19.06.2018.

Commander Air Force and Air Defence Handover Ceremony

Major General Ranko Živak handed over today the duty of the Commander of the Air Force and Air Defence to Brigadier General Duško Žarković, in the presence of Defence Minister Aleksandar Vulin and the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubiša Diković.

On the occasion of his retirement, General Diković conferred the Plaque of the Serbian Armed Forces to General Živak.

As minister Vulin pointed out addressing General Živak, such officers always leave behind them respect of the people they worked with.

- There remain respect, love, gratitude of the people with whom you shared bread, argued, reconciled and shared belief that this country must be better, preserved and defended. Therefore why you can be proud today, and when you summarize what you have done, you can be proud of life, career and Service Branch, which is far better than what you found as you took over the duty of AF&AD Commander. I would like to thank you for years of service, of perseverance and courage, minister of defence said.

General Žarković has all reasons to be satisfied, the minister of defence added, since the beginning of his mandate will be the beginning of a significant modernization of our Service Branch.

- We expect a lot of you - to do your best, to do everything in your power, and more than that, to make the Service Branch better than it was when you took it over. We hope that all you have done so far you will continue to do, even stronger and better. Think about leaving a trail behind you while you are here. I hope that you will finish your career proud and upright, Minister Vulin said, and told all members of the Serbian Armed Forces that our army is developing, strengthening and “that the country we safeguard and defend has a reason to be safe, calm and peaceful as long as it has such an army”.

General Diković spoke about the careers of the two generals, their professionalism, dedication, sacrifice, and his cooperation with them.

- General Živak had a great attitude towards people, I learned a lot from him, especially how to stay stable in all situations. I admired his persistence, because what he had imagined he had accomplished. I would like to thank him for everything he did as a commander and wish him to enjoy his deserved retirement. I would like to tell General Žarković to continue where the previous commander stopped, to realise his ambitions and desires, to protect people, because people are the most important to us, and if people follow him - he is successful. I am sure he will, the chief of the General Staff concluded.

Recalling his beginnings as AF&AD Commander, General Živak pointed out that it was not easy for him, but he pointed out that this was his choice, decision, opportunity and great challenge to cope with difficulty in difficult times, together with his closest associates.

- My motives, over these nine years, to be up to the task as a commander, were the sense of responsibility, the desire to preserve and give AF&AD to the future generations in better status than what we found and our famous tradition and history, embodied in people who were always in the worst moments up to the task, General Živak said wishing General Žarković a lot of success in the position of an AF&AD commander.

General Žarković emphasized that, as the new AF&AD commander, he will require from each member responsibility and maximum commitment to the obligations, so that the efficiency, effectiveness and safety of performing the tasks would be at the required level.

- I am sure that the AF&AD has capability to counter contemporary security threats and that we will contribute jointly to solving all the set tasks, being aware of the tradition, but focused on the future, General Žarković said.