31.01.2018.
Heroic Deed Worthy of Admiration
Today, Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Ljubiša Diković received Corporal Miroslav Potić, member of the Serbian Armed Forces who on 16th January had saved a girl from cold Nišava River in Pirot.
That day, Corporal Miroslav Potić heard from the river the girl’s call for help as he was crossing a bridge Gazela in Pirot. He immediately called the Police, firemen rescuers, and then he and one of the passers-by jumped in the river and pulled the girl out to the bank, where they warmed her up because of hypothermia and kept her conscious until the arrival of assistance. Then, the girl was taken care of in the Town Hospital at the Paediatric Ward.As Corporal Potić pointed out, the feeling was extremely beautiful knowing that he had saved life of the underage girl. He got into contact with their parents after the incident and visited the girl in the hospital who is successfully recovering.
- Every citizen should react like this and every member of the Serbian Armed Forces. We were trained and educated how to react in such situations and we are governed by the soldiers’ Code of honour whose core values are the loyalty to the homeland, dedication to the profession, devotion, respect and solidarity with others. That is our job and we will always be there for our citizens. As a member of the 3rd Depot Battalion of the Central Logistic Base and as a member of the Serbian Armed Forces, I believe that all my colleagues would do the same, because they know how to act in critical situations - Corporal Potić said and added that the members of the Serbian Armed Forces were trained to react calmly, to be stable and composed in critical situations.
According to Minister Vulin, Corporal Potić showed why the Serbian Armed Forces are so highly appreciated among our citizens, why they are so loved and why the attention is paid and trust placed in it both in the most difficult and the worst times.
- You have always known that where the armed forces were, there were order, law, solidarity, and there is humanity. Corporal Potić has shown that all the members of the Serbian Armed Forces are foremost people who will always help another, who will always understand somebody else’s trouble and who will never think about their wellbeing or their life if it is needed to protect somebody else’s life or to help another human being. That is why the Serbian Armed Forces are respected, loved and appreciated. The members of the Serbian Armed Forces are different from others not only because they wear the uniform or because they are trained, but because they are unconditionally humane and because they will always first help another man, and only then think about themselves. We are proud of such soldiers, but more importantly, the entire Serbia is proud of them – said the minister of defence and sent a message that the Ministry of Defence would always endeavour to highlight such examples, to reward them and together with the General Staff to make sure that Serbia knows what kind of armed forces it has.Commander of the Central Logistic Base Brigadier General Petar Latković commended Corporal Potić for his “great deed” both as a member of the Serbian Armed Forces and a man.
- Corporal Potić demonstrated that he was trained, his self-sacrifice and courage and he save one human life. As a man he showed humanity, something that other people should do as well. He was given a chance to save one human life, and he took that chance and made the Serbian Armed Forces proud – General Lataković stressed.
Minister Vulin and General Diković rewarded Corporal Potić with a free seven day long stay with this family on the Tara Mountain.
