18.06.2015.

Day of 126th VOJIN Brigade marked

The ceremony on the occasion of the Day of Service of Air Surveillance and Reporting and the Day of the 126th VOJIN Brigade was held today in Banjica barracks, and was attended by State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence Zoran Djordjevic, Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, Air Force Commander Major General Ranko Zivak, family members of the killed members and retired members of the service.

Congratulating the holiday to the members of the service, General Dikovic pointed to the importance of the jubilee – 100 years since the foundation of VOJIN Service. He stressed that 1999 was an exceptionally challenging year for the Armed Forces. especially for the members of VOJIN service, who were the first line of defence the entire 78 days of the aggression. With their virtues, he added, they earned their unit the Order of the People’s Hero, which has been the pride of the 126th Brigade to this day.

- I proudly stress that, with your daily work and dedication during the execution of all tasks, you show that you are worthy inheritors of the traditions of glorious ancestors and predecessors, not only those from the times of Putnik, but also those that built the service decades after WWII, and especially of your colleagues, who made your brigade heroic during NATO aggression with their courage and expertise – General Dikovic stated.

Commander of the 126th VOJIN Brigade Colonel Predrag Djordjevic reminded of the rich history and the most prominent moments in the technological development of the service and the brigade whose members are constantly, 365 days a year, active in the on-cal system of Air Defence, conducting tasks from the domain of air space control.

- Between the two holidays, we have improved the operative capability of the unit, and our work and state have received positive assessment in superordinate commands – Colonel Djordjevic stressed, using the opportunity to thank everyone, especially members of the service, who had contributed to marking of the century of the service with their dedication.

Accompanied by General Zivak and Colonel Djordjevic, General Dikovic laid a wreath on the reconstructed monument to the members of 126th VOJIN Brigade killed during the bombing in 1999 in the barracks area, and wreaths were also laid by members of the families of killed lieutenants Zeljko Savicic and Sinisa Radic.

At today’s ceremony, the Memorial Room of 126th VOJIN Brigade was opened and sanctified, and the guests had the opportunity to see the display of a part of equipment of the unit of air surveillance and reporting.

The Day of the Service of Air Surveillance and Reporting – 18 June is marked in memory of the date in 1915, when the Serbian Chief Command issued an order to form permanent surveillance signal stations, for marking of the course of flight of enemy aircraft. Subsequently, several stations were formed in the territory of Drinska, Timocka and Combined Division in the Third Army alone.