Slovak Air Force Black Hawks will be equipped with armament
No. 38 ● Vol. VII ● www.mosr.sk/ebulletin/
(16 September) The SVK Air Force UH-60M Black Hawk helicopters will soon be equipped with armament in order to be capable of undertaking all types of missions. This announcement was made by Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš speaking In Politics, a political debate on the TA3 TV news channel. “An amendment to the Contract has been signed and the helicopters will soon be armed with machine guns and additional equipment,” he said. On new additions, he noted that the 2030 Long-Term Defence Development Plan, which reflects soldiersʼ realistic requirements and the current economic indicators, is driving modernization across Defence. Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš said: “Our aim is to make sure that the domestic defence industry participates in our modernization programmes to the maximum extent possible. Of course, when it comes to the purchase of F-16s, and though this is not about production, intense negotiations on service support have been underway between the manufacturer and the state-owned Aircraft Repair Company Trenčín. I appreciate that SNS Party Leader Andrej Danko has been supportive to us in our efforts to revive armaments production in Slovakia.” He added that up to 800 new jobs could be created. On the 8×8 IFV programme, Head of the MOD spoke of the 8×8 IFV document he would submit to the Security Council and the Cabinet, one which would contain, among others, a breakdown of the price and a list of potential Slovak companies that could participate in the defence project. Specific companies will then be selected in compliance with the Public Procurement Act. “At this point I would like to remind that it is our utmost duty to ensure our own defence, but we also need to deliver on our international commitments,” he said. Also discussed on TA3 were the measures taken by the MOD against the Slovak Recruits organization. The MOD had filed a complaint against the organization with the Prosecutor General’s Office. ● 19 soldiers of the Office of the Slovak Armed Forces Surgeon General are taking part in Ex MEDICAL MAN 2018 on 12-20 Sept 2018 in Hradec Králové, Czech Republic. During the exercise, the V4 EU BG 2019/2 forces and assets are subject to medical evaluation (MEDEVAL) by a team from the NATO Centre of Excellence for Military Medicine (MILMED COE).
Right decisions (14 September) The decisions on defence investments and modernization by the Security Council and the Cabinet, and hence by the Ministry of Defence itself, have so far been right. This announcement was made by Slovak Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini during his annual inspection day of the MOD. He appreciated the MOD’s handling thus far of the largest modernization project – the purchase of the US F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets. On the procurement process of the US F-16 fleet for the SVK Air Force, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini said: “I have received information, including from US authorities, that they highly appreciate Slovakia’s approach, which has been among the most professional ones over the past years and which absolutely dispels any doubts over this transaction.” On the modernization of land forces, Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini hailed the participation of Slovakia’s defence industrial base in the modernization process to the maximum extent possible. “Former Czechoslovakia used to be among the world leaders of the global armaments industry, then we went through a period of total disintegration and collapse, and today we are sort of raising many of our state-owned defence companies from ashes. And I am pleased to say that the more money will go on defence every year, the more money will go on creation of new jobs in the regions.” He reminded that the Cabinet is yet to make decisions on 3D LR radars and 8×8 and 4×4 vehicle platforms. Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš then updated the Prime Minister on the historically most extensive modernization of the Armed Forces, where the current MOD leadership is proceeding systemically and systematically in line with the 2030 Long-Term Defence Development Plan. “Of course, we did not avoid discussing any problematic issues such as the manning issue in Defence. In this regard, we are drafting legislative changes in order to make the service in the Armed Forces more attractive from the perspective of the job market,” said Head of the MOD. On the manning issue, the Prime Minister said that the salaries of service personnel will go up by 10 per cent as from 1 January 2019 and another 10 per cent as from 1 September 2020. Minister Gajdoš underlined that the current MOD leaders are doing their best to live up to their “Everything for the soldier!” motto, while balancing modernization, training and welfare. At the conclusion of his visit to the MOD, the Prime Minister congratulated the SVK Armed Forces as they celebrate 25 years of service to Slovakia this year and thanked all service personnel and civilian employees for performing challenging tasks in defence of the Slovak Republic. Last but not least, he praised the brilliant performance of the Dukla Military Sports Centre sportsmen and sportswomen at world premier sports events.
Last farewell to I. Andrejčák
(13 September) Members of the public said their last farewell to the first Minister of Defence of the independent Slovak Republic Col Gen (Rtd) Imrich Andrejčák at a cemetery in Trenčín. He passed away on 5 September at the age of 77. Col Gen (Rtd) Imrich Andrejčák was born in 1941 in the village of Haniska. He was commissioned as an Army Officer in the rank of Lieutenant in 1961. He was a recipient of numerous military awards and decorations – notably the Order of Milan Rastislav Štefánik, 2nd Class. After the establishment of an independent Slovak Republic, he assumed the appointment of Minister of Defence of the Slovak Republic on 16 March 1993. He held the post until 14 March 1994.
