EUMC Chairman visited Slovakia (October 18) The Chief of the General Staff Lt. Col. Peter Vojtek welcomed the outgoing chairman of the European Union's Military Committee (EUMC) Gen. Håkan Syrén on Thursday with full military honors. The topics discussed included establishing the EU Battle Groups, opportunities for deploying Slovak civilian experts in crisis management abroad, opportunities for pooling and sharing military capabilities within EU, especially in the field of education and training. Also discussed were ongoing operations under the EU mandate, in which Slovak troops participate. Thereafter General Syrén met the MoD State Secretary, the Foreign Ministry State Secretary and the Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security. Chairman of the EUMC visited the Lešť training area, where he was shown its capabilities and learned of the opportunities for its utilization by the armed forces of EU member states.
Bad Year For Military Intelligence (October 17) The military intelligence services had not had a worse year in their history than 2011, said Defense Minister Mar n Glváč following the mee ng of the Parliamentary Special Oversight Commi ee on Military Intelligence, where he had presented the report on the ac vi es of both military intelligence services for the year 2011, marked by the “phonetapping” scandal. According to Glváč the report, which was not disclosed to public, contains cri cism aimed at the former MoD management and the former chiefs of intelligence. “The Minister might not have directed the intelligence services himself, however, he was responsible for specific economic ma ers, which were not dealt with effec vely, and for the overall direc on the intelligence services took,“ explained Glváč. Defense Minister Glváč did not disclose whether the report dealt with the alleged illegal phonetapping, claiming the confiden ality of the report. “We would be more than happy if the case was properly inves gated and made sure that the services were not misused again,” he said.
● The Armed Forces have participated in the two-day HAVRAN 2012 crisis management exercise, organized by the Interior Ministry - the goal was to test readiness to respond to a malfunction in the Jaslovské Bohunice nuclear power plant. As Defense Minister Glváč pointed out, the Armed Forces play a crucial role in resolving crisis situations on the territory of the Slovak Republic: “The exercise scenario was based on actual incidents elsewhere in the world. It is of utmost importance to maintain effective communication throughout armed services not only during the exercise, but also in a real situation endangering the lives of citizens.” ● From October 16 to October 18, 2012 the security chiefs from defense ministries of the V4 countries met in Prague to discuss information protection. The Director of the Slovak MoD´s Security Office Lt. Col. Radovan Rusnák outlined the activities performed by the MoD´s Information Protection Council, which plays an irreplaceable role in protecting secure cyber space, providing safe space for data transfer and processing.
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(October 15) Defense Minister Glváč pays special a en on to all reports of suspected cases of corrup on reported tothe MoD´s An -corrup on Hotline. The majority of cases are reported by professional soldiers who suspect corrup on in ma ers concerning personal management, mobbing and/or job termina on irregulari es. Defense Minister Glváč restarted the An corrup on Hotline shortly a er taking the office in March. The hotline serves 24/7 as a call-center for voice recordings and e-mails. “The majority of reported cases are unfounded, but I can assure you that we pay due a en on to each and every claim, no regardless of whether it concerns corrup on or not. No call remains una ended to,” said Glváč. Aside from the hotline, individuals suspec ng corrup on are turning to the General Staff, the MoD´s Inspector's Office or to the Office of the Minister of Defense. Around ten claims are made each week. “In cases where the reported ma er does not concern the Ministry of Defense, we no fy the sender to address his complaint to the appropriate ins tu on. All relevant claims are acted upon,” confirmed Glváč. The An -corrup on Hotline's phone number is 0960 960 960 and the e-mail address is minister@mod.gov.sk.
(October 18) From now on MoD will cooperate more closely with the Public Procurement Office (ÚVO) in all tenders. The goal is to achieve greater transparency and more effective management of funds. The MoD leadership has signed an agreement with ÚVO to prevent such serious errors as were committed by the previous MoD management. Based on the agreement the MoD may ask ÚVO to scrutinize the compliance of any upcoming or ongoing tender with the valid law, and/or request an opinion on the compliance of partial problematic issues in a specific tender with the Act on Public Procurement.
