16.11.2017.
Ceremony of Presenting Decorations by the President of the Republic of Serbia
An official ceremony of presenting decorations awarded by the President of the Republic of Serbia to the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces, on the occasion of Day of the Army and Day of Infantry, was held today in the Military Club in Niš.
The President of the Republic of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić decorated 49 members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces for great merit and results achieved in discharging duties and tasks in the field of defence and security of the Republic of Serbia.
On that occasion, Secretary General of the Republic of Serbia Nikola Selaković, in the presence of the Ministry of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces Ljubiša Diković presented the decorations to the awarded.
President Vučić decorated 17 members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces for great merit and results achieved in the field of defence and security of the Republic of Serbia.
Colonel Slađan Ristić was awarded by a Gold medal of merit for the results achieved in the field of defence and security of the Republic of Serbia, and 16 more members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces were presented with Silver medals of merit and the results achieved in the field of defence and security of the Republic of Serbia.
President Vučić decorated 32 members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces for merit and extraordinary results achieved in discharge of duties and tasks in the field of defence and security of the Republic of Serbia.
A Gold medal for zealous service was given to Navy Captain Petar Bošković and Lieutenant Colonel Dejan Živković, and Silver medal for zealous service was given to 30 members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces.
Conveying the greetings and congratulations of the President Vučić to the decorated, Secretary General of the President of the Republic Nikola Selaković pointed out that the awarded decorations reflected a rich military career through which the members of the Serbian Armed Forces had gone serving in garrisons all over former SFRY, SRY and now the Republic of Serbia.
- The most important values of the military profession, such as allegiance to the homeland, dedication to the profession, loyalty, courage and discipline, solidarity, strength of character, dignity, self-sacrifice and respect for others, cannot always be pointed out in spoken praises of by awarding stimulation measures, but it is important for those who exercise them the best receive an award for that, or honour paid to them by the grateful homeland – Secretary General of the President Selaković stressed.
According to him, the decorated should be proud of themselves, of the effort that they had made in development of the Serbian Armed Forces and the State of Serbia.
- Loyalty to the given oath, patriotism, strength of character, individual honesty, conscientious and responsible work are all the virtues of a soldier by which our ancestors were graced. We do not forget their merits, and we will continue their tradition. I hope that these virtues have been and will be in the future personal identification of every member of the Serbian Armed Forces. You are expected to continue successfully discharging assigned tasks, and the state will, in accordance with possibilities, provide you its full support in providing you with conditions for successful work. I know that you have a vision, will, knowledge and experience, motivation and plan, and that you require more resources, I know that you are firmly directed towards achieving this vision and I call upon you to unite your efforts in order to enhance the operational capabilities of the armed forces. Confident in further strengthening of your operational capabilities, I, once again, congratulate you on your deserved decorations, on behalf of the President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić, may you wear them in good health and with pride, in your unit and your town, municipality and show them to your children, and may the medals be the motive that the hard work, dedication and effort pay out. Long live the Serbian Armed Forces! Long live Serbia! - – Secretary General of the President Selaković said.
Sergeant Major Saša Krsmanović, member of the Army Training Centre in Požarevac, winner of the Silver medal for zealous service, said that he was truly honoured and proud to be among the decorated.
- I am proud of myself and my colleagues from the unit and all our members of the armed forces because the President of the Republic has shown us such honour. To me personally, and to my colleagues as well, the medal will be even greater motive to achieve top results in the future - Sergeant Major Krsmanović said.
The Silver medal for zealous service was conferred tonight to Lieutenant Colonel Zoran Petrović from the Army Command.
- This gives me great satisfaction because of the effort and work which is not solely mine, but of all the colleagues around me and who surround me, and it is also an incentive for the future – Lieutenant Colonel Petrović stressed adding that the decoration was a huge stimulation for the continuation of the military carreer.
