03.11.2020.
New issue of “ODBRANA” magazine
IN THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF THE “ODBRANA” MAGAZINE:
The past month was marked by the live-fire tactical exercise “Joint Action 2020” at the provisional range “Pešter”, which was attended by the entire state and military leadership and the highest representatives of Republika Srpska, and which, according to President Vučić, “confirmed that the Serbian Armed Forces are ready, capable and trained to protect our country”.
The central spot of the IN FOCUS section belongs to the text about the handover of duties of the Minister of Defence that took place on 29 October, when the newly elected Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, was handed over the duties of the Minister of Defence by the outgoing minister, Aleksandar Vulin, who was appointed the Minister of the Interior. The ceremony was held in the Great War Hall of the Old General Staff. During his first visit to the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, where he was welcomed by the Chief of the General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, Minister Stefanović emphasized that he was “deeply honoured to be able to manage a system such as the Ministry of Defence and to be able to help the Serbian Armed Forces be even better equipped”.
In addition to this event, in the IN FOCUS section you can read about the preparations of the government and the military to respond to the current wave of Covid-19. In this section you can also read about a series of activities of Minister Aleksandar Vulin, who wanted to make sure, just before taking new office, that training and the process of upgrading and introducing new weapons into the armament of the Serbian Armed Forces was going according to plan.After the introductory summary of the past month, we recommend that you read the INTERVIEW WITH A CAUSE – with the Commander of the First Army Brigade, Brigadier General Zoran Nasković. In this interview, on the occasion of the upcoming Day of the Unit, he talks about the tasks from all three missions of the Serbian Armed Forces that they carry out daily and especially emphasizes the importance of training, which they devote most of their time to.
In the STANDING POINT section, there is a very comprehensive text about the live-fire joint tactical exercise “Joint Action 2020”, with lots of details and stunning photographs that will make you “hear” the firing of missiles and “smell” gunpowder, just like you had been on Pešter on 10 October, when the fire effect of the Serbian Armed Forces’ weapons was shown.
But that is not all. This important topic is rounded off with ARSENAL which gives a full list of armament shown at the exercise “Joint Action 2020”, which testifies to the power of the armed forces, noting that (out of about 40 aircraft and 150 combat and non-combat vehicles shown in the exercise) a significant number were modernized or brand new systems that had been manufactured in the previous period in the plants of the domestic defence industry or procured from abroad.
In the SYSTEM section, there is a text about the Third Missile Battalion of the 250th Air Defence Missile Brigade, whose barracks, “Major Milan Tepić” in Jakovo, welcomed back “Pantsir S1” from the exercise “Joint Action 2020”, where we saw it at its best. On the occasion of the Day of the 250th AD Missile Brigade, we visited those who were entrusted with these most modern systems, and thus we rounded off the Pešter story.
In the SYSTEM section, read about the sniper training of the Serbian Armed Forces (“one chance shooters”) as well as the engineer corps, whose branch day is nearing, and who are the first to enter the fight and the last to leave it. We also recommend the text about a "three-year trail” of the Central Logistics Base's First Logistics Centre.
In the VIEWS (GLOBAL section), read the text about the military parade in Pyongyang on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the Communist Party of North Korea, which, apart from being organized after midnight, is special because of the way it was held and because the military equipment was displayed in the "Western fashion”. We are almost certain that you will agree that what was shown deserves attention, because it shows a qualitative leap in terms of equipment and armament of that country.
The conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is taking place under the watchful eye of the whole world, could not escape our attention, so we have prepared a comprehensive review in the HOTSPOTS section, which begins with a text by Violeta Rašković Talović, which "opens" the geopolitical aspect of the dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, one of the most notable post-Soviet frozen conflicts, and which is followed by a great analysis by Aleksandar Životić in the PARALLELS section, which focuses on the armed forces of Armenia and Azerbaijan, with a series of data, numbers and comparisons of power of the two countries.
In the inevitable CULTURE section, read the story about the book by retired Colonel Slaviša Golubović, "The Fall of the Night Falcon" (published in 2016 by the Media Centre "Odbrana"), whose Russian edition was recently awarded the "Golden Knight" award in Moscow. In this section you can also read about the exhibition of photographs and documents "War image of Serbia in the Second World War, 1941-1945", opened in the Grand Gallery of the Central Military Club, as well as the review of the monograph "Just War - between Apology and Restraining the War" by Dragan Stanar, PhD, the professor of war ethics at the Military Academy.
On the occasion of the anniversary of the armistice in the First World War, in the HISTORY section of the "Odbrana" magazine, there is an article about Živojin D. Bacić, commander of the 13th second-call Regiment "Hajduk Veljko", who was saved from oblivion thanks to the French writer Marcelle Tinayre and Henri Barbusse, the French war correspondent.
The last text in this issue, prepared by the editorial office of the “Odbrana” monthly, is a report from the "Serbian Armed Forces Cup", which restored the "Karađorđevo" stud farm of the "Morović" Military Institution to its original glory.
