06.11.2015.
150 years of the Engineering Service marked
Today, in Novi Sad barracks "Jugovicevo", the Day of Engineering Units and 150 years of existence of this service in the Serbian Army were marked. The ceremony was attended by Defence Minister Bratslav Gasic, Novi Sad Mayor Milos Vucevic, Chief of General Staff General Ljubisa Dikovic, Army Commander Lieutenant General Milosav Simovic, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, municipal and provincial authorities, representatives of public companies and numerous guests.Congratulating the holiday to members of the engineering service, Defence Minister said that the history of the engineering service is written in numerous successes, determination, patriotism, courage and sacrifices of its members.
- Throughout history, the constantly present security risks and threats have caused a serious approach of our country in equipping the army with most advanced engineering resources, education and training of personnel, both in the country and abroad. Today, the engineering units have highly qualified staff capable of good execution of all tasks in regular training and assistance to civil authorities in countering involuntary threats - Minister Gasic said, pointing out that, after the Second World War, the engineering units had built and reconstructed more than 6,200 kilometres of roads, 700 kilometres of railway, built 995 various bridges and 116 tunnels, and thousands of water sources throughout the country have been managed, most of which have been included in the water supply network now used by the population.
Gasic stressed that members of the engineering service during the NATO aggression had successfully conducted tasks on the identification and masking of the forces and resources of our army, and after the end of the war they were also deployed in the task of demining and building and maintaining communications on the bases and to the administrative line.
- Engineering Unit have always been the first in helping the population afflicted by floods, earthquakes and other natural disasters, as confirmed in previous years during the floods in Vojvodina and southern Serbia, as well as the earthquakes in Mionica and Kraljevo, especially last year after the catastrophic floods and landslides that hit western and eastern Serbia and Obrenovac - Minister Gasic said.
Looking back on the history of the engineering units, President of the Council of Engineering Service Brigadier General Petar Latkovic said that, for the creation of a modern and strong state, it had been necessary to create a modern and strong army, in which the engineers had have had an important place.- In the mid-19th century, it became clear that in addition to infantry, artillery and cavalry, the engineering service should also exist as an independent genus in the Serbian army. In response to this need and following the footsteps of the most powerful armies of that time, the pontoon and pioneering units were separated from the artillery into a separate new genus – engineering - General Latkovic said, noting that throughout its long history, the Engineering Service had carried out the replacement of three generations of engineering machinery, of which each new one increased the ability of the service with its characteristics.
The ceremony ended with a parade of troops and tactical and technical gathering that showcased means and arms that are currently in use in the engineering units.
Answering questions from reporters, Minister pointed out that, in recent years, the alienation of facilities from the Master Plan had significantly accelerated, and that the Armed Forces had returned to some, such as in Zrenjanin. He also said that at the moment they considered returning to other facilities as well, but that there was no final decision yet on the subject.- With the help of the Revenue Agency, which is the only one responsible to make an assessment grounds, barracks and facilities, we want to offer as many facilities as possible primarily to local governments that could purchase these objects in five years period with 60 monthly instalments - Minister said, adding that by 2012, the Armed Forces had alienated some objects, but had never received a single apartment or money for them. He pointed out that a single building of the Serbian Armed Forces was to be alienated in the future without the Armed Forces receiving compensation.
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