● From September 22 to September 28, 2012 the Georgia 2012 exercise was held on the territory of Georgia themed “how to respond to a devastating earthquake”. Thirteen nations including Slovakia were represented by more than a thousand soldiers. Slovakia's participation was tied to its role of the leading nation in the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Joint Assessment Team – CBRN JAT.
New Sector 4 Commander (September 25) A ceremonial parade in the camp of Gen. Milan Rastislav Štefánik marked the end of the 24th Slovak rotation to the UNFICYP mission in Cyprus. In attendance of the mission's Chief of Staff Col. Anjus Laudon, the commander of the Slovak contingent Lt. Col. Jozef Paňko symbolically handed over the U.N. flag to his successor Lt. Col. Adolf Uličný, who will command Sector 4 and the force of 159 Slovak soldiers, 88 Hungarians, 39 Serbs and one Croatian soldier. As most Slovaks, Uličný will also serve for one year in Cyprus.
Welcoming Peacekeepers (September 27) Defense Minister Martin Glváč, the Chief of the General Staff Lt. Gen. Peter Vojtek, the Air Force Commander Col. Miroslav Korba, representatives of the Armed Forces from Hungary, Serbia and Croatia and other guests arrived in Nitra to welcome members of the Slovak Armed Forces and their foreign counterparts returning from the UNFICYP peacekeeping mission and the UNTSO observer missions in Georgia and Syria. 118 soldiers were ceremonially awarded medals for service in peacekeeping and observer missions.
● From September 24 to September 28, 21012 the C-IED Staff Officers course Attack the Network Battle Staff was held at the Land Forces Engineering Battalion premises. 22 Slovak soldiers took part in the course led by the U.S. instructors. Graduates obtained knowledge on the use of IED, assessment of dangerous areas, on tactics and procedures used by the enemy and on planning counter-measures against the IED effects.
Indonesia Is Our Valued Partner (September 25) The Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic is interested in invigorating the relations with Indonesia and in further developing the bilateral cooperation. “We will welcome any cooperation initiative in the area of defense. We value Indonesia as an important partner,” said Defense Minister Martin Glváč at the meeting with Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Indonesian Republic to Slovakia H.E. Harsha Edwana Joesoef. The topics discussed at the meeting held on the occasion of H.E. Joesoef´s completion of diplomatic mission included the upcoming visit of the Indonesian President S. B. Yudhoyon in mid2013, which is to be preceded by a fact-finding mission of a workgroup consisting of Indonesian MoD´s representatives. “Prior to the visit of our
eBULLETIN MoD SR
President we have to define the specific projects we could support: what types of military equipment you have that we need,” said H.E. Joesoef. The most prominent example of mutual cooperation between Slovakia and Indonesia so far was the delivery of 32 infantry fighting vehicles (BVP-2) in the years 1998 and 2000, which we would like to build upon in providing maintenance, repairs and modernization of certain types of military equipment using our Military Repair Works (VOP and LOTN Trenčín).
September 24 - 30, 2012