On Saturday, Prime Minister Janez Janša attended the main ceremony on the Slovenian Armed Forces Day. The event took place at the Protection and Rescue Training Centre in Ig. The keynote speaker was the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, Borut Pahor, and the Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, as well as the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Robert Glavaš, also addressed those who gathered at the event.
Slovenian Armed Forces Day is celebrated every year on the 15th of May. A month after the 15th of May 1991, Slovenian military recruits began to exclusively perform their military service in Slovenia, in the two training centres of the then-Territorial Defence. A total of 300 recruits began to perform their military service in the 710th Traning Centre in Pekre near Maribor and the 510th Training Centre in Ig near Ljubljana. Slovenian Armed Forces Day is a day of preserving values from the Slovenian military history, especially values of our striving for independence.
At the ceremony, the new General of the Slovenian Army has been presented with the General’s ring, and the new Brigadier has been presented with the Brigadier’s sabre. The keynote speaker was the President of the Republic and the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces Borut Pahor, and the Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, as well as the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Robert Glavaš, also addressed those who gathered at the event. Prime Minister Janez Janša also attended the event.
According to the Chief of General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Glavaš, the Army is now actively involved in ensuring international peace and security, it is adapting to current security conditions, and above all, is garnering respect and trust in the international military environment due to its professionalism and dedication. In the video published below, you can watch the oath ceremony of the first generation of Slovenian soldiers, which happened on the 2nd of June 1991, in Ig. Only 25 days later, the tanks of the former Yugoslav People’s Army tried to prevent Slovenia’s independence by force.
Sara Rančigaj
