15.07.2011.
Interview with Lieutenant General Petar Radojcic, Director of the Defence Inspectorate, for "Odbrana" magazine
SCANNING THE SYSTEM
We are confident that the state and military leadership needs to know the real situation, and to be warned about the flaws, failures and irregularities, so that they can take decisions whose implementation would eliminate the causes of harmful effects on the preparations for defence, operational and functional capabilities of the Armed Forces, material and financial operations or the available human and material resources.
Fulfilling its purpose, which is carrying out inspection tasks in the field of defence, the Defence Inspectorate operates in function of gaining insight into the condition and capabilities of the subjects of inspection, provision of expert and objective information to the management and command bodies and detecting of violations and drawbacks, but, what is also important, proposing or ordering measures for their elimination. This certainly strengthens the responsibility of the members of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces, but the listed tasks also relate to the state of preparations for defence in great technical and technological systems of Serbia.
We are talking to the Director of the Inspectorate, Lieutenant General Colonel Petar Radojcic, who has been in office for two years, about those topical issues that support the strengthening of the position and the role of the Inspectorate and changes made to that effect. General, let's start from the organizational changes and structure that should follow the changes in the defence system?
- In addition to the requirements of the defence system, we adjusted these changes to the needs and regulations on the controls, internal organization and formation job positions. Thus, in early 2010, we transferred from sector-oriented organisation to department-oriented one, which was improved in May this year. It is characterized by, above all, functionality and rationality. Seven internal units, designed for inspection tasks, in certain areas – the capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces and operation of the internal units of the Ministry of Defence; material and financial operations and construction activities; preparation for defence and obligations of defence and protection of resources; as well as support (for general, legal and financial affairs).
For specific inspection activities, inspection teams are formed, or individual inspectors are designated. Depending on the subject of control and contents of the inspection, the teams may involve also inspectors on invitation, from other organizational units of the Ministry and the General Staff, as well as from inspection services and bodies of other ministries. This contributes to more quality and more objective view of the situation in the subjects of inspection and areas of execution, thus achieving significant contribution to the defence system.
Earlier we wrote about corruption in the system, abuse of office, illegal resolving of housing issues, financial damages due to bad contracts ... What are the illegal activities that we can talk about now?
- There are no "new illegal activities." They are the same, only the form, sometimes, changes. Even today we find deviations from the Law on Public Procurement, harmful effects of "bad" contracts, improper use and disposal of entrusted property, as well as the incomplete implementation of regulations governing specific fields of material and financial operations and construction activities.
Detection of corruption in the public sector is a complex, demanding and responsible activity. In most cases, corrupt action does not leave any trace of the existence in documentation, which not only makes difficult the detection, but also the conduct of investigative and evidentiary procedures. The same is true with the defence system. Corruption exists in different forms, where the integrity is threatened, where the law is not (or not sufficiently) complied with. Therefore, attention is given to the measures and activities for its timely detection and prevention. It is a continuous process, just as corruption is a constant danger for the country and its integrity.
The complexity and dynamics of the military system, objectively, prevent the implementation of complete control in all its units. Therefore, the control is based on the previously identified key areas which include the largest expenditure of state money for the Armed Forces. For example, several contracts for the procurement of arms and military equipment, medical equipment or the construction of several buildings may have much larger share in the total expenditures with much more financial resources than the regular daily activities of units and institutions in a given period. There are thus located the main centres of spending the budget funds, but there is also our control.
What are the most common failures?
- Regarding the current failures and illegal acts that cause damage to the Ministry of Defence, I will mention a few: inferior quality or omission of a list of movables (weapons and military equipment) and energy sources; deviation from the prescribed public procurement procedures (in some stages); implementation of pre-trial procedure at construction and adaptation of military facilities, based on incomplete investment programmes, and tactical and technical requirements of the user, without having passed a decision on the construction (for new buildings) and compliance of city plans with issued building permits (causing frequent changes in the contract); superficiality or lack of control by the superior commands and directorates, during and after the liquidation of the material and financial operations, and disbanded reorganised structures and so on.
