01.07.2016.
Graduation of 5th generation of ASDS studentsand officers of 59th class of GS Course
Graduation ceremony for officers of the 59th class of General Staff Course of the National Defence School and the participants in the 5th generation of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies has been held today at the National Assembly.President of the Republic of Serbia, Tomislav Nikolic, gave the officer's sabers to three first-ranked officers in the 59th Class of the General Staff Course and Minister of Defence Zoran Djordjevic to other officers who have successfully completed schooling in that class as well as badges with a base to participants in the 5th generation of ASDS.
General Staff Course was completed by 33 officers from the country and abroad: 27 from the organizational units of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, one from DNR Algeria, three from the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and two from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.
Top graduates in the class are Colonel Nebojsa Dobrijevic with GPA 9.60, followed by Colonel Janko Petrusic, a member of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who also achieved excellent GPA of 9.40 and the third-ranked, Lieutenant Colonel Dejan Kurtov with GPA 9.40.Advanced Security and Defence Studies were completed by 12 participants from Serbia and three from abroad.
President Nikolic congratulated everyone on their performance and pointed out that the defence system was made up of people on whose qualities, characteristics, education
depend peace and stability of a country.- You, the attendants of the 5th class of Advanced Security and Defence Studies and 59th Class of General Staff Course of the National Defence School, tomorrow will be apillar of defence of Serbia and I wish to congratulate you on the successful completion of your schooling and a successful start of your professional career – the president said adding that officers have great role models and rich history of the Serbian defensive wars.
Expressing particular satisfaction over the fact that the advanced studies were completed also by the participants from foreign countries, President Nikolic said that they showed respect not only to our educational system, but also to Serbia as a whole.
Addressing the participants, he said that despite the fact that military service entails a strong discipline and respect for the principle of subordination, there is no progress without freedom of thought and its unrestrained verbalization, and that creativity is a prerequisite for further success.- The fact that you have just completed professional development course in the field of security and defence, and that you will continue to be leaders in the defence system at the strategic and operational decision-making level, means that you are just at the beginning of the path of knowledge because the career-longprofessional learningis a concept that is applied in our military educational institutions, the president said,adding that the sense is that we make spiritual, moral and professional advancement, to connect and together build a secure future.
Tomislav Nikolic recalled that the Serbian Armed Forcesis still the most trusted institution and thatit successfully innovated the fields of
military activities, in particular the area of information technologies, the process of command and increasing the technical capabilities of arms and military equipment.- I wish to emphasize that science should continue to be a pillar and support for military power and that includes intensive and smooth cooperation of the Serbian Armed Forces and scientific-educational and research activities, said President of the Republic and confirmed that military science is constantly adapting to changes because it is its imperative to apply modern achievements and experiences in various fields.
He added that Serbia is now actively contributing to security and stability in the region and that our country strives to contribute maximally cooperating with its neighbours and the international community, whilestressing the need to equally respect all political actors and obey the basic principles of international law.
- Our Armed Forces pursues standards of the most modern armies in the world, and a lot has been done in this effort so that today we can say that, thanks to the planned development based on the operational capabilities, we have a modern and rational Armed Forces, the president said among other things, adding that our internal goal is peace and stability, non-recognition of the unilaterally proclaimed independence of Kosovo and Metohija and the preservation of our population and cultural heritage in the southern Serbian province.- As for the foreign policy priorities, we are aspiring full membership of the European Union, Serbia will remain militarily neutral and use the best practices and experiences both from the West and the East, the president said, adding that the military neutrality, commitment to peace, and cooperation with all, guarantee stable and secure future.
The first in rank, Lieutenant Colonel Nebojsa Dobrijevic, greeting the president of the Republic and the participants on behalf of students
of both classes, said that officers and participants will have an opportunity on new duties to apply knowledge and experience gained during the schooling.- I hope that the results achieved during the training will be an encouragement for our future work in responsible posts, we are confident and determined that this generation will be the holder and creator of new ideas in the realization of the tasks ahead of us in the forthcoming period, Lieutenant Colonel Dobrijevicsaid.
Congratulating the participants on the success achieved, Colonel Miroslav Talijan, PhD, Head of the School of National Defence, said that the evaluation of the achievements of the 5th generation of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies show that students of this highest level of professional development are qualified for multidisciplinary analysis and assessment of the security environment and that they upgraded their knowledge, skills and abilities up to the level where they can take up high positions in the national security system.
He pointed out that the average success achieved in the General Staff Course shows that it produced officers who are innovative, dedicated to the military profession and leadership minded, who are capable of commanding effectively managing a wide range of national and international security challenges.The ceremony at the National Assembly was attended by Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General LjubisaDikovic, members of the collegium of the Minister of Defence and Chief of General Staff, vice presidents of the National Assembly of the Republic of Serbia, representatives of churches and religious communities and academia, Defence Attachés in the Republic of Serbia, families and friends of the participants.
The General Staff Course is of combined arms character and represents the third level of career development for officers aimed at developing leadership skills of officers for strategic thinking and effective command and control in a wide range of national and international security challenges.
