15.03.2011.
Odbrana Magazine in its 132nd issue of 15 March
Minister of Defence Dragan Sutanovac met with the Nigerian Minister of Defence, Prince Adetokunbo Kayode. On this occasion they signed the defence cooperation agreement between the two countries.
Within the policy of a balanced regional development, and in the interest of the Serbian Armed Forces and the local authorities, the Serbian Government invests in the conversion of the military airport Ladjevci. This is one of the priorities when speaking about the infrastructure projects this year, Minister Sutanovac said during his visit to the airport. On 2 March, the Military Medical Academy marked with a series of celebrations 167th anniversary of the existence of this medical establishment. On that occasion, Defence Minister Dragan Sutanovac opened the Centre for Hyperbaric Medicine, the first of its kind in the military hospitals in the country.
On 28 February, Members of the National Assembly adopted the decisions of the Government of Serbia according to which the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the Police Forces are going to take part in the multinational UN operations in Congo, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Lebanon, Cyprus also this year, and, for the first time, in the Middle East and in the European Union peacekeeping missions in Somalia and Uganda.
Celebrating 161st anniversary of military education, Serbia can be rightly regarded as the leader in this field in the region. The reform of defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, which has been carried out in recent years, did not bypass its educational system either, especially the Military Academy, that hive of military knowledge. In an interview with Brigadier General Dr Mladen Vuruna, Commandant of the Military Academy, we attempted to unravel the secret of its increased attractiveness among the high-school graduates.
The White Paper of Defence of the Republic of Serbia, its significance and contents, which, in addition to its historical thread, and inevitable links between the past and the present, provides high-quality and modern projection of the defence policy, based on strengthening our own defence capabilities, European foreign policy orientation and cooperation with democratic and peaceful states, were the themes of the speeches by the state secretaries in the Ministry of Defence Zoran Jeftic and Tanja Miscevic, Major General Bozidar Forca, Head of Strategic Planning Department, and Prof Zoran Dragisic with the Faculty of Security Studies, on the occasion of its promotion in the House of the Serbian Armed Forces in Belgrade
According to surveys, the Serbian Armed Forces is the institution of the utmost reputation in Serbia. The respect of citizens is shown in the desire of young people to wear uniforms and become a part of the defence system maybe better than in the statistics. Some see themselves as professional soldiers, some as officers - the officers or NCOs, while some wish, although they are not obliged by the law to serve the voluntary military service.
On 4 March, world agencies reported that Mikhail Simonov, chief designer of the Sukhoi Design Bureau died at the age of 82. His main achievements in the professional field were designing the family of combat aircraft based on the Su-27 and a series of acrobatic aircraft Su-26, Su-29, Su-31 and Su-49, designed for the soul and the prestige of the Russian pilots. Before his retirement, Simon managed the construction of technological demonstrator of fifth-generation fighter Su-47 Berkut with its forward-swept wing.
In his interview for ODBRANA magazine, Zoran Zivkovic, one of the most translated Serbian writers, says that what makes his prose receptive and readable throughout the world is plunging into the topics that we all share as human beings, no matter what our ethnic, religious or any other prefixes are. Faced with limited existence in time and trying to grasp some sense of our own existence, we all stand before the same mirror of hopes and fears.
The theme of the new feuilleton is – Five Bombings of Belgrade. Only in the 20th century Belgrade was horribly bombed and destroyed five times. There is no capital, probably not any other city in Europe, that had such a bitter experience in the last century of just finished millennium. Just as if some evil destiny determined that every generation of the citizens of Belgrade had to pass atrocities of bombings, killings and destruction of their city in those "suffering" ages.
New venture of Goran Todorovic Faca in Cuba. The first international diving expedition for people with disabilities, whose member was also the former member of the 63rd Parachute Brigade, went down to 36 meters below the surface, met with a shark, seen the magical world of the depth of the Caribbean Sea ... The mission has shifted the boundaries of human ability.
In this issue – special contribution – ARSENAL NO 51.
ODBRANA can be purchased at newsstands of STAMPA and FUTURA PLUS and in the "Military Book" store in Vasina 22 in Belgrade at a price of RSD 100.