Certainly, these are individual cases, not a phenomenon. Encouraging is the trend of decreasing activities causing adverse effects, although we do not work and we do not live under the illusion that the illegal action can be eradicated. We strive to give our contribution to the establishment of financial discipline in budgetary spending.
The Inspectorate has a role also in promoting some important democratic institutions such as the protection of human rights and civilian control of the defence system. Specifically, how could you help a member the Ministry and the Armed Forces if their rights are violated?
- Respect for human rights of members of the Armed Forces is conditioned by the degree of the level of the society democratization. We are bearing in mind that we are a country in transition which conducted the defence reform and recognized the essence, a true commitment to democratic values of the members of the Armed Forces.
Completed harmonization of regulations and normative-legal regulation in the field of defence with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia, adopted military laws in the National Assembly, and the fact that the NGO sector has also participated in their development in cooperation with the Geneva Centre for Democratic Control of Armed Forces, represents significant progress in acceptance of general principles of democratic control of the Armed Forces.
As regards the protection of individual rights, the task of the Inspectorate is not to protect the rights of the members of the Armed Forces. However, persons who believe that some of their employment rights have been violated may contact us and they do so. In the performance of inspection duties, the inspectors are authorized to submit proposals for instituting an appeal against the responsible persons and to order the removal of the established violation of the law governing the rights and responsibilities of the professional members of the Serbian Armed Forces.
Otherwise, during the regular inspections we perform an anonymous survey on issues in the domain of exercising their rights, so that from the surveys we can see the attitude towards this issue. If we estimate that someone has been exposed to a poor and unfair treatment, we can initiate an investigation, but we are not authorized to conduct it on our own, independently, and our recommendations and orders are not binding on the judicial bodies.
So far we have not identified cases of violation of human rights as defined by the Constitution and the laws, and most often the issues for which the members of the Armed Forces file appeals are in the field of their legal working status, housing and exercising their economic and social rights.
According to the findings of the inspections, where should the work on improving the defence system be faster? What are the proportions of subjective and the material constraints?
- Scope of work of the Inspectorate includes inspection of a part of the defence entities, while other structures of the society (government, companies, citizens) also have their place and role in improving the system.
Certainly, material restrictions have been negatively reflecting on the development of operational and functional capabilities of the Armed Forces for many years. The pace of modernization with modern arms and military equipment and improving the material base of training has been slowed down. This is expected and we are aware of the inability of the state to fund all the needs, especially in the current economic conditions.
But it is necessary to speed up the process in the development of interoperability, raising physical capabilities, and improvement of functional and operational capabilities for the implementation of the defined tasks and missions.
There are subjective constraints, and they are usually the result of insufficient knowledge of what is prescribed, the negligent attitude of individuals toward tasks and responsibilities, lack of coordination, lack of quality control and insufficient use of acquired, owned and foreign experiences.
Where are the gaps most notable?
- The gaps are most notable in the training process, both in the transmission, and the acquisition of knowledge. I will list a few: night training and training in the conditions of use of CBRN weapons are rarely conducted; training of units to perform tasks of the third mission is not covered by the training programs; collective training is completed, usually at the level of a platoon (collective training criteria/standards have not been adopted yet), "the Instructor model" of training is not sufficiently developed; training of reservists is not conducted; and the project of active reserve has not been put into operation yet, and so on.
Removing these and other subjective shortcomings and gaps does not require significant funds, but it requires designed, coordinated and planned action by the relevant commands and organizational units of the General Staff and the Ministry of Defence.
What is the procedure in case of findings that the work of individuals was inconsistent with the law? And what is the range of possible sanctions?
