03.02.2021.
New issue of “Odbrana“ magazine
If the morning shows the day, the year ahead of us will be much better than 2020 - a year that will be remembered for few good things. This year has started with a mass vaccination, and as announced, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces were among the first to receive the Covid-19 vaccine. In addition to that story, the IN FOCUS section covers a number of current system events which also predict a good year, and one of them is an overview of the presentation of results of the situation, operational and functional capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces 2020 analysis after which the President of Serbia and the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić said that in the previous year, the armed forces had put in a lot of effort, energy and hard work and had been one of the most important institutions, and at the same time they had strived to increase combat readiness and procure state-of-the-art weapons and equipment.
The February issue interviews academician Darko Tanasković, the winner of the MoD’s Plaque for Media Centre Odbrana’s Associate of the Year. According to Dragana Marković, the author of the text, the interview was conceived as a picture of the times we live in and a portrait of a thinking man living in these times. The STANDPOINT section gives an account of winter training, which is planned, organized and carried out by reconnaissance, commando, police and other special units, which perform part of their tasks on mountainous and inaccessible terrain.
The proverbially "rich" SYSTEM section is now even more comprehensive and carefully prepared, so we recommend a series of articles, illustrated with attractive photos by our photojournalists. There is a text by Assistant Minister Nenad Miloradović, PhD, on the importance of the development of the defence industry for increasing Serbia’s defence and technological capabilities, in which he states that in the last five years 178 types of weapons developed by the Military Technical Institute and Defence Industry have been introduced into the Serbian Armed Forces’ armament, including the upgrades of the existing complex combat systems.In the central section of the magazine, along with the 72nd Special Operations Brigade Day, there is an eight-page article about the values, life and training of this elite unit, which recently reclaimed its flag crowned with glory. In addition to conversations with several members of the special unit who agreed to share with us their authentic experiences, incredible photographs that can rarely be seen anywhere give this article a special quality. There is also an article about the Fifth Military Police Battalion, which was declared the best army unit of that size last year, and an article about vessel maintenance in the River Flotilla, with an emphasis on a relatively calm, winter period. The SYSTEM section closes with a story about 145 years of the "General Stevan Bošković" Military Geographical Institute, which earned five times more income last year than any year before, a text about the current situation at the Niš Military Hospital, which is again "at the epicentre of an epic battle" with the coronavirus pandemic, and there is also an account of the celebration of the Media Centre "Odbrana” Day including an interview with this year's winner of the "Ivan Markovic " journalism award, Radio Television of Serbia’s journalist Biljana Radulović.
In the MILITARY TECHNOLOGY section, our associate Vlade Radulović writes about a modern multi-purpose armoured vehicle, the Serbian “despot”, a very competitive vehicle of this class on the market, and in the GLOBAL section you can find out about the future of the military industry. In the same section of the February issue of "Odbrana" there is an article by Slavisa Vlačić entitled "Attack on Oil Refineries", in which this renowned author reveals one of the important episodes of the long-standing local conflict in the south of the Arabian Peninsula between rebel Yemeni factions and the Saudi-led coalition.
In the CULTURE section there is an interview with Colonel Dalibor Denda, PhD, the winner of the prestigious Archives of Serbia annual award and an article about 140 years of the "Official Military Gazette", while in the HISTORY section you can read Aleksandar Životić's text about "King's Commandos", the first special unit of the Royal Yugoslav Army and a text about the anniversary of the raid in southern Bačka.
Indeed, there are many reasons to read the February issue of the "Odbrana" magazine and one of them is the Media Centre Odbrana’s Catalogue.
