President Milanović at oath-taking ceremony of soldiers in Požega: You are standing on the shoulders of giants

“The oath you have taken today is your choice, an excellent and honourable one”, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović told members of the 37^th generation of soldiers enrolled in voluntary military training who took an oath in the barracks of the “123^rd Croatian Army Brigade” in Požega.

Noting that this oath is one of the Croatian Army’s fundamental rites, President Milanović underlined that it is very short and clear. “It mentions the Croatian Constitution, the Croatian constitutional order, the democratic order that you are obliged to serve and protect, short and clear. Everything starts and ends there”, the President stated.

“You are standing on the shoulders of giants, your predecessors, who were among the few who had a baptism of fire in Europe in the past fifty years – they waged a real war – and are always in the memory and identity of a small, but for us the only and most important nation – the Croatian nation and the Croatian people”, he noted.

A total of 91 soldiers enrolled in voluntary military training including 75 men and 16 women took an oath today. President Milanović congratulated them, and said he believes many of them will choose the military profession after their training. “The military profession is neither simple nor easy. It is specific, difficult and is not for everyone”, President Milanović noted in concluding his address.

In his statement to journalists, President Milanović added that the army must attract people and give them reasons to choose the military profession. “Conditions have improved somewhat, the Ministry approved slightly higher wages, which should have been done before, but it’s never late. People must be attracted to the military profession and be given reasons to choose it because patriotism is important, it’s a fundamental condition, but it’s not enough”, the President said.

At the oath-taking ceremony of the 37^th generation of soldiers enrolled in voluntary military training were the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj, the Deputy Commander of the GS of the CAF Major General Tihomir Kundid, Head of Personnel the GS of the CAF Brigadier General Ivan Zelić, the Commander of the “Fran Krsto Frankopan“ Training and Doctrine Command of the Croatian Army Brigadier General Željko Ljubas, the Commander of the Infantry and Armour Training Centre Colonel Milan Čorak, the Commander of the “123^rd  Croatian Army Brigade barracks“ Požega Colonel Mile Valentić, and the Commander of the NCO School of the Croatian Defence Academy Colonel Ivica Pejaković.

Accompanying the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces was the Adviser to the President of the Republic for Defense Ivica Olujić.

PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas