23.04.2024.
President’s message to mark Serbian Armed Forces Day
The President of the Republic of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has sent a message extending his best wishes to the Minister of Defence, Miloš Vučević, the Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović, and all members of the Serbian Armed Forces on the Serbian Armed Forces Day. The message reads as follows:
“I send my warmest wishes to all members of the Serbian Armed Forces on April 23 – the Serbian Armed Forces Day.
The venture that Karađorđe embarked upon on Candlemas (Sretenje), Miloš started bringing to an end on Palm Sunday (Cveti).
The two most important holidays of the Serbian state remind us of the first two stormy decades of the 19th century. The same magnificent generation of our ancestors ushered Serbia into the modern era and freedom.
In memory of the Palm Sunday, i.e. the day when the Second Serbian Uprising erupted in 1815, and in memory, admiration and honour of the people who renewed the Serbian statehood, today we celebrate the greatest military holiday - the Serbian Armed Forces Day - with pride and reverence for all generations of our knights.
The Serbian army was created from the rebel companies. Given that it came from people, the Serbian army has always played a key role in the stability of the state. This is where the roots of the strong tie between our people and our army lie.
Even now when it is undergoing the process of professionalization, the Serbian Armed Forces nurture this important and unbreakable bond with the people. Citizens recognize this fateful bond and appreciate the efforts made by the military for the sake of common good.
Over the past period, the Republic of Serbia has invested a great deal of effort and money in providing top-quality equipment for the military. We have focused our attention on educational institutions, from which highly educated and trained young people emerge, ready to perform the most complex tasks in a professional manner. Those young people are the future of our armed forces!
As always, the Serbian Armed Forces help bring prosperity to our country and its citizens and make every effort to ensure our safety. The military is the guarantee of our peace, our territorial integrity and our neutrality.
The bond between our people and the military was best described by Field Marshal Stepa: 'I came from people. It made me who I am. I must obey its will and serve it until my last breath!'
Long live the Serbian Armed Forces!
Long live Serbia!"