● In the frame of Smart Defense projects and the Central European CBRN Defense Cooperation the Slovak Armed Forces have pledged to provide a special radiological, chemical and biological protection (RCHBO) training in 2013 and 2014 (training sampling teams and mobile chemical laboratories). In this respect the Operations Staff organized on October 16 and October 17, 2012 the initial planning conference leading to the TOXIC VALLEY 2013 international exercise. The goal of the exercise held in October 2013 at the RCHBO Training and Testing Center in Zemianske Kostoľany will be to test team skills in taking samples containing toxic chemicals. The list of participants who have already confirmed attendance includes RCHBO/ABC specialists from Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Austria, Poland, Slovenia and the Slovak Republic. ● Certification of the 2nd IGLA Antiaircraft Platoon from the Nitra Antiaircraft Rocket Brigade belonging to the 12th Mechanized Battalion group is getting near: on Monday October 15, 2012 the platoon relocated from the Nitra garrison to the Military Training Area Lešť. For the next two weeks the the IGLA Platoon will support the mechanized battalion group in a multinational environment in a staged peacekeeping operation. The goal of the exercise is to test the 12th Mechanized Battalion group's ability to integrate and effectively use air and antiaircraft close combat support.
Zero Tolerance For Corruption
MoD Tenders Under Scrutiny
On Monday, Oct. 22, 2012 at 2 p.m. the MILITARY FEATURE of Radio Regina Banská Bystrica will interview Private 1st Class Miroslav Farkaš, member of the UNFICYP peace mission to Cyprus. On Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2012 Radio Slovensko will air its regular MILITARY FEATURE at 4:47 p.m. devoted to the final phase of the FORT PRIBINA exercise. TV program PROFESSIONÁL offers a behind–the-scenes look at the TATRA FREEDOM exercise, which has tested the capabilities of the Command, Management and Reconnaissance Brigade of Zvolen. STV will run the show on STV on Wednesday at 11:35 p.m., with two reruns later this week.
Training Battalion Gets New Blood (October 16) For the last time in the 2012 training year the Training Battalion in Martin opened its gates to admit newly recruited professional soldiers scheduled for the base boot camp. Seven women of the total number of 98 cadets decided to join the Armed Forces. After registration with the Personnel Office, the cadets, who are now up for a 9-week training under the watchful eyes of instructors, went through medical check-ups at the Battalion's infirmary and were outfitted in the Regional Accouterment Center of the Multifunctional Support Base West in Nemšová. Following the successful completion of the boot camp the cadets will be ceremonially graduated on December 14, 2012.
The Future Soldier Exhibition (October 17) The MoD State Secretary Miloš Koterec traveled to Prague to attend the 10th Future Soldier Exhibition & Conference 2012, an annual meeting place for military, police, security, industry, science and research experts. The goal of the exhibition was to present current trends in modern defense. This year the focus was on new developments in “smart defense”, cyber security, testing, training, protection of critical infrastructure and modern defense and security technologies. Parallel to the exhibition the PVA EXPO PRAHA Center hosted the Future of Cyber international conference, designated for experts specializing in public sector information security, science & research and commercial entities participating in public interest projects, with a focus on the current issues in cyber security. In the words of State Secretary Koterec, both the exhibition and the conference presented an ideal forum to evaluate a number of “smart defense” options and proposals including the cyber security: “An important task is to help harmonize the supply and demand between the industry on the one hand and the military on the other. Of course, one of the prerogatives for such harmonization is the active exchange of relevant information and experience.” The Slovak MoD had its own presentation booth at the exhibition, among around 100 representing more than 20 countries. It was there that State Secretary Koterec welcomed the Czech Defense Minister Alexandr Vondra. Koterec also met Vlastimil Picek, Deputy Defense Minister of the Czech Republic.
eBULLETIN MoD SR
October 15 - 21, 2012