President Milanović to soldiers in Vinkovci: We owe loyalty to NATO members, but defending the Croatian homeland is above all

“Your first and foremost task, mission and calling is to defend the Croatian homeland, our one and only state we only care about. That is the oath you took. You took an oath to the Croatian constitution and the Croatian homeland”, the President of the Republic and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Zoran Milanović told members of the Croatian Army’s Armoured Mechanized Brigade celebrating the 16^th anniversary of its formation.

He added that “Croatia does not live in isolation because it is a member of international associations, NATO first of all. We owe loyalty to NATO members. We accepted this voluntarily, no one forced us. But first and foremost, your task, your mission and your calling is to defend the Croatian homeland. We can influence this, we have a clear goal, a clear perception and awareness of what it is and is not, where our borders are, who our people are, what our constitution says and the democratically elected order. Everything else is not so clear, more distant and in some way blurred. You have to remember this”, President Milanović stated.

At the ceremony in the barracks of the 5^th “Slavonski sokolovi” Guards Brigade in Vinkovci, President Milanović underscored that we must remember and never forget the Croatian defenders who defended and liberated Croatia. “You stand on the shoulders of your predecessors, the giants of Croatian defense, great Croatian men, people who defended and liberated Croatia in circumstances of an embargo, foreign political ambiguities, a fog that dissipated revealing our true heroes. Those in your unit that are still active are rare”, he noted.

In conclusion he wished members of the Croatian Army’s Armoured Mechanized Brigade to work on themselves as people, both mentally and intellectually, to continue learning and be physically fit. “To be ready, shouldneed be, to defend your lives so as to defend the homeland. Only a soldier that is ready, aware, firm and strong can fulfil his tasks. And this task is the hardest and the job you have chosen is probably the hardest job that exists. That’s a fact. It isn’t an easy decision. I wish you rich meaningful years full of experience, work and satisfaction, but also I wish you peace”, the President stated.

The commander of the Croatian Army’s Armoured Mechanized Brigade Colonel Valentin Skroza addressed the gathering, and said that the brigade is preserving and nurturing the tradition of the Homeland War’s legendary guards units – “Kuna”, “Sokolova” and “Puma”. “The sacrifice made by the Croatian defenders is woven into this tradition and is the foundation on which we are building a strong and modern unit of the Croatian Army”, Colonel Skroza said, and reminded that 571 members of those brigades laid down their lives in the Homeland War, seventeen are missing and 1,888 wounded.

He added that the brigade from its beginning was involved in training and preparing forces to participate in international military operations and peace support operations. “Through international activities we are constantly getting stronger and adjusting to the demands of the contemporary global environment and, by the same token, are strengthening our readiness to defend the Republic of Croatia”, brigadier Skroza noted, and underlined that their main purpose is well trained individuals, soldiers as the foundation of a ready and trained unit.

He mentioned a further important mission of the brigade – assistance to civilian institutions during natural disasters to which the brigade readily provided assistance and achieved cooperation with civilian institutions. As one of the major tasks in the near future for the brigade is the reception and integration of the Bradley fighting vehicle. Members of the First armoured mechanized brigade “Sokolovi” are being educated and trained to use it.

Only with good preparations can we be ready to respond to new challenges thereby actively contributing to fulfil NATO capability goals. Therefore, we will further readily and responsibly carry out our tasks with maximum engagement. We must never forget that we are members of the Croatian Army, protectors of the Croatian people and our homeland who have the greatest expectations from us in difficult times. We must and will always readily fulfil these expectations”, the Commander of the Croatian Army’s Armoured Mechanized Brigade stated.

In the continuation of the ceremony celebrating the 16^th anniversary of the formation of the Croatian Army’s Guards Armoured Mechanized Brigade, President Milanović laid a wreath and lit a candle at the monument to the 5^th Guards Brigade’s fallen members in the Homeland War. Also attending the wreath-laying and candle-lighting ceremony alongside President Milanović were the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces Admiral Robert Hranj, the Commander of the Croatian Army Lieutenant General Boris Šerić, the Head of the Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff Brigadier General Mijo Validžić, the Commander of the Guards Mechanized Brigade Brigadier General Dražen Ressler, the Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command Brigadier General Željko Ljubas, the Commander of the Croatian Army’s Armoured Mechanized Brigade Colonel Valentin Skroza, the First NCO of the Croatian Armed Forces Sergeant Major Dražen Klanjec, the First NCO of the Croatian Army Sergeant Major Dalibor Dumbović, and the Special Adviser to the President for Homeland War Veterans Marijan Mareković, the Head of the Military Office of the Office of the President of the Republic 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 / Filip Glas