26.05.2009.

DILPOMAC 2009

At “Pasuljanske livade” combined arms training field DILPMAC 2009, graduation exercise of the cadets of the Military Academy was held which was attended by the President of Serbia Boris Tadic, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac, the Chief of SAF GS LTG Miloje Miletic, and the top officials of MoD, the representatives of the diplomatic corps, religious denominations and the delegation of the military academies of the Kingdom of Holland and the Republic of Egypt.

After the exercise, President Tadic expressed his pleasure with the level of preparedness and training of the students for the first officer duties they are about to undertake, and with the readiness of the Military Academy and other institutions and units of SAF which participated at today’s exercise.

Serbia is an unavoidable factor of stability in Europe. Our geopolitical position is such that it raises the level of SAF’s responsibility and of our foreign policy”, as Tadic stressed, adding that Serbia was conducting an independent and peaceful foreign policy and would continue to do so.

President Tadic reiterated that Serbia’s strategic goal was to obtain EU membership. “In the area of safety, Serbia is a PfP partner country. It is our intention to work with our partners within this program, to raise our defense capabilities and of the whole defense system. In this respect, unity is crucial ass well as the coordination between the army, police, security and intelligence services, both to the country’s security and the stability of the region”.

Tadic reminded the present that the unanimous declaration of Kosovo’s independence was a great challenge for Serbia and that our goal was to preserve the territorial integrity and unity of our state. He said that, despite hi attendance to the exercise, Serbia would continue to defend its policy predominantly through diplomatic, legal and political means.
The President of Serbia pointed out that the world economic crisis was a global threat too peace and stability and that it was crucial for all the countries in the world, especially for the most developed and powerful ones, to lead a peaceful foreign policy.

The Serbian Armed Forces is a strong tool of our foreign policy and a vital resource of its economic recuperation and research potentials” as Tadic pointed out expressing his satisfaction with the fact that the Military Academy had been accredited into the university system of Serbia, and with the increasing number of applicants to enroll into the Military Academy.

“To date we have done so much on the modernization of the Serbian Air Force and the Telecommunication and IT system, and the processes of modernization and professionalization will continue in the future as well. He underlined the importance of training and promised that the state would in the future take care of this vital strategic resource of Serbia.

President Tadic also pointed out the importance of the participation of our military medical team in the UN mission in Chad, stressing that during this process all democratic procedures would be followed. He added that Serbia should be ready to defend its peace and stability not only in its territory but also beyond its borders wherever necessary.

During his address, Defense Minister Dragan Sutanovac stated that today’s exercise was very complex and complicated, especially in the context of security, since combat ammo was used.

Furthermore, as Sutanovac observed, MoD and SAF were paying special attention to training, while reminding that besides 1000 SAF members engaged in Pasuljanske livade training ground, 500 members of First Brigade also participated in the exercise: “We will pay special heed to the training activities in the future as well, in order to achieve a higher level of preparedness and to continue with professionalizing.”

The Chief of SAF GS LTG MIloje Miletic expressed his conviction that SAF would be given a new boost with a new generation of Second Lieutenants in a few months.

“ The exercise proved that the students in their final years of the Military Academy were trained to perform tasks relating to all SAF missions”, as LTG Miletic said stressing that this was the result of joint engagement of MoD, Military Academy and MoD management on creating a new concept of the Serbian officer.