13.09.2014.

Youngest SAF officers promoted

Промовисани најмлађи официри Војске Србије

In front of the House of the National Assembly, today, youngest officers of the SAF have been ceremonially promoted. In the presence of President Tomislav Nikolic, Assembly Speaker Maja Gojkovic, Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic, Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic, Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, international guests, ministers, officials of religious communities and military diplomatic corps accredited in our country, 221 officers have been ceremonially admitted to our military ranks.

The most successful second lieutenants awarded officer sabers by President Nikolic – Aleksandar Borovcanin, who came first in the class, Victor Dzaser Milenkovic, the second, and Milica Radojkovic, the third most successful officer in the 135 class.

Minister Gasic handed pistols with the inscription to the best second lieutenants in their service branches – in the Army – Stefan Slavković and the Air Force – Milos Milosevic.

Addressing the young officers and guests, President of the Republic Tomislav Nikolic reminded that every September we gather together on the plateau in front of the House of the National Assembly led by a strong and sincere desire – to support our children, young officers, in their honourable and courageous commitment to serving their homeland with their vocation.

- To the pride of their parents and all citizens of Serbia, they successfully graduated from the most prestigious military school in the region, the one that has earned its reputation and high rating on the world map of military educational institutions long time ago. That is why the Military Academy has the same importance for the field of education of the Republic of Serbia as the Serbian Armed Forces has for creation and preservation of the state of Serbia. It has existed for more than 160 years, and ever since, its first and foremost task is to create officer staff of high quality – Nikolic said.

The President also said that it was not easy to enrol on the prestigious military school, pass the tests and entrance exams, but the young officers have shown courage and personal strength by believing in themselves enough to apply for the Military Academy.

- Your education lasted four years. You have acquired knowledge and mastered skills which the youngest officers must possess. You have completed only one part of your education, while the second one will last until the end of your service. You are entering the second part of your education as graduate cadets of the school of life, the hardest one to pass because you cannot learn only from books, and it requires the upbringing you received from your parents. On your first officer's duty, when as second lieutenants in units of the Serbian Armed Forces you begin to perform the duties of a platoon leader, you will face challenges and will be making important decisions, upon which successful task performance depends. This often means also the responsibility for what is most valuable for all of us – lives of the people under your command – the head of the state stressed.

He also told the second lieutenants that they will have the opportunity to prove themselves in a new environment, in a military staff, where there is no more safety that allows giving wrong answers as the classroom does.

- Out there, in the training grounds and shooting ranges, under field conditions, any possible error costs a lot. Therefore, good professional preparation for conducting military duties, the one you have received at the Military Academy, is the foundation on which you will build solid walls of personal professionalism by your self-sacrificing dedication in your work - Nikolic pointed out.

The President of the Republic reminded that the Armed Forces uses its resources for the benefit of its citizens and in order to be of help in any trouble that may befall them.

Промоција најмлађих официра Војске Србије

- Members of the Armed Forces stood at the defensive bulwark in the literal sense of the word, fought the water force in Sabac, saving lives in Obrenovac, provided assistance during flood relief. Whenever we told those afflicted by floods that the military was coming, we gave them hope, the sense of security. Through its glorious history until today – the Armed Forces have always stood by their people! - he said.

As he pointed out, Serbia's path towards the EU accession and close cooperation of our country with all the states we are connected with by proven mutual friendship, give the opportunity to our military officers, on a professional level, to meet their colleagues from many countries economically more developed than ours.

President Nikolic also looked back at the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.

- With pride and due respect, we remember our ancestors. Not because of some irrational obsession with the past, but to better understand the history and predict the future, to draw valid lessons for the future of our state and people. So hold tightly the flags that show marks of Serbia's struggle for freedom. Guard them, they are woven from the finest Serbian yarn, they have carried the blood of the wounded and the killed, despair and hopelessness, burned down homes, mercilessly abandoned children and parents, and have brought freedom, the ideal above all ideals - the President said.

Congratulating the youngest officers of the first rank, major general Mladen Vuruna, head of the Military Academy, said the academy, higher education institutions of the University of Defence with a decades-long tradition in education officers, this year completed all tasks.

- The class we are promoting today has achieved a rather high average score during the education, characterized by months spent in training and in units, numerous participations in sports competitions, both national and international, numerous international and public activities where they proudly represent our military and our country. They are the inheritors of the knowledge of famous military leaders and professors at the Military Academy who can and dare to do anything Serbia might ask of them. They possess the honor of a Serbian officer, the assets that are not easily acquired and that must not be lost. In the years to follow, they will confirm their knowledge, personal perseverance and our expectations – Major General Mladen Vuruna concluded.

