06.07.2023.
Communique
Concerning the statement of the Military Union of Serbia, which states that the Serbian Armed Forces are dissolving and disappearing, we hereby underline that those claims are absolutely false, ungrounded and they damage the reputation of the armed forces that should be honoured and protected by the Military Union.
The Serbian Armed Forces have been recognised as the strongest armed force in the region, and that was recognised by influential foreign media that cover military topics such as the site Global Firepower, which has been placing our armed forces, year after year, ever higher at the global list of the most powerful armed forces.
The Ministry of Defence is pleased to state that the Serbian Armed Forces are fully capable of executing all its constitutional and legal roles, and that the situation in the armed forces is, fortunately, quite the opposite of what some irresponsible individuals attempt to portray.
In the said text, the Union presented a range of ungrounded claims indicating numerous personnel issues, one of them being that numerous non-commissioned officers and officers up to the rank of colonel will have to retire at the age of 53, and with 40 years of pensionable service, in next four years. These claims of the Union are ungrounded because this year, and all other years, officers and non-commissioned officers of that rank, and age, and years of pensionable service will be retired because that is what the law stipulates.
The issues such as the manning of the Serbian Armed Forces and the positioning of the system of defence as an employee on the labour market are legitimate ones, and any suggestion and assistance, including those by union organisations, is welcome, but only if it is a constructive and well-meaning one. The fluctuation of personnel is normal occurrence in all systems, the military system included, and the current manning of the Serbian Armed Forces ensures the execution of all their tasks.
Though there is a certain number of members of the armed forces who have not managed to use the annual holiday from the previous year, the percentage given in the Union’s statement is absolutely false and exaggerated. We hereby remind you that law provides for mechanisms to solve this issue, and not a single member of the Serbian Armed Forces will not be deprived in that respect.
Another falsehood stated in the text of the Military Union is that the Serbian Armed Forces do not pay the overtime payments. We point to the fact that the armed forces recorded, calculate and pay overtime in accordance with the law.
Once again, the Ministry of Defence calls upon the Military Union not to present to the public false and unverified information, because, in that way, they inflict damage to the Serbian Armed Forces which have always been, and in this uncertain times in particular, the sole guarantor of the independence and freedom of our country.
