President Milanović in Delnice: Croatian Army Special Forces must not depend on donations but priority must be in equipping themselves
The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović attended in Delnice a celebration marking the 32nd anniversary of the formation of the Croatian Army Special Forces and Special Forces Command Day. He told members of the Special Forces they are an elite unit in a difficult and unenviable military profession.
“Choosing this profession speaks of the people who chose it. In light of their tasks, which are the hardest, and the values – the spiritual and material ones they defend – and for which it’s expected they will risk their lives, these people cannot depend on the donations we will get”, President Milanović noted, adding that the resources these units dispose of generally are not strategic and not the most expensive, and that this is a topic for politics and a decision on setting priorities.
“I have a deep respect for those who have chosen such a difficult and perilous job. When military technology is the issue, people think: the fewer risks possible so that as few people as possible die. This has proven to be beneficial and efficient in wars where opposing sides are unequal. In wars where opposing sides are equal, the best people, young people, quality equipment and many people are required, a small number of people is not enough. But that small number of key people are you who perhaps make the key difference, maybe even between victory and defeat, life and death”, President Milanović noted. He assessed the military profession in today’s trend and directions of development of the army and doctrines as deadly dangerous. He said he would continue to see to it that those who are essential be treated in a special way since they are an elite group.
“Your primary task is the defense of Croatia, Croatian sovereignty, territory, population, the political order, the democratically elected government and the Croatian constitution”, he told members of the Special Forces, and added that everything else are extras that demand our loyalty and good faith, meaning the international alliances in which we participate. “We don’t take them lightly, it’s no joke, but Croatia comes first. I wish you a happy Special Forces Command Day, and am deeply grateful to all those who have laid down their lives in the Homeland War and to those who survived and are with us here today. And to you who are here today, who wear the Croatian uniforms and whose lives, I hope and trust, will never be in danger”, the President stated in concluding his address.
Following the celebration marking the 32nd anniversary of the formation of the Croatian Army Special Forces and Special Forces Command Day, President Milanović paid tribute to the fallen members of the Croatian Army Special Forces by laying a wreath and lighting a candle beneath the cross in front of the memorial room in the “Stožerni brigadir Ante Šaškor“ barracks. In the President’s delegation at the wreath-laying were the Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Lieutenant General Siniša Jurković, the Commander of the Croatian Army Lieutenant General Boris Šerić, the Commander of the Special Forces Command Colonel Ivan Miloš, the Deputy Commander of the Special Forces Command Lieutenant Colonel Ante Carminatti, and the Adviser to the President for Defense Ivica Olujić, the Head of the Military Office of the Cabinet for Defense and National Security of the Office of the President Rear Admiral Predrag Stipanović and the Aide-de-camp to the President of the Republic Colonel Vlado Čulina.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Dario Andrišek