Joy of Lieutenant Marko Markovic
The joyful news that he had become a father came to Lieutenant Marko Mladenovic, Commander to the Mine-hunter 335 of the Riverine Flotilla, during the exercise “Blue Response 2014” on the Tisa River. While departing for the exercise, he joked with his wife Ivana: “Try not to give birth, at any cost, until Thursday, until the end of the exercise and my return”.
However, on the day of the exercise, on June 11, early in the morning, Ivana had to go to the Birthing Center “Betanija” in Novi Sad. And while Lieutenant Mladenovic and his crew were supporting the execution of the riverine landing operation with tactical actions and cannon fire, his wife Ivana gave birth to a little girl.Ten minutes after the signal marking the end of the exercise, Marko’s phone rang. They were calling him from the birthing center to let him know he became a father of little Nadja and that his wife handled the birth well. Excited, he announced the joyful news to the crew of the ship. Staying true to the tradition, the old navy custom when a crew member becomes a parent during the sailing, they grabbed their commander and, with shrieks of excitement and congratulations coming from the other ships, threw him off the deck in the Tisa.
“I was lucky the water wasn’t cold”, Marko said.
While the ship engines were still cooling off, Marko went straight to the birthing center. Still wearing the camouflage suit M10, he watched his little Nadja on the monitor, and there was no end to the joy and happiness followed by a few drops of joyous tears of the proud father.
