07.05.2014.

Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff visit the Ground Safety Zone

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic accompanied by General Ljubisa Dikovic, Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, and Lieutenant General Aleksandar Zivkovic, Army Commander, have visited today the units of the Serbian Armed Forces in the Ground Safety Zone.

The inspection started at the South Base where General Zivkovic introduced the Minister to the general organization and tasks of the Army.

Defence Minister inspected the accommodation facilities and sports training ground at the South Base. Lieutenant Colonel Vlada Milosavljevic, Commander of the Centre for Training of Units for Multinational Operations, informed Minister Gasic about the plans of the Centre, and showed the Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System – Miles. Members of the Centre have performed a demonstration exercise in which they practically showed the capabilities of the system which has been used in the training of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces as of this year. The Defence Minister has also visited the joint team of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the US Army at the South Base.

In the course of the visit, the Minister Gasic and General Dikovic inspected the members of the Serbian Armed Forces in “Taslak" facility near Bujanovac. Addressing the officers and soldiers engaged in this facility, Minister Gasic said that "he was very keen to introduce the wider public to the efforts invested here by the SAF members performing tasks in the Ground Safety Zone". The Minister added that he assured himself on the spot in the qualifications of the SAF members and their willingness to perform all the set tasks also in the difficult conditions". I am particularly pleased with the fact that you successfully cooperate with local population, regardless of their ethnicity or religion, and provide them with all necessary assistance", Minister Gasic said.

Brigadier General Zoran Lubura, Commander of the Fourth Army Brigade, informed the Minister about the tasks in securing 117 kilometres of administrative line with Kosovo and Metohija and the control of 505 km2 of the Ground Safety Zone. He pointed out that members of the unit are investing great efforts also in the implementation of the activities of civil-military cooperation, ranging from the road construction, forest fire-fighting, water supply in dry periods and medical assistance to the population in remote areas. Minister Gasic attended the exercise where the members of the unit demonstrated combat alert procedure to intervene in the GSZ.

The Defence Minister completed the visit of GSZ with a tour of the "Dobrosin" base, where he spoke with members of the base who demonstrated on that occasion the work of the unit in the event of an attack on the base. The minister looked into all the specifics of the military facility located along the administrative line performing the tasks of the base in which area of responsibility there were most of hostile actions. The Minister was informed that since 2003, there were no attacks on the SAF in that region and is familiar with the organization and implementation of simultaneous patrols of the Serbian Armed Forces and KFOR.

The Minister Defence emphasized on that occasion that it is his first time that he visited the GSZ as minister and that he has chosen himself to go with the Chief of General Staff and members of the collegium and "visit the place where our soldiers have the most difficult conditions of life and work, and this is the Ground Safety Zone”.

"After the inspection I am deeply convinced that the Serbian Armed Forces is maximally dedicated to accomplish everything that the state administration entrusted to it. We will do everything to improve the living conditions in these facilities, but I can see that they are also trying to be at a level of the reputation that the military has. Certainly, in the period to come, we have to take care of the improvement of the status of all the members of the Serbian Armed Forces", Gasic said.

“What I have seen today was entirely according to my expectations. The Serbian Armed Forces is one of the most organized systems in our country. I would particularly like to point out the personnel with the higher education that we have in the Serbian Armed Forces, which has been shown also today when our partners, who are trained for peacekeeping missions together with our personnel, have also confirmed that they have a high opinion of our officers and soldiers", the Minister of Defence pointed out.

Minister Gasic denied that the members of the Armed Forces will leave the base because of training of international forces for peacekeeping missions and stressed that the Serbian Armed Forces and the Ministry of Defence will continue investing in this database.

Chief of General Staff announced that in the south of Serbia in June, a joint exercise of international forces is to be held and emphasized the excellent cooperation with KFOR. "The planned joint exercise with forces from the US European Command, as well as Bulgaria, Romania, Greece and Macedonia", Dikovic said. According to him, the aim of the exercise is to strengthen the collective capacity in times of crisis and concerns the tasks of the "third mission".