11.02.2010.

President gives reception on SAF Day

The President of the Republic of Serbia Boris Tadic gave a reception today in the Presidential Residence on occasion of 15 February, the Day of SAF. The reception was attended by Minister of defense Dragan Sutanovac, SAF CHOD LTG Miloje Miletic, senior commanders, cadets of the Military Academy and of the Military Medical Academy.

In his congratulatory address, President Tadic said that the Serbian army was an integral part of our society and that it would remain so in the future as well. He thanked the leading men in the Serbian system of defense for all their efforts invested in the reform of the system stressing that the Serbian armed forces represented a guarantor of stability, not only of our country but of the whole region, too.

– Every army in the world can perform its tasks only if the state takes care of the army and its existential needs . I think that congratulations and thanks are in order for much that has been done in the defense system in the past few years in raising the standard of our forces. However, there is still one unsolved problem we must pay attention to: housing issues, as Tadic said remarking that we should also consider education of military personnel.

– We are amidst complex political events and there is no doubt that another challenge is the economic crisis which in global scale causes security instability. On the other hand, in such political upheavals it is of the utmost importance to keep the defense system strengthened through the reforms, and to enable the military to take the position it deserves in order to continue the reforms with full efficiency”, as the President adding that the members of the armed forces should be enabled and trained to respond to all challenges our country is facing in the field of defense.

It is necessary to keep the army under civil control which does not only involve the authority of the President, but of the minister of defense, the Government, the Assembly and its councils.

Tadic remarked that the army should in the future grow into one of the most important factors of foreign not of internal policy.

– The military is a necessary factor in technological development of the society as it relies on defense industry, yet at the same time all its members with their activities structurally contribute to the technological growth of our society. That was in the past, and that is how we see the army in the future, Tadic said.

– A Serbian soldier, as the tradition testifies has always had an important role in our society, and that is a fact worth remembering. A Serbian solider has always take upon himself to counter great challenges back in such diverse periods as 1920s and 1999 during the NATO bombardment. However, we must keep our soldier ready to take up challenges in the future, too, which does not mean we are bracing ourselves for the state of war , but are rather involved in politics which is a necessary factor of building peace in SEE, and in this sense we want to make a radical step forward at the beginning of XXI c. in comparison to the wars in these regions.

-I have said on several occasions that peace is not something given, but we have to fight for it, as the president said wishing all SAF members to pass on this message.

Tadic reiterated that the military should be seen as the prime war deterrent which makes it the pillar of peace and a foundation of foreign policy which aims at preventing conflicts.

However, we should bear in mind, that these wars have taken their toll on the very materiel resources of the military men, since army has had obsolete weapons, which required additional efforts of SAF members.

– In many countries, after a military career, retired military personnel choose their career in diplomacy or some other state positions. Thus they can help technological modernization of the society and general stability and development.

Military reforms represent a clear division between civil and military structures, and army should become part of the global security framework, which would boost serbia’s credibility and will give new legitimacy to Serbia. Only Serbia fashioned this way can have resources and instruments to defend its interests and national rights.
Tadic reminded the present officers that the reforms have seen many challenges, ups and downs and deficiency of material resources, but that we were also coming close to full professionalization of the army in late 2010 early 2011. This means that general public will have insight into all the military activities.

The army should not be isolated for the Serbian society under no circumstances, as Tadic underlined stating that he as the Supreme Commander was at the officers’ disposal.