- The procedure is simple and is stipulated by the law on Defence. The inspectors and persons authorized to do the inspection activities have the right, but also the obligation, to submit proposals to institute disciplinary, misdemeanour, criminal or other liability against responsible persons in accordance with the law. So, the inspectors are authorized to institute all types of criminal proceedings against the responsible persons, by filing appropriate applications before the competent authorities and the courts, in accordance with the laws governing specific fields, and to order the initiation of proceedings for damages against anyone who has done damage to the property of the Ministry Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.
The range of possible sanctions, if implemented, is deterrent for violators of regulations: from fines for minor disciplinary violations and economic offences and misdemeanours, to termination of service and loss of rank, for a serious disciplinary offense or to imprisonment, for serious economic crimes and crimes. What sanctions will be imposed on the responsible person does not depend on the Defence Inspectorate, because it is the responsibility of military disciplinary courts, for disciplinary offenses, and regular courts of the Republic of Serbia, when it comes to violations, economic offences and criminal acts.
Improvements of the operational and functional capabilities in the Serbian Armed Forces are changing rapidly, adapting to contemporary requirements. What are findings of the Inspectorate on the functioning of this important segment, as we now have a professional military?
- Building a professional and efficient Serbian Armed Forces, materially and financially sustainable, interoperable with the militaries of partner states, modernised and able to carry out their missions and tasks, is a demanding process, that is, continuously, upgrading and improving, in accordance with the estimates of the development of geopolitical, social, military security, scientific technological, military technical and other processes, and material capacities of the country.
It should be noted that the process of professionalization has not started with the abolishment of compulsory military service, but it started before, creating the conditions for its implementation.
Moving to a model of a professional military requires, among other things, more modern approach to training management process. The advantage is the possibility that the commanders, after the evaluation of training level of their troops for the successful implementation of the assigned missions, determine the focus of training in the future.
Suspension of compulsory military service influenced the presence of the professional soldiers in training because of their increased involvement in safeguarding of facilities, as well as their involvement in other tasks related to the daily functioning of commands and units. Such defects can be avoided by proficient planning.
There should certainly be emphasized the improvement of interoperability, which is reflected in the adoption of internationally accepted procedures and raising the level of knowledge of English language.
Sloppy records of purchased and assigned apartments in the defence system were previously mentioned. Is there now a single record and is there any order introduced now?
- There have always been more or less objections to keeping the said records up to date, or the distribution of flats. As a rule, they were coming from people who thought they were damaged, by omission or wrong doing of persons in charge. There are also complaints and grievances also today. Compared with the period few years ago, one could say that they are sporadic. It is certainly a result of efforts of the current management in the Ministry of Defence, that, the law is respected and accountability is increased at all levels, both by the bodies and the individuals, in every workplace, but also the housing problem to be alleviated by allocation of apartments, granting subsidized housing loans and grants (to retired persons, who have not resolved the housing issue yet).
Actions have been undertaken to evict illegal tenants in the flats from military housing fund, and update records of housing units.
Notable progress has been made in establishing order in this area, after the formation of the Department for Tradition, Standard and Veterans in the Human Resources Sector.
For all these tasks, how many people is needed, and how many are there in the Defence Inspectorate now? Are you satisfied with the human potential, given that there were changes in the composition?
- After analyzing the organizational structure of the Inspectorate, in late 2009, it was concluded that a proportion of the formation job positions, and therefore a proportion of the personnel, it is not necessary, as they can be engaged, if necessary, from other units of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces. Certainly, there were individuals whose presence was not felt, and their absence was not noted, either.
By organizational changes in the first quarter of 2010, the strength of the Defence Inspectorate was reduced by 30 formation job positions (37.5 percent) – from 80 to 50. Quantitative structure did not adversely affect the qualitative one; on the contrary. The rationalization gave rise to quality. It was an opportunity to carry out personnel changes and rejuvenate the composition. Namely, certain inspection activities required younger personnel, physically more capable, with fresh knowledge, new experiences, more motivated. The number of colonel-rank positions was halved.