In the traditional speech of the best in class, Second Lieutenant Aleksandar Borovcanin said that his generation had been born and raised in difficult times, but that the end of those is coming near. Borovcanin thanked the parents of his colleagues, superiors and professors for the effort they have invested in their education and upbringing, expressing the hope that his generation will be a worthy successor to the ancestors and a role model for the descendants.

Second Lieutenant Aleksandar Borovcanin handed over the transition flag of the Cadet Regiment to the female cadet of the 136th class Bojana Regodic, who is currently the most successful one in his generation.

Cultural and artistic part of the programme was marked by the centenary of the outbreak of the Great War. Actor Lazar Ristovski interpreted the speech of General Mihajlo Rasic, Commandant of the Military Academy, whose cadets and professors, together with the rest of the Serbian military, stood at their homeland’s defence. Dramatic text was edited by writer and academician Dobrica Cosic, on the occasion of the 160th anniversary of the military education system in Serbia.

Before the ceremonial parade, the Guard performed a close-order drill.

A few moments before the 135th class cadets traditionally threw up their caps in the air, a MiG-29 flew over the plateau in front of the House of the National Assembly, and pilot Major Dejan Jankovic congratulated the youngest colleagues on their first officer ranks and wished them to serve their country worthily.

Statements

Defence Minister Bratislav Gasic said after the promotion that the powerful emotional charge that filled the air during the promotion left the strongest impression on him.

- For the youngest officers in the Serbian Armed Forces, this is another step in their career and a step towards their full maturity. I am glad that the Serbian Armed Forces has its pride in the fact that young people graduate from the Military Academy ready to face all the problems in life, Minister Gasic said.

Speaker of the National Assembly Maja Gojkovic has followed the promotion of the youngest Serbian Armed Forces officers every year, but this year it is especially dear to her.

- As the Speaker of the Serbian Parliament I am happy that the event took place in front of the houses of the citizens of this state. I was proud of the image of the young military that has been sent to the state and the world, as the ceremony was attended by the entire diplomatic corps and a number of foreign delegations. We have sent out a positive image of smart and young people who are willing to serve their homeland Serbia, Maja Gojkovic stated.

Impressions

Female Second Lieutenants of the 134th class came to experience once again the promotion, but this time not as a part of the parade, but on the "other side of the fence".

- We are here because of our female colleagues who studied with us, and graduated this year, second lieutenants Sladjana Misic and Diana Saric. We know very well how they are feeling today, so we came to share those emotions with them. We leave it to them to discover what awaits them at their first officer duties, Ida Popesku, one of the dozen second lieutenants of older classes today that were in the audience said.

Aunt of Aleksandar Jovanovic, second lieutenant at the Quartermaster Service, has been waiting for this day for years.
- Aleksandar continues the tradition of his family; his father Predrag is also an officer, and his grandfather was also a soldier, in Thessaloniki, says proud aunt, just one of many members of the Jovanovic family who came from Pirot to celebrate with Aleksandar.

In Stankovic “camp”, the joy was no less. Son Nemanja graduated from the tank unit module, and, as mother Natasa revealed to us, the agreement that Nemanja would choose the military career was mutual.
- We had planned this together ever since he enrolled on the Military Grammar School. Then he was young, easy to mold, and we saw the military as an opportunity for him to leave the modest environment that Prokuplje is to some more attractive and prospective life. Honestly, it was not easy. We cried after every Lasta bus that headed for Belgrade those days, but, in the end, it all turned out well – smiling Natasa said.

Helicopter pilot Bojan Stojanovic from Gadzin Han, who was the only one in his family to opt for the officer vocation, was watched by his entire proud family at the plateau in front of the National Assembly.

- After eight years of military education, four at the Military Grammar School and four at the Military Academy, this is the greatest day for me. I am particularly happy that, in the end, I managed to become a pilot, which is something I have dreamed about since I was a child. Today, my dreams have finally come true, one of the few aviators in the 135th class said.

With young second lieutenants, the engaged couple Katarina Radovanovic and Obrad Vukicevic, both families celebrated, with relatives and friends who had come to wish them welcome to the officers' ranks.

- Today our schooling ends, but, hopefully, successful careers for all of us begin. The four years at the Academy was a great experience that will remain as the best memory, Katarina said, and she is not the first female officer in the Radovanovic family; her cousins Sandra and Maja, are also part of the officers' ranks of our military.

- With today’s promotion we have passed the first test of life, and along the road we have gained knowledge and strength for those that are yet ahead of us, Obrad said, adding that his preparations are well under way for his next exam – marriage.