Military ceremony held to mark 63rd Parachute Brigade Day

A military ceremony was held today at the military airport Sergeant Pilot Mihajlo Petrović in Niš to mark the 63rd Parachute Brigade Day and its 80th anniversary, as well as the Military Paratroopers Day and the unit’s feast day - the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, representing the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić and the Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, General Milan Mojsilović.

 

By the decree of the Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces and President of the Republic, Aleksandar Vučić, the 63rd Parachute Brigade was awarded the Order of the White Eagle with Swords 3rd Class for highly meritorious conduct in the construction of the defence system and the fulfilment of security tasks, on the occasion of its 80th anniversary. At today’s ceremony, the Prime Minister presented the decoration to the unit commander, Brigadier General Nenad Zonić.

At the beginning of the ceremony, a message of congratulations from the President of the Republic of Serbia for the 63rd Parachute Brigade Day was read. The message reads as follows:

 

- My warmest congratulations go to all members of the 63rd Parachute Brigade for October 14 – the Unit Day, which commemorates 80 years since the formation of the first parachute unit and celebrates the unit’s feast day, the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God.

Continuing a tradition spanning eight decades, the members of the 63rd Parachute Brigade have always demonstrated tremendous loyalty to their armed forces and people throughout their history. Your unit proudly wears the highest decoration a military unit can receive - the Order of the People's Hero, a well-deserved award for your fighting and freedom-loving spirit, high morale and resolution to defend the motherland in 1999. In the most difficult times for our homeland, you produced heroes that we are proud of.

You have proven your patriotism all these years. In 2024, the unit's jubilee year, you are awarded the Order of the White Eagle with Swords 3rd Class for highly meritorious conduct in the construction of the defence system and the fulfilment of security tasks. Only the best Serbian Armed Forces units can be awarded this Order of the Republic of Serbia.

Exceptionally well trained and disciplined, highly motivated and, above all, extremely professional, the 63rd Parachute Brigade is a shining example of an elite unit of the Serbian Armed Forces. You are synonymous with military parachuting. Following the development of modern technology, we have managed, through joint effort, to equip the 63rd Parachute Brigade with new armoured fighting vehicles, state-of-the-art personal weapons, equipment and ballistic protection, such as the ones used by similar units in developed armed forces. We will remember with special fondness your victories at the 70th Serbian Open Parachute Championship and the 23rd Special Units’ Multi-Event Parachute Competition, because these competitions were organized in honour of your jubilee.

 

The great interest shown by young men and women in becoming military paratroopers and wearing the uniform of the heroic brigade is not accidental, because the results you achieve are concrete and noticeable. You are your predecessors’ worthy successors, and a new generation following in the almost century-old military parachuting tradition.

Being confident that in the period ahead you will prove and demonstrate that only the best can be members of this elite unit of ours, I wish to extend my congratulations to you on your unit day, jubilee and feast day, praying to the Most Holy Mother of God, patroness and protector of Orthodox Christians, to protect all of you and our armed forces – the President’s message reads.

 

Prime Minister Vučević, together with the 63rd Parachute Brigade Commander, General Zonić, unveiled today the Paratrooper Monument at the military airport Sergeant Pilot Mihajlo Petrović.

The Prime Minister, who was given the honourable duty of speaking on behalf of the President of the Republic and the Serbian Government at "these festivities”, addressed the audience, presenting a brief review of historical circumstances showing that "it is not by chance that we are all here together today."

 

- Dear members of the heroic 63rd Parachute Brigade, you are the followers of the long tradition of noble guardians of our sky and our land. I wish to extend, with great pride, my warmest congratulations to you on the 80th anniversary of your glorious unit, the Military Paratroopers Day and your feast day. Today I stand before you, the elite of the Serbian Armed Forces, filled with tremendous admiration for each of you, because every step you make, every sacrifice, jump, and fight is proof of your military honour and unswerving loyalty to our homeland. Eight decades have passed since a small group of brave volunteers led by young Lieutenant Vranić stepped boldly into the unknown. In the year 1944, near Bari, the foundation was laid for your distinguished tradition - said Prime Minister Vučević.

