31.03.2018.
Minister Vulin: Serbia is investing in the best
Two days ago, a military police member from Cobra unit prevented an armed robbery while he and his family were buying things at one of the capital city supermarkets. On that occasion, he disarmed the robber who was under drugs threatening by a pistol and trying to steal money from the cash register.
Also, members of the Military Police, during their regular patrol, found a man who was in a bad condition after a car accident and had a larger amount of money with him. As the procedure requires, members of the Military Police took care of the injured with the help of an ambulance, and the money was handed over to members of the MoI, who later returned it to the injured man.
Shoulder to shoulder with professional athletes, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces participated in the 25th Novi Sad Half Marathon and, in the competition of more than 1,000 competitors from 24 countries, they achieved great success. In the men's competition, Private First-Class Miroslav Marković from the Training Command passed through the goal of this most demanding disciplinewith time 1:14:50. In the women's competition, he was followed by civilian Ksenija Bubnjević, a member of the Military Academy team, who also won the first place.Today, Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and the Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Ljubiša Diković, arranged a reception for them, and they were awarded for their brave performances and demonstrated sporting success a free stay on Mt Tara. In addition, one member will be decorated, and two of them will be extraordinarily promoted.
Minister Vulin congratulated military athletes and expressed his gratitude to members of the Military Police for showing courage and dedication, stressing that they show what is best in our Armed Forces.
- The Serbian Armed Forces is loved and appreciated, the Serbian Armed Forces is the most respected institution in our nation, but it is not only because of our history and our tradition, it is not only because of our weapons, it is not even for our training and quality we manage to achieve. It is, in the first place, because of the people. It is, first of all, because of the fact that when someone is a member of the Serbian Armed Forces, you know that this is a good man, you know that this is a worthy man, you know that this is a man who is able to sacrifice himself for his country, you know that it is a man who did not choose the Serbian Armed Forces as a job, but as a mission, as his life. The uniform you are wearing is not just an indication of a working uniform. The uniform you are wearing is a sign of life calling, determination, the desire to serve your country, forever. And when you do what we all expect of you and what you always say in modesty – any other member of my unit would do the same, any other man wearing uniform would do the same – we want to show Serbia what kind of people it has and who should it be proud of; to know who is guarding it and who is defending it – Minister Vulin said.According to his words, just as we show our top athletes, who are competing, not with those who are better than them, but also with those who have much better conditions than them; they prove that those others are not better and prove that they can master everything those others can master as well, with much more support and with much more preparations than the military athletes have. The Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces are to help make this difference equal, and there is no doubt about everything else, Minister Vulin added.
The Minister of Defence pointed out that special attention was paid to expressing gratitude to these people, improving the material position of all members of our armed forces, through the increase in salaries, daily allowances, as well as through mass housing construction, through improving working conditions, through new uniforms, through new boots, through new weapons.
- But nothing of that would be enough and it will not be enough if we do not have such people. Serbia needs to see what it is investing in. Serbia invests in the best also because that investment will always return and will always return much more than we give. Strong Serbia, strong Armed Forces, satisfied military is a guarantor of peace and guarantees stability - Minister Vulin concluded.
Master Sergeant Zoran Janković, serving in the Cobras Military Police Special Operation Battalion, disarmed the robber during the shopping at the store.
- It was an attempt of an armed robbery at a store. It was a person who was a registered drug addict, in his twenties. I was shopping with my wife, when he appeared, he approached the cashier and started pulling out money from the cash register. At that moment, the cashier started shouting at him. I tried to get behind him and while it all happened, he pulled out a gun and then the shop assistants and the cashiers withdrew, and he started to run and at that moment he came upon me. He pointed the barrel of the gun to me and said: “I got a gun, I'll shoot!” At that moment, I reacted, as I learned in the Cobras, I pushed the barrel of the gun away from me, struck him on the hand, kicked the gun out from his hand, took the necessary police actions, disabled him, and waited for the arrival of members of the MoI, who took him over - Master Sergeant Janković describes his experience, adding that this may sound simple, but in those few moments, he reacted in accordance with the training that he passed in the Cobras unit to which he belongs.He adds that at that moment he felt no fear, but that his goal was to direct the attacker towards himself, to disable him, and to protect others who were at that moment in the shop from the danger.
Private First Class Đuro Borbelj from the 18th Engineering Battalion from Novi Sad won the first place in the 10.5 kilometer run discipline in Novi Sad within the 25th Novi Sad Half Marathon.
- I triumphed there three times, so that was not unknown to me, and I am satisfied with that result, Private First Class Borbelj stressed.
Speaking about the possibilities for being involved in professional sports in the Serbian Armed Forces, he emphasizes that since it has been allowed to spend three hours during the working hours dedicated to training, he achieves better results, which can be seen in his performance in the competitions.
Lieutenant Nevena Jovanovic from the Cobras Military Police Special Operation Battalion participated in the Timisoara 21K race in Timișoara, where she won the second place in the of 10.9 kilometre run discipline, which was also her best result in this discipline.
- This result shows progress in training and I am very satisfied with this performance. Being involved in professional sports in the army is very demanding and requires a lot of time and needs a lot of will and determination - Lieutenant Jovanović emphasizes.
Lieutenant Colonel Nenad Milosavljević from the Department for Training and Doctrine of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces spoke to the Minister and the Chief of General Staff on behalf of military athletes and members of the Military Police, expressing his gratitude for the attention paid to the sporting success of the members of the Serbian Armed Forces and the brave and humane accomplishments of the members of the Military Police.
- The success of our athletes at the recently held 25th Novi Sad Half-Marathon is not a coincidence, it is the product of a systematic work, but also of the high support provided by the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces to our athletes, starting from the Delegation of the Republic of Serbia to the Military Sports Committee, to a series of measures that the Serbian Armed Forces is taking to ensure better conditions for the preparation of top athletes and sports teams - Lieutenant Colonel Milosavljević said, adding that military athletes are at the same time members of the national team of the Republic of Serbia in athletic competitions, and their success is even greater when considering that these are not “uniformed athletes”, but professional members of the armed forces who carry out tasks at their assigned positions.
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