On 13 Sept 2018, airmen from the Helicopter Wing Prešov were involved in a firefighting response to contain a forest fire near the village of Polomka. A SVK Air Force Mil Mi-17, equipped with a Bambi Bucket, deployed at the request of the Firefighting and Rescue Corps. ● A gun salute was fired at the Vrútky Town Cemetery to mark the 60th anniversary of the passing away of Maj Gen Alexander Korda on 13 Sept 2018. The act of commemoration, organised by Commander Self-Propelled Artillery Unit Michalovce Lt Col Roman Bobaľ, was attended by the next of kin Ľuba and Alexandra Korda from London, representatives of the Military Presidential Office, the Czech and Slovak Artillery Association, the Riflemen and Artillerymen Guild, Chief Fire Support Coordinator, Deputy Mayor of Vrútky, and artillerymen of Michalovce. ● An Airbus-321 airliner conducted a flight over NATO Member States in Europe on Wednesday 12 Sept 2018 as part of a demonstration of NATO Air Policing. Slovakia participated in the event with two MiG-29s, which escorted the Airbus-321, carrying 26 journalists from 11 NATO Member States on board, as the airliner flew through Slovak airspace. The event for international media was organised by HQ Allied AIRCOM Ramstein in collaboration with CAOCs. ● On 12 Sept 2018, the Hungarian Ambassador to Slovakia, His Excellency Mr Tibor Pető, awarded the Medal of Merit for Service in Gold to DCHOD Maj Gen Miroslav Kocian and the first Commander NFIU SVK Col (Rtd) Jozef Zekucia for their contribution to strengthening the SVK-HUN defence relationship and for their active role in and dedication to strengthening the cooperation of the Visegard Group. ● A CHOD Military Committee Away Day under the leadership of CHOD Lt Gen Daniel Zmeko took place at Land HQ in Trenčín on 11 Sept 2018. Before the CHOD Military Committee met in session, CHOD Lt Gen Zmeko awarded Commander 2nd Mech Bde Brig Martin Stoklasa with the CHOD Commemorative Cross, 3rd Grade, and Director of the SVK Armed Forces Personnel Office Ivan Sálaši with the CHOD Commemorative Cross, 2nd Grade, to mark his jubilee. ● The SVK MOD urges drivers to take caution as there will be 81 Allied military road movements across Slovakia in the period between 17 and 23 Sept 2018. They will mainly involve US troops in support of Ex Brave Warrior, CZE troops in support of Clear Sing, and troops returning from Ex Toxic Valley. There will also be scheduled movements of SVK Army convoys along the route Levice – Komárno, as well as SVK Army convoys transporting oversized cargo along the routes: Trebišov – Prešov; Martin – Sučany; and Martin – Brezová pod Bradlom.
Ready for defence (13 September) Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš met with 79 graduates of Voluntary Military Training (VMT), who had successfully passed through basic military training. As part of his visit and informal discussion with the graduates, Head of the MOD was keen to learn about their feedback and suggestions that are instrumental to improving the VMT scheme. The 11-week VMT programme covered military drills, marksmanship, engineering, signals, medical and tactical training, live fire drills, and familiarization with duties and responsibilities of soldiers in the field. Over the duration of the training, VMT soldiers were provided with free accommodation, catering, clothing and equipment, and travel reimbursements. On completion of the training they also received more than 1,100 euros. The graduation and promotion ceremony for the 79 VMT graduates, of whom 21 are women and 58 men and who will be promoted to 2nd Degree Private, will be held on Friday 14 September 2018. While 28 VMT graduates are interested in joining the Active Reserves, 27 VMT graduates want to enlist into the Army.
Meeting of SVK and CZE CHODs
(13 September) SVK Chief of Defence Lt Gen Daniel Zmeko met for an office call with CZE Chief of Defence Lt Gen Aleš Opata in Prague on 12-13 September. They talked about the joint training activities in 2019 and the cooperation between the SVK and CZE Special Operations Forces (SOF). The CHODs updated each other on the ongoing modernization programmes and the preparations for the upcoming celebrations of joint historical milestones.
Ex Toxic Valley 2018
(10 September) This year, too, Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear (CBRN) troops are participating along with their allied teams for Sampling and Identification of Chemical Agents (SICA) in Ex Toxic Valley 2018. This traditional CBRN exercise, which began on 10 Sept and runs until 21 Sept, is held at the CBRN Training and Testing Centre Zemianske Kostoľany, with the training audience from 12 countries and 3 NATO training institutions. The aim of the exercise is to practise standard operating procedures and techniques for SICA teams and deployable labs with the use of real toxic chemical substances. During the Distinguished Visitors Day (DVD), the exercise was visited by the British Ambassador to Slovakia, His Excellency Mr Andy Garth, who expressed the British interest in deploying a team on Ex Toxic Valley 2019 and conducting national training at the CBRN TTC Zemianske Kostoľany starting from 2020. Also, he offered training for SVK Armed Forces personnel at the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl), headquartered in Porton Down. Taking part in Toxic Valley 2018 in Zemianske Kostoľany are 119 Allied and 92 Slovak troops. In addition to members of the SVK Armed Forces, Slovakia is also represented by experts from the National Criminal Agency (NAKA).
SVK and CZE Army engineers train on the River Váh (14 September) Members of the Engineer Battalion Sereď and members of the Czech Armyʼs 15th Engineer Regiment Bechyňe practised their basic capabilities in response to domestic crisis management situations, especially on occurrence of natural disasters. Ex River 2018 took place on 9-14 September 2018 in Kráľová nad Váhom. The exercise was aimed at setting up and maintaining river crossings with the use of pontoon bridges. The Officer in Command of the exercise was Lt Matúš Velikov, of Pontoon Company, Engineer Battalion Sereď. In his statement, Col Jiří Lustyk, Commander 15th Engineer
eBULLETIN SVK MoD
Regiment Bechyně, said: “I am very pleased that we have managed to restore our cooperation. It brings a lot of beneficial experience and makes us better prepared to deploy jointly on domestic disaster response operations in one of our countries or operations abroad, if needed. In his statement, Lt Col František Mihalovič, Commander Engineer Battalion Sereď, said: “We have been involved in several training activities with our Czech colleagues. This concerns the training of pontoon units, engineers in the field of demining and demolition operations, and divers.”
10 - 16 September 2018