12.09.2011.
ONG Comander General Deborah Ashenhurst meets with SAF CHOD General Miletic
Serbian Chief of General Staff . Miloje Miletic, met today with the Ohio National Guard commander Major General Deborah Ashenhurst, which is paying an official visit to Serbia.She led the ONG delegation which is visiting the Republic of Serbia from 10 to 14 September, which will, among other activities, attend tomorrow's brigade staff exercises "Jesen 2011" in Kraljevo.
General Miletic said after the meeting that all those who follow events in the Serbian Army are fully aware that the military cooperation with the Ohio National Guard is really one of the special forms of cooperation established in 2006. in the State Partnership Program.
- Today it serves as a model of good cooperation, which is in the United States rated as one of the most successful coperation programs of a total of 62 such programs. For us it is very important to exchange of experiences with members of the Ohio National Guard in particular when it comes to the NCO corps, training and civil-military cooperation - General Miletic said, adding that the priorities focus on military education and training cooperation.
He expressed his satisfaction that the cooperation with the colleagues from Ohio in this field is the most intensive one. According to him, except for visits and high-level delegation, during a joint Brigade Staff exercise "Autumn 2011" where the guests from America will participate side by side with Joint Operations Command and General Staff of the Army of Serbia, 2nd Army Brigade and Emergency Department of the Serbian Police Force, they will also take part in four seminars in the field of aviation, human resources and logistics.There are currently 28 members of the ONG specialists from different fields who are sharing experiences with the members of our defense system and the Serbian Interior Ministry. The principal issue is to practice emergency response - said the Chief.of General Staff.
General Miletic said that the talks with the U.S. delegation referred mainly to further development of relations within the State Partnership Program, to work together on developing the capacity of the Jug military base, which the General Ashenhurst is planned to visit during the next day. On that occasion the delegation and the action team of the Serbian Ministry of Defence will discuss the development of the base.
- Another topic of our talks was providing "humanitarian assistance" in 2012. year. As General Ashenhurst said during her visit to Kraljevo and talks with the mayor of the city - said General Miletic.
Expressing her satisfaction with being in Serbia, the Ohio National Guard commander Maj. Gen. Deborah Ashenhurst pointed out that she was delighted to have had the opportunity to attend the promotion ceremony of the youngest officers.
- I am impressed at the professionalism of our host s collaboration and exchange of experiences. This cooperation is not only at a professional level, but we also managed to forge new and true friendships which will have influence our private lives, both in Serbia and in Ohio –AS General assessed.
She also pointed out that she was glad to have been given the chance to see the promotion of the first generation of women officers of our army, since she herself is the first woman to command the Ohio National Guard.- The central activity of our cooperation during the visit, which covers five areas, is the aforementioned joint exercise "Autumn 2011" and we are very anxious to see what will be the results of these exercises - said General Ashenhurst, adding that she was looking forward to visiting the JUG military base.
