Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia
 
15.07.2010.

ODBRANA Magazine in 116 issue of 15 July



The highest level of military education, the General Staff education, has been completed by another generation of officers – the 53rd Class of the National Defence School. At the ceremony that is traditionally organized on that occasion at the National Assembly, Serbian President Boris Tadic said that Serbia, in order to have a high international credibility, must participate in peacekeeping operations. No country can deserve respect if it does not take risks on the international level for the benefit of peace and stability. Therefore, the Serbian Armed Forces must be capable of international interoperability, participation in peacekeeping operations, as this is a guarantee that it is able to protect the integrity of its own country.

Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff visited Novi Pazar. – As a part of its activities, the Serbian Armed Forces pays special attention to the underdeveloped parts of our country. In the Sandžak region we can see more roads being reconstructed or revitalized by the Army and we wish to help the local population also in the forthcoming period – Minister Sutanovac said, visiting two sections of the roads on Pešter.

Advanced Command and Staff Course in the National Defence School of the Military Academy has been completed by 63 officers, including 57 officers from the Serbian Armed Forces, three from the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, two from the Montenegrin Armed Forces, and one officer from the Army of the Republic of Macedonia. The best three of them were awarded the officer's sabres by the Minister.

In his interview to ODBRANA, Professor Colonel Bojan Zrni?, Head of the Defence Technology Department of the Ministry of Defence said that the Serbian Armed Forces in the future will have to bridge the gap of technological backwardness in relation to the modern armies. The appropriations for this will be small and will require an effective and transparent process to achieve the desired results. The Department for Defence Technology as well as all the participants in this process must develop their own capacities in order to carry it out in a qualified manner.

Answers to questions how the members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces could solve their housing problems today, what are the difficulties they may encounter on that way and how to overcome them, then, what do the relevant institutions do in order to expedite and streamline the procedures of housing loans, as well as other models for solving the housing difficulties, and what are the concepts of residential care to be applied in the future in the defence system – all these are addressed under the main topic of this issue – the housing problem in the defence system.

Members of the Serbian Armed Forces participated side by side with the US and the Romanian soldiers in the international exercise in Romania - "Saber Down 2010". The experience from such activities brings a realistic picture of what the Serbian soldiers are worth and where are the possibilities to improve their training. This is the only way to achieve the required level of competence for the tasks of the second mission of our military.

From the military airport in Batajnica, on the aircraft of the United Nations, another team of peacekeepers from the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces went off to Chad. There are about 40 members of the Serbian defence system currently engaged in the missions around the world, and the plan is that this year more than 100 Serbian peacekeepers join the "blue helmets".

The practice has shown that many of the skills gained by the young men serving the military in the Logistics Training Centre in Kruševac were very helpful even when they took off their uniforms. Learning foreign languages, IT skills, with the high demands of professions that involve logistics, is a way they boldly go on.

In addition to their regular duties, the members of the First Pontonier Battalion of the Serbian Armed Forces engage in a number of humanitarian tasks, such as saving human lives, livestock and property during natural disasters, primarily floods, which requires great skills and professionalism.

Ten journalists from the editorial offices of the military papers from Austria, Norway, Latvia, Serbia, Slovenia and Croatia within the "EMPA JOURNALIST TOUR 2010" action spent five days in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, walking the roads marked by the history of warfare in the Western Balkans in the recent centuries. Today it is a space of intense efforts to strengthen stability and trust.

ODBRANA in its latest issue informs also about the news in the National Security Strategy of the United States. In the assessment of the contemporary international situation, subject to frequent and unexpected changes and challenges, and the position and role of the United States in it, a sense of certain loss of credibility of the USA in the world as well as loss of their power and influence can be observed, but also the optimism because of the possibility of revitalizing the war-ridden US society crumbling due to the crisis, as well as restoration of the US leadership.

- Countryside is the natural and the most humane possibility for a man to spend his life in an optimal, meaningful and reasonable way. In his direct contact with nature and the land that feeds him, one can best determine where his place is and try to establish harmony between the universe and himself. He can learn the basic laws of life, existence and death – to realize his nothingness and eternity at the same time – Radoš Baji?, an actor, screenwriter and director, says in his interview for our magazine.

Serbian Armed Forces athletes won gold and bronze medals in competitions in running and judo in Sarajevo and Slovenia.

In this issue
- COMPETITION FOR ADMISSION OF CANDIDATES FROM THE SERBIAN ARMED FORCES TO SELECTIVE TRAINING IN SPECIAL BRIGADE

Special contribution – ARSENAL No 43.

ODBRANA can be purchased at newsstands of ŠTAMPA and FUTURA PLUS and at the military bookstore in 22, Vasina street in Belgrade, at a price of 100 dinars.
 
MOD
Ministry of defence Republic of Serbia, Bircaninova 5 street, Belgrade
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