President Milanović attends swearing in ceremony of military volunteers in Požega: the defense of Croatia, its borders and residents is the holy duty of the Croatian Army
The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović attended a swearing in ceremony of the 34th generation of military volunteers in the “123rd Croatian Army brigade“ barracks in Požega.
The solemn oath in Požega was sworn today by 73 military volunteers including 54 men and 19 women. The President of the Republic began his address by greeting all the Croatian military volunteers, their families and friends attending the ceremony after a long time since the number of guests had been restricted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been quite a while since the most senior military commanders headed by the Chief of the General Staff Admiral Robert Hranj have been present here in such a composition, and unfortunately, it’s been a long time since the number of military volunteers has been so small. Quite understandably the reason being human – uneasiness, reservation, fear – the war is far, yet not that far from us”, President Milanović stated.
“The oath you have just sworn to the Croatian Republic, its Constitution, its people and its order is not just a succession of words. In fact in a few sentences it is the essence. You have sworn an oath to Croatia, to defend the Homeland, its borders, territory, residents, democratic state authorities from Međimurje to Dubrovnik and Prevlaka, from Baranja and Slavonia to Istria, Dalmatia and Lika. This is the holy duty of the Croatian Army. Everything else is a noble and welcome addition of alliance, loyalty, sincere relation with others and the expectation of the relation to be reciprocated. But above all it is the defense of the Homeland”, President Milanović noted.
Furthermore, he said he believes and expects that in several months’ time there will be a new more numerous generation of military volunteers. “One has to work on it, it cannot happen just by itself and I congratulate you on this because you have made this decision in complex circumstances. Many hesitated, I don’t condemn them. I am confident that things will be different in six months’ time, that the world will be more peaceful and more normal as it was for the past thirty years. This remains our hope, we haven’t got much impact on this”, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces stated.
“What we can influence is the security of our country, its borders, our citizens and that is your duty, the duty you have sworn to today. I thank you for the bottom of my heart”, the President noted in concluding his address.
Attending the swearing in ceremony of the 34th generation of military volunteers in the barracks of the “123rd Croatian Army brigade“ in addition to the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces was the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj, the Adviser to the President for Defense and National Security Dragan Lozančić and the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War veterans Marijan Mareković.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Ana Marija Katić