17.04.2018.
Badges and recognitions to soldiers who served their military service as volunteers
On the occasion of the Serbian Armed Forces Day, in the ceremonial hall of the Old Palace, a ceremony has been held today for the ceremonious handing over of badges and recognitions of the homeland to the soldiers from the territory of Belgrade who were sent to volunteer military service in 2015.
Deputy Mayor Andreja Mladenović, on behalf of the City of Belgrade, congratulated the gathered young men and women, adding that today's ceremony confirms that serving military service is a great honour, and also expressed gratitude to the Serbian Armed Forces that organized this ceremonial presenting of military badges and recognitions with the City of Belgrade.
- The Serbian Armed Forces is an institution that is the pillar of the country as it is in any country and we consider that this cooperation in the City of Belgrade should be at the highest possible level. It is very important that we demonstrate progress at every level, and that all of our city municipalities and the City of Belgrade work together to properly represent the system that includes local self-government and the capital and that in the defence system and in the system of functioning of the country we have the place that is envisaged for us both in the defence plans of the whole country and the defence plans of the City of Belgrade - Mladenović emphasized, adding that for every young man military service is a kind of a school of life that certainly helps to overcome all the life challenges that are before each of us.The head of the Belgrade Regional Centre of the Ministry of Defence, Colonel Dragan Stojčić, also addressed the gathering, pointing out that they all volunteered military service, were trained and showed that they were ready to defend their homeland, and today the City of Belgrade shows respect for them, as its citizens and soldiers.
- I hope that you will be the best promoters of the military calling and that your friends and relatives will also want to put on your uniform - Colonel Stojčić said.Recalling the long tradition and importance of the military calling in this area, Colonel Dragan Kotarlić, Head of the Department for Defence Obligations of the Ministry of Defence, stressed that Serbia is proud of its Armed Forces and its soldiers, especially of the young men and women who volunteered to serve in the military from 2011, when the National Assembly made such a decision.
- Since the introduction of voluntary military service in early 2011, the Belgrade Regional Centre has sent more than 1,300 girls and boys to voluntary military service and they all have successfully completed military training and returned to their families. Soldiers who had served their military service were transfered to the reserve force of the Serbian Armed Forces, and those who served and completed the course for reserve officers, by the decree of the President, were promoted to the rank of reserve officers of the Serbian Armed Forces - Colonel Kotarlić emphasized, recalling the current open competition for admission to professional military service, as a choice of future careers.At today's ceremony, 150 badges and recognitions were presented, and the ceremony was attended by representatives of the City of Belgrade, the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, the Serbian Orthodox Church, as well as the relatives and friends of the gathered soldiers.
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VIDEOGALLERY17.04.2018
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