In performing the jobs from the functional competence, cooperation with inspection services in other ministries of the Republic of Serbia was realised, as well as with reference laboratories and institutions. Integrated inspections have been carried out since the last year.
After two years in this post, I can say that a progress has been made to bring the required results. I hope and believe that we have justified what was expected, although there is room for more and better.
To what extent the Defence Inspectorate retained autonomy in its work, which is an important prerequisite of a successful work?
- Inspection, as a government authority, is completely independent from the chain of command in the Armed Forces, with the Director reporting to the Minister of Defence. Members of the Inspectorate are expected, in addition to the necessary expertise, to be principled in carrying out the inspection tasks and objective in findings and presentation of situation and capabilities. This would not be possible under expressed impacts, which would limit the scope and content of supervision, or lead to deviation from the prescribed criteria and standards.
We are confident that the state and military leadership needs to know the real situation, and to be warned about the flaws, failures and irregularities, so that they can take decisions whose implementation would eliminate the causes of harmful effects on the preparations for defence, operational and functional capabilities of the Armed Forces, material and financial operations or the available (human and material) resources.
I have no bad experiences with regard to independence in the work, both my work, and the work of the Inspectorate as a whole. On the contrary, we have the necessary conditions for unimpeded engagement and that is good.
Radenko MUTAVDZIC
Photo by R. POPOVIC
HISTORY
The beginnings of the inspection activities date back in the Kingdom of Serbia, in 1894, when the "inspectorates" were introduced, and in 1911 "The Main Inspection for the entire Army" was formed. Further development followed in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, through Inspection of Arms (1919-1923), Inspection of Ground Defence (1930) and Supreme Inspection of the Military Force (1940).
In the post-war Yugoslavia, the YNA Main Inspection was formed (1949). Later, it was reostructured into the General Inspection of the Armed Forces (1967), and General Inspection of National Defense (1970).
The period after the 1993 was characterized by the fact that the Federal Ministry of Defence and General Staff of the Yugoslav Armed Forces had their inspection bodies.
Inspection of the Yugoslav Armed forces was restructured in 2002 to the Defence Inspectorate, as an organizational unit of the General Staff reporting directly to the President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, to be re-subordinated in the following year, to the Supreme Defence Council.
The next organizational up-building followed in 2005, when the responsibilities (in the field of material, financial, commercial building inspections and preparations of the society for defence) were assumed from the disbanded Inspection of the Serbian and Montenegrin Ministry of Defence.
Finally, according to the Law on Ministries in 2007, the Defence Inspectorate was defined as an administrative body within the Ministry of Defence. A regulatory framework was established, as are the Law on Defence (December 2007) prescribed the inspection activities in the field of defence.
PLANS
The Defence Inspectorate carries out, primarily, regular inspections – based on mid-term and annual plans. They cover all areas and, in a five-year cycle, all organizational units of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces.
In order to achieve or complete an insight into the state of the controlled entities, at the request of the Minister and the order of the Director of the Inspectorate, extraordinary inspections, which are not covered by the plan, are carried out.
If necessary, the minister receives the information necessary for making decisions or debate in the Assembly or at the Government's meetings.
INSPECTION SERVICES
In the field of defence, inspection activities relate to: preparations for the defence; implementation of decisions and documents of the defence management bodies, labour, material and financial operations and construction activities of the commands, units and establishments of the Serbian Armed Forces, and bodies and institutions of the Ministry of Defence; implementation and coordination of provision of telecommunication and information systems, crypto-protection and other forms of information protection; operational and functional capability of commands, units and establishments of the Serbian Armed Forces; employment status of professional members of the Serbian Armed Forces; safety and health at work, protection against fire and explosion, environmental protection, animal protection and metrology activities; inspection of the implementation of standards and quality control of products and services procured for the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and other duties prescribed by the law.
Accent
Success of our engagement is not measured by number and "weight" of the filed applications. The point is to clearly let know that everybody should and must do their job – for the benefit of the system and for their own benefit.
