President of the Republic Attends Croatian Air Force Pilot Wings Insignia Presentation Ceremony
The President of the Republic of Croatia and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović attended a ceremony at which Croatian Air Force Pilot Wings insignia were presented to cadets of the 24th generation of fighter pilots at the “Pukovnik Mirko Vukušić” Barracks in Zemunik. Eight fighter pilots were given the Croatian Air Force Pilot Wings insignia.
In his address, the President of the Republic pointed out that the state should supply the Croatian Air Force with something more modern and new, adding that what we currently have has given its best. He said each commander is as great as much as he cares for his people and “doesn’t treat them like cannon fodder.”
“If we raise that to the level of the state, our state should, I believe it will, invest funds and simply supply the Croatian Air Force with something more modern and new because what we have at the moment has given its best, it completed a sort of historic mission more than 20 years ago,” President Milanović asserted.
We know how procurement went and now it’s ‘time for new times’, the President added. “And that costs, but a state and people who know what they have and know how to safeguard their values will not be afraid of those costs and will pay them,” underscored the President of the Republic.
He emphasized the uniqueness of being an aviator. “There are few of us and we have to invest more in ourselves and we have to take care not to lose people,” President Milanović said, noting that he intentionally uses the word ‘aviator’ because it means a lot more to him than the word ‘pilot’.
PHOTO: Office of the President of the Republic of Croatia / Filip Glas