From then until today, he said, through every battle, every task, every jump and every sacrifice, the 63rd Parachute Brigade has made a name for itself that we now pronounce with pride.

- Your life is filled with training, challenges, and sacrifices. Meeting the strictest criteria, you prove with your loyalty and your brotherhood pledge that you are much more than mere soldiers. You are members of a community that never leave one of their own high and dry, ready to sacrifice everything for the people around you, for the flag, for freedom. This community and brotherly spirit, the faith you have in each other makes you unbeatable and indestructible. Your weapons and skills are extraordinary, but it is your unity that gives you strength and makes you invincible - said the Prime Minister and added that the award presented to them today was recognition for all the blood, sweat, and tears they had put in the defence of our country, that it was a reward for all the past generations of paratroopers who had served our homeland equally honourably, and that the Order was a reminder that “they are part of something much bigger and an incentive for them to continue to defend that honour in their future tasks and challenges”.

 

Addressing the youngest members, Prime Minister Vučević said that they “wear a beret that symbolizes honourable tradition and responsibility”.

 

- May this beret be your constant reminder to be worthy members of the brotherhood you have been accepted into. Obey your commanders, learn from them, show respect for their experience and never forget the glorious deeds and traditions of your unit. I firmly believe that the elite 63rd Parachute Brigade will continue to perform its tasks to the highest professional standards. Foster the spirit of your unit, for it is your greatest strength. May the Holy Mother of God always be with you and protect you, guide you through every challenge and protect you from every danger. Long live our glorious armed forces! Long live Serbia - concluded the Prime Minister.

In his address, General Zonić said that by celebrating the 80th anniversary of the formation of the unit, “we add another page in the history of the heroic 63rd Parachute Brigade, the elite and unique unit of our armed forces”.

- The unit’s involvement in the most difficult tasks in war and in the most complex forms of training in peace was started by our fallen members, who sacrificed their lives for their unit and the beloved motherland, together with our numerous veterans and fighters of the 63rd Parachute Brigade, who are always there when needed. Forever loyal to our unit, we foster a unique relationship with the families of our fallen members and every year we hold memorial services, sharing the memories of their heroic deeds with our young members - said General Zonić.

 

According to him, a lot has been invested in the modernization of the unit’s equipment and the acquisition of new assets, as well as in the unit members’ training. He said that the unit had never had so many members in its history, that their numbers were growing daily thanks to the Project 5,000 and that the unit members’ standard of living had significantly increased thanks to the increase in salaries.

- The traditional values ​​that the 63rd Parachute Brigade fosters - love for the motherland and freedom, courage, the honour of our weapons, and a strong sense of belonging to the tight-knit collective will be the guarantee that we will fulfil all our tasks in the future as well. It is, therefore, our obligation to continue building a unit worthy of the Order of the People’s Hero and the Order of Saint Sava, and to hand it over to the next generations, said General Zonić.

The Prime Minister, accompanied by Minister Gašić, General Mojsilović and General Zonić, laid a wreath near the memorial wall commemorating the fallen members of the 63rd Parachute Brigade, and then visited the unit's memorial room.

 

At the ceremony, paratroopers performed a practice jump carrying the flags of the Republic of Serbia, the Serbian Armed Forces, the 63rd Parachute Brigade and the City of Niš.

The military ceremony was attended by government ministers, members of the Ministry of Defence and the Serbian Armed Forces, representatives of religious communities and the local self-government, veterans and families of fallen members of the 63rd Parachute Brigade.

 

The 63rd Parachute Brigade Day and Military Paratroopers Day commemorate October 14, 1944, when the First Parachute Battalion of the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia was formed in a military base near Bari, Italy. On October 14, the members of the 63rd Parachute Brigade also observe the unit’s feast days - the Intercession of the Holy Mother of God.