01.06.2017.

US Donation for the Serbian Armed Forces

The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, accompanied by the Minister of Defence, Zoran Đorđević, Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Ljubiša Diković and US Ambassador in Belgrade, Kyle Scott, attended today the handover of 19 HMMWV vehicles, donated by United States of America, in the barracks “National Hero Stevica Jovanović“ in Pančevo.

The value of the vehicles handed over for the use by the Serbian Armed Forces is slightly over 3.8 million US dollars, while the overall value of 40 vehicles donated so far by the USA, including this tranche as well, amounts to more than 7.5 million US dollars.

Expressing gratitude for the donation to the Government of the United States of America, the President of the Republic underlined that those were very good vehicles with multiple purpose in both war and peace time conditions.

- For us, for the Serbian Armed Forces, the fact which is particularly important is that the vehicles are highly efficient in close and anti-terrorist combat, and our soldiers are additionally protected, especially in armoured models which possess a very high level of protection, who, as the President pointed out, cannot be harmed even by piercing 12.7 mm.

He underscored that “Humvee” has extraordinary performances; it surpasses slopes of up to 55 degrees and “endures” 30 percent of side slope and it can ford water up to 110 cm.

-This is truly an extraordinary terrain vehicle, and that is also the opinion of our soldiers who feel safe and protected in it and I am very grateful to our friends from the USA for the donation, said the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces who also expressed his appreciation of everything that “the friends from the Guard of Ohio” did in Kraljevo, “South” Base, Sokobanja, Prokuplje, hoping that the cooperation would be continued in the future as well.

President Vučić added that he took the opportunity to ask Ambassador Scott to help, together with the friends from the Guard of Ohio, rebuilding one building in the barracks “National Hero Stevica Jovanović“ , while the others would be renovated from our own resources.

Ambassador Kyle Scott expressed his satisfaction with the fact that President Vučić took the opportunity on the first day on his new duty to attend the handover of the vehicles donated by the United States of Amercia and thanked, as he emphasised, the men and women of the Serbian Armed Forces for their professionalism and dedication to their work and their country.

- Today’s donation reflects a wider military partnership which the United States of America desire to achieve with Serbia. We remain the most active and most engaged partner of Serbia, and the greatest investor in the Serbian Armed Forces as well, by which we demonstrate that our common interest is the regional stability and joint efforts to preserve peace – said Ambassador Scott and expressed his hope that one day we would see the „Humvees“ from Serbia and the United States of America in a joint peacekeeping mission.

He reminded that over last ten years, the USA conducted training of the members of Serbian Armed Forces and provided necessary infrastructure as well as the equipment for the „South“ Base, and covered all the costs of the participation of the Serbian Armed Forces in more than 30 multinational exercises, and that for the vehicles, apart from the training and equipment, the USA provided two years of free service and spare parts.

- In the last decade, the United States of America donated the total of more than 31 million US dollars for support and development of the Serbian Armed Forces - said Ambassador Scott and explained that they were doing that in order to support the same vision set forth by President Vučić in his address in the Parliament the day before.

President Vučić availed himself of the opportunity to be personally reassured about the part of the performances of the „Humvee“ during a short ride. In the forthcoming period, the 19 donated vehicles will be at disposal of the 3rd Army Brigade.