Day of the Special Brigade Marked
Monday, 30.9.2019 | CHOD's Activities
Pančevo-based Rastko Nemanjić barracks celebrated 29th September, the Day of the Special Brigade of the Serbian Armed Forces, and the ceremony was attended by Aleksandar Živković, State Secretary at the Ministry of Defence, and Major General Petar Cvetković, Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces.
State Secretary Živković extended best wishes for the holiday to members of the Special Brigade on behalf of Minister of Defence Aleksandar Vulin and on his own personal behalf.
Brigadier General Miroslav Talijan, Commander of the Special Brigade, referring to the period between the two holidays, emphasised that the activities and accomplishments of the unit show that the development and manifestation of its superior combat readiness continued very successfully, both in the contents and in achievements.
— It is important to emphasize this not only for the sake of evaluating our work, but above all for the valorisation of our indisputable influence on the deterrence of those who violate our vital state and social values, especially in neuralgic areas such as southern Serbia and Kosovo and Metohija. Last year, important organisational and personnel changes were made, which are reflected in the positioning of the brigade appropriate to such a special formation — General Talian pointed out.
According to him, a faster and better resolution of the status issues of the brigade members is expected.
— Meeting all these needs is certain due to the importance of our unit in the defence system and due to the proven care and dedication of our state and military leadership. In the past one-year period, we have achieved remarkable results in training and professional development of our members, units and commands; participated in the implementation of several very complex military exercises, both individually and within other units of the Serbian Armed Forces, thus manifesting our combat readiness and certainty in the best possible way. On top of this, there is our involvement in the Ground Safety Zone and activities of support to and cooperation with civilian structures in the local and wider community. When all our activities are viewed in the right light, we can all be proud of everything we have achieved in the previous period — commander of the Special Brigade concluded.
In the continuation of the ceremony, awards and commendations were presented to the most deserving members of the Special Brigade who distinguished themselves in the past on their functional duties, and then the units performed a formal parade. As part of the celebration of the Day of the unit, members of the Special Brigade also performed several demonstration exercises to show the attained level of competence and skills in dealing with hostage situations in a populated place, climbing and negotiating various obstacles, the most attractive being parachutists carrying the flags of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian Armed Forces and the Special Brigade.
The ceremony was also attended by the Mayor of the South Banat District, Danijela Lončar, Mayor of Pančevo Saša Pavlov, representatives of local governments of Despotovac and Mali Zvornik, former commanders of the 72nd Special Brigade, the 63rd Parachute Brigade and of the Special Brigade, representatives of the Serbian Ministry of Interior, directors and representatives of business organisations with which the Special Brigade cooperates, retired and former members of the Special Brigade and the units from which it was formed, wounded members of the unit and members of the families of the killed members of the Special Brigade.
The Special Brigade was formed on 29th September 2006 by reforming and unifying the 72nd Special Brigade, the 63rd Parachute Brigade and smaller parts of the 82nd Maritime Centre and the “Cobras” Counter-Terrorism Detachment. The Special Brigade included the 63rd Parachute Brigade and the 72nd Special Brigade, which were awarded the Order of the People's Hero on 14th October 1999 and the Order of the War Flag on 16th June 2000.
