27.10.2009.

Minister Sutanovac and General Miletic visit Leskovac

Minister of Defense Dragan Sutanovac and LTG Miloje Miletic, SAF CHOD, also accompanied by the army commander ''Vojvoda Petar Bojovic '' in Leskovac.

The commander of 7th training center Colonel Mijodrag Djurovic introduced the guests to the living and working conditions and the contents of the training process prepared for the September class of soldiers. On that occasion, Minister Sutanovac talked to the soldiers in order to get an insight into the conditions under which they are trained.

After the tour, General Miletic stated that the training was one of the priority tasks of SAF stressing that the number of recruits signing up for the army had increased this year with a constant rise of the SAF’s rating.

“ One of the main reasons for this rising of the number of conscripts can be seen in the fact that this is how these men build the possibility for a better prospect and a military career, thus solving their main existential issue, that of a career. General Miletic underlined that the current situation in GSZ was stable and that recently there had been no indications of possible threats to general safety and security. In his words, the army was doing its utmost to provide complete peace in these regions.

After touring the center, they visited the Leskovac municipality where they talked with the Mayor of Leskovac Slobodan Kocic, the head of the Jablanica district Vladan Marinkovic, the President of the Town Council Zivojin Stefanovic and other representatives of the local self-government.

Following the talks, Minister Sutanovac said that they al reached an agreement to temporarily accommodate the students of the school “Svetozar Markovic’ in Leskovac SAF Dome. “Our wish is to reach an agreement regarding the temporary use of SAF Dome in Leskovac as accommodation facilities for the students. We also discussed the possibility of exchanging properties for certain housing units or for certain funds, as the minister said. According to him, 7th Training Center will become one of the most promising centers in SAF.

„We have been actively implementing professionalization, and the best situation is in the south of Serbia. I want this relation to build with local self-governments to raise this relationship to another level, as Sutanovac said. Speaking about Cepotina base, Minister of Defense said that the plan was to open the base by the end of this year. this is strategic facility, as minister pointed out, adding that this would be a place for training SAF members who will participate in international peace missions. He said, answering the questions of reporters, that here were no signs of any possible threats or risks to the general safety and security in the south, however, unfortunately, there was always a possibility of single incidents.
In the course of the day, General Miletic and Minister Sutanovac will visit the Cepotina base.