President Milanović Sees Off Croatian Soldiers to Poland: We honour our obligations to our Allies, but your principal task is the defense of the Homeland
The President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović attended today a send-off ceremony of the 12th contingent of Croatian soldiers who are about to join the enhanced Forward Presence military force (eFPBG-POL) as part of NATO activities in the Republic of Poland.
In his speech, President Milanović highlighted the importance of the professionalism and dedication of Croatian servicemen and women who will perform their duties in Poland. “Be like soldiers, look like soldiers, behave like soldiers. Be exactly the way our girls and boys in Lithuania, whom I saw a few days ago, behave and look like,” he said.
Pointing out that the primary and most important task of Croatian soldiers is to defend their Homeland, the President called on them to be loyal to the Homeland at all times. “Your principal task and duty is the defense of the Homeland, together of course with being loyal to our allies. I can’t stress and emphasize that enough and loud enough,” he said.
The President also pointed to the fact that Croatia holds great respect for its obligations and underscored the need to nurture the culture of having respect for agreements: “We honour our obligations, we do not take them lightly. When we sign something and say something, we stick to it. It’s in our culture.”
Commenting on NATO, the President asserted that it is a military alliance that calls for earnestness and devotion to duty. “We are part of an alliance. You are preparing and training for an extreme emergency, the need to come to someone’s defense in line with Article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty. It’s not a political playroom, it’s an alliance of armies,” he told the troops, adding that one of the goals of their engagement in Poland is acquaintance and cooperation with the allies.
The new 69-member Croatian contingent, which was seen off today to Poland, consists of a self-propelled artillery battalion, a command company, a national enabler element, a mobile medical team, as well as staff in the Battle Group Command and Multinational Corps Northeast Headquarters. Members of the Croatian Armed Forces who are on their way to Poland were also seen off by many of their loved ones who came to the Bilogora Barracks in Bjelovar. President Milanović was accompanied by the Adviser to the President of the Republic for Defense Ivica Olujić, Head of the Military Office in the Cabinet for Defense and National Security of the Office of the President Rear Admiral Predrag Stipanović and Aide-de-Camp to the President of the Republic Colonel Vlado Čulina.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas