24.11.2017.
Marking the Day of the 250th Missile Brigade
Members of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade have marked today the 55th anniversary of their existence in memory of 24th November 1962, when the first unit armed with a rocket system was formed in the former Yugoslav People's Army.
The ceremony in the Belgrade barracks "Banjica" was attended by representatives of organizational units of the Ministry of Defence and General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, commanders of units and directors of military institutions, families of killed members of the 250th Missile Brigade, previous commanders and retired members of the unit and representatives of state bodies and local government.Special welcome words were addressed to guests from the Republic of Bulgaria, representatives of the Air Force Command and First Missile Brigade of the First Bulgarian Army, to colleagues with whom the members of the 250th Missile Brigade have carried out a joint exercise on the Shabla firing grounds on the Black Sea since 2010.
Representative of the Commander of the 250th Missile Brigade, Colonel Milan Popović, reminded that on the today's day in 1962, the first airborne unit - 250th Air Defence Missile Regiment was formed in our area upon the decision of the supreme commander.
- The basic task that was before that unit was the defence of the strategic object Belgrade. By the decision of the state and military leadership, the unit was equipped with “Drina” rocket system, one of the most modern systems of that time, Colonel Popović said and reminded of the further history of the development of missile units in the former armed forces, with the remark that the brigade received the today's organizational structure.He emphasized that the brigade has units equipped with missile systems "Neva" and "Cube", and that members of the unit have always been aware that the accelerated development of aviation assets requires maximum training and practice level.
Training in conditions approximate to those of war came to light in 1999 when, during all 78 days of NATO aggression on our country, the missile units conducted a heroic fight against a significantly larger superior enemy, demonstrating high level of training, maximum sacrifice and fighting morale - Colonel Popović said and added that in this unequal battle, 28 members of the brigade laid their lives on the altar of the homeland
The representative of the brigade commander also pointed out that during the period between the two celebrations, the unit carried out numerous tasks in the field of control and protection of the airspace of the Republic of Serbia.
- In addition to other activities that we have successfully executed, I must especially emphasize conducting of firing on targets at the Shabla firing ground in the Republic of Bulgaria, where members of the 250th Brigade once again confirmed high professionalism and expertise, he stressed, and particularly underlined that this year a very important document entitled "Study of the concept for the development of the branch of AD artillery rocket units", in which the equipping of the branch with modern combat systems of various karstistic and combat capabilities is planned, with the aim of creating more a more efficient and more robust system for controlling and protecting our airspace.
At today's ceremony, the former commander, current deputy commander of AF&AD, Brigadier General Sava Milenković, was seen off from the unit with a convenient gift and the representative of the commander of the brigade wished him a lot of success on his new duty.
Thanking on the congratulations, General Milenković pointed out that he was honoured and greatly pleased that he had the opportunity to be the commander of the famous unit and confirmed that he had done his job the best he could with the support of all his associates, in order to "maintain the great respect that the 250th Rocket Brigade enjoys in the Serbian Armed Forces".After the ceremony and parade of the units, the homage was paid and the flowers were laid on the memorial to the fallen members of the unit.
For the victims and contribution to the defence of the country, the 250th AD Missile Brigade was decorated with the Order of the People's Hero, the greatest wartime recognition, and in 2004, with Gramata of Patriarch Pavle.
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