06.08.2020.
Military education is successfully adapting to all challenges
Judging by the great interest in military schools that marked this year as well, despite the Covid-19 pandemic which particularly affected the education system in the entire country, for many boys and girls, military profession once again proved to be the right choice for acquiring knowledge and skills for the future.
Everything is ready for the reception of new generations of students of the Defence University and the proof of that is the fact that students will start the new school year accommodated in the reconstructed 3.300 m² residential accommodation for students at the Military Academy, with 66 air-conditioned rooms, offices and auxiliary rooms. The construction of a new building and the reconstruction of the existing one and the provision of completely new space for the accommodation of professors and students is the first major investment in the Military Academy since 1980. The building has been reconstructed according to the most modern standards, and the reconstruction included the replacement of all installations, floors and ceilings, and all rooms have toilets. Like their senior colleagues, students of the Military Grammar School and the Secondary Vocational Military School can boast of accommodation in the reconstructed dorm rooms and common rooms of the Military Grammar School’s dormitories.
In addition to major investments in the quality of life and the process of education, this year is also important for military education because of the 170th anniversary of the foundation of the Military Academy, which was marked by the unveiling of the bust of General and Academician Jovan Mišković and the opening of Military Academy’s memorial room in the “General Jovan Mišković” barracks.
While nurturing the tradition, military education at the same time follows modern trends and successfully faces the challenges of the times in which we live. During the Covid-19 pandemic, thanks to innovative platforms that the Military Academy prepared and implemented, not a single lesson was missed. The way the platform works and its possibilities when it comes to the teaching process, enabled cadets of the Military Academy to present the learned material via video links, which created conditions for their undeterred work, even though they were out of school due to prescribed measures.
The platform is available 24 hours a day to students, cadets and participants in all types of advanced training courses. There are 401 subjects and courses on the platform, with more than 4.000 users.
Even during the state of emergency, military education showed that it was able to adapt and react swiftly and quickly enable all students to continue their process of education and bring their schooling to an end. In addition to that, regardless of all the challenges in 2020 and the Covid-19 pandemic, military schools readily implemented all procedures related to the enrolment of new cadets and students.
Bearing in mind the specific nature of military education which involves various drills, hands-on training, and learning about weapons and how to use them, all types of training were conducted on time and in keeping with the medical recommendations.
Young men and women who are preparing for their first duties, as well as their professors, showed that even the state of emergency could not disrupt the curriculum, showing how hard-working and motivated they were to perform all their tasks.
Cadets of the final years of the Military Academy carried on with special forms of instruction and showed that everything they did in the past years yielded results.
During the pandemic, the instruction of future pilots - final year students of the Secondary Vocational Military School was not interrupted either. In accordance with doctors’ recommendations, because of the specific nature of their future vocation and because of everything they have to do and learn, they continued education in quarantine in the barracks.
This year, for the first time in 20 years, cadets of the Military Academy had winter training with new equipment on the 51st Ski Training Ground “Kopaonik”, and the training program also included Nordic skiing.
The cadets of the final year of the Military Academy and the participants in the Reserve Officers Course, together with the cadets of the MMA’s Medical Faculty who participated for the first time, successfully carried out the graduation exercise “Graduate 2020” – the crown of their military training at the “Pasuljanske livade” military complex. The cadets of the final year tested their knowledge and training by carrying out a tactical exercise with field target firing covering the following topics “Reinforced firing squad in defence”, “Tank platoon in assault” and “Artillery battery in assault” and showed preparedness for performing initial officer duties in the units of the Serbian Armed Forces.
The Military Academy provided all conditions for the participants in the Reserve Officers Course to finish their course successfully. The oath-taking ceremony for the reserve officers of the “March 2020” Generation was held in the “General Jovan Mišković” barracks in Belgrade, and 34 reserve officers took the oath.
In accordance with the tradition, students of the 44th Class of the Military Grammar School celebrated their graduation at that educational facility. The period in which the 44th Class attended the Military Grammar School was marked with significant investments in the boarding school’s better living and working conditions.
The process of education was also successfully completed at the highest levels of professional development in military education, and the ceremonies held at the Military Academy marked the graduation of students of the 9th Class of Advanced Defence and Security Studies, the 63rd Class of the General Staff Course and the 66th Class of Command and Staff Course.
In the past few years, the importance of investing in the infrastructure of the Military Academy has been recognized, so the cadets have at their disposal the reconstructed and modernized pistol range in the “General Jovan Mišković” barracks where they can train in accordance with the highest world standards.
The Military Academy’s Sports Centre, as well as the modern Athletic Hall, which is available for training throughout the year, have particularly contributed to significant sports results of military athletes at international competitions, and to cadets’ success in university sports events.
