07.02.2021.

President Vučić: 72nd Special Operations Brigade – a unit Serbia can be proud of

President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, attended today the demonstration of capabilities of part of SAF units in the “Rastko Nemanjić” barracks in Pančevo, entitled “Tip of the Spear 2021”. “

After the demonstration in which members of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, 63rd Parachute Brigade and part of Air Force and Air Defence units participated, President Vučić thanked everybody for showing great dedication while conducting today’s exercise. He added that the state would invest money in the military and the improvement of service members’ standard of living.

- You could already see significant changes in the previous period, but that process must be even faster, stronger and better. We expect you to be the guardians of our country, its integrity, freedom, defenders of our people, guardians of the homeland, protectors of Serbia’s interests and a deterrent against aggressors and anyone who thinks they can attack our Serbia - President Vučić said and also thanked members of the armed forces "for being there for our country in challenging times, not only in good ones”.

The President of Serbia said he was glad that the newly procured modern weapons and military equipment were in use, and added that the 72nd Special Operations Brigade was "a unit Serbia can be proud of".

- I believe that with our additional support and assistance you can achieve even better results. We will do our best for you to take up a respectable position in the society - President Vučić emphasized.

He congratulated the Minister of Defence, Chief of the General Staff and Commander of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade on the excellently conducted exercise.

- It was hard to use helicopters today in the way they were used, and the rest was not easy to carry out either. We omitted parachute jumps so as not to take any risks, not because our soldiers would not be able to do them. For us, the role of the Serbian Armed Forces is really important, especially in today’s modern-world political and security situation which is very complex and in which Serbia must do everything it can to deter every potential aggressor from attacking its territory and citizens. In accordance with that, we will carry on with our policy of strengthening armed forces at a quicker pace, in the hope that the Serbian Armed Forces can be a stabilizer of political circumstances and so that it is clear to everyone that Serbia is not a punching bag and that they can threaten us and attack us like many others did in the past – the President of Serbia said.

He said he was glad that many domestically manufactured products that were in use in the Serbian Armed Forces had been shown today.

- You could see "Miloš" and "Little Miloš" combat vehicles engaging targets such as facilities and enemy manpower. There are currently ten "Miloš" combat vehicles in this unit, and there should be 30 of them by the end of the year, and there are five "Little Miloš" vehicles. You have seen how well equipped and well dressed our soldiers are. I believe we can and must do even better. We need to establish a large centre in this barracks, which is Minister Stefanović and General Mojsilović’s idea. I believe that we will be able to invest a lot of money in providing our special forces with the best conditions for further progress and much more success in the future. I believe that we will provide higher incomes as early as April and that you will have a greater salary increase than the others working in the public sector. Also, I believe that we will be able to keep a large number of people in the military, but also to attract a larger number of people to our armed forces - said the President and Supreme Commander Aleksandar Vučić.

After today’s demonstration, Commander of the 72nd Special Operations Brigade, Brigadier General Miroslav Talijan, presented President Vučić with a dagger with dedication, on behalf of members of the unit.

Today, 115 members of the Serbian Armed Forces participated in the exercise demonstrating the “Destruction of terrorists in urban environment”. At the “Rastko Nemanjić” barracks’ tactical ground in Pančevo, the action of combat vehicles, unmanned platforms and UAV’s was shown, as well as a vertical manoeuvre, breaking into a building, enemy neutralization and IED destruction. When it comes to weapons and military equipment, today we could see combat vehicles such as “Miloš 4x4”, Humvees, “Little Miloš” remote-controlled unmanned platform, as well as drones, Mi-8, Mi-17, H-145M and “Gazelle” helicopters.

Part of weapons, combat vehicles and special equipment has been put to use in the past two years.

The exercise consisted of seven segments: reconnaissance, forming a blockade, attack on enemy forces in rural environment, handling the incidence of vehicle hijack, attack on enemy forces in urban environment, attack on terrorists in an isolated building and destruction of IED’s.

Participants in today's exercise showed excellent training and readiness for rapid reaction, and President and Supreme Commander Aleksandar Vučić congratulated them and assessed the demonstration as "very good".