14.10.2018.
Paratroopers Day marked
At the Niš air base “Sergeant – Pilot Mihajlo Petrović”, a ceremony on the occasion of 14th October – the Paratroopers Day has been held where members of the 63rd Parachute Battalion marked 74th anniversary since the creation of the first paratroops in Serbia.
Paratroopers marked the anniversary, which not many countries can boast of, in a way that only they know – with parachute jumps.
The ceremony was attended by Aleksandar Živković, State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, Mlađen Cicović, envoy of the President of Republika Srpska, Major General Ilija Todorov, Chief of the Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Jelesije Radivojević, Deputy Commander of the Training Command, Brigadier General Miroslav Talijan, Commander of the Special Forces Brigade of the Army, representatives of the Serbian Orthodox Church, Ministry of Interior and local government, veterans of the 63rd Parachute Brigade and members of the families of the killed members of that element.
At the ceremony in Niš, members of the 63rd Parachute Battalion marked Patron Saint's Day of their unit – the Protecting Veil of the Mother of God.Brigadier General Miroslav Talijan, Commander of the Special Forces Brigade, welcomed the families of dead heroes, their heirs and veterans of the 63rd Parachute Brigade, while Lieutenant Colonel Boban Georgiev, Commander of the 63rd Parachute Battalion, reminded of successfully performed numerous tasks such as parachute jumps, tactical drills and exercises, various shootings and joint exercises with members of special units of the Ministry of Interior and special units of foreign armed forces of the Russian Federation, Belarus, Greece, the United States and other countries.
- We know our tasks and obligations. Allegiance to the fatherland, comrade, the rifle, the military and the warrior's honour will continue to be the guarantor for the execution of all tasks that will be set before our unit – Lieutenant Colonel Georgiev said.
On the occasion of the day of military paratroopers, the best among them received awards and acknowledgements, while Lieutenant General Milosav Simović, Army Commander conferred a paratrooper statue to Major Igor Bakoš, First Sergeant Milan Novaković, staff sergeants Miladin Gojković, Zoran Stamenković, Stanko Marković and Miloje Bambić, Sergeant Nikola Savić and Corporal Marko Stevanović.
Serbia is one of the few countries in Europe and in the world that have a decades-long tradition of parachute units, and that is why members of the 63rd parachute battalion marked 74 years of existence with attractive demonstration jumps from altitude of 2,000 meters. Five paratroopers landed with flags of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian Armed Forces and the City of Niš in front of several thousand citizens of Niš who attended the ceremony, and Command Sergeant Major Miroljub Janicijević proudly waved in the air the flag of the Republic of Serbia and put it on the ground realising his 6,065th jump.At the end of the ceremony, guests visited the static display of materiel and weapons, a memorial complex of the 63rd parachute battalion and laid wreaths at the monument to the paratroopers that had been killed in combat operations.
