05.05.2016.

Preparations for the celebration of the Serbian Armed Forces Day and the Victory Day

Practicing and testing the preparedness of the Serbian Armed Forces for the ceremony marking the Serbian Armed Forces Day and the Victory Day to be held on 9th May in Zrenjanin, was held today at the Liberty Square in that city.

Preparatory activities were commanded by the Chief of Operations Department of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff Major General Vojin C. Jondic, who is the commander of the celebration event. He addressed the hundreds of lined up members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces and said that "practicing and complete practice is not the same thing".

- Our task is to demonstrate our willingness, ability and strength on 5, 6, 7 and 9 May and to show the audience what the Serbian Armed Forces is. This is a difficult task. For what we are doing we need concentration, thinking, persistence and patience – the four qualities that adorn the Serbian soldiers, General Jondic said.

According to the Commander of the First Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Zeljko Petrovic, final preparations for

the celebration have begun today.

- All members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, who are deployed in the area of Novi Sad, Zrenjanin, Pancevo and Belgrade, began the preparations with a focus on practicing drill activities for the parade of infantry echelons. There is no doubt that everything will be ready for the celebration on Monday, General Petrovic said, as the deputy commander of the ceremony and commander of the infantry sub-echelon.

The ceremony at Zrenjanin square, on Monday, will include more than 1,300 members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, as well as more than 40 pieces of armaments and military equipment. In the static part of the ceremony, modernized weaponry and military equipment will be shown, where some assets will be shown to the public for the first time. The novelty this year is that it will be for the first time that the sub-echelon of soldiers on voluntary military service under arms will participate in the infantry parade.

In the main part of the ceremony, a part of the capabilities of the Serbian Armed Forces will be shown, when the citizens will be able to enjoy in the parade of the units, sorties of the aviation of the Air Force and Air Defence, presentation of ships of the Riverine flotilla and view the famous drill of the Guard.

Dress rehearsal of the ceremony will be held on Saturday 7 May 2016 at 12 o’clock.