Minister Stefanović attends promotion of Reserve Class of September 2021

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Nebojša Stefanović, PhD, attended a ceremony today at the Military Academy, where the Class of September 2021, consisting of 77 students who have completed the Reserve Officers’ Course, were promoted to the rank of reserve second lieutenant by the decree issued by the President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić. Addressing the youngest reserve officers, Minister Stefanović said that he is extremely happy whenever young and accomplished people decide to join our Armed Forces and enter into the most honourable profession in Serbia.



- That is why I offer my hearty congratulations to you on the rank of second lieutenant that you are being promoted to today. Your love of the homeland resonates through ​​the Defence University and the Military Academy, where many generations have had the opportunity and honour to become part of our armed forces, to learn about everything that their ancestors had done so that our country could be free and hold its head high today, and become part of the big family called the Serbian Armed Forces - said Minister Stefanović.
 
He said that he visits all the classes attending the Military Academy and the Reserve Officers’ Course.  

-  I don’t have the opportunity to talk to all of them, but I try to find out the motives of these people to become part of the military, what we can do to improve your status and position and what we can do together for our country, which is the most important thing. And I am glad to hear that your superiors are satisfied with you, that this class has achieved outstanding results, that they are satisfied with your commitment and effort. Because the six months you have spent on this course haven’t been easy. It has been six months of challenges, but also of good education, where you learned how important it is for you to be serious, responsible in your military profession, because in the future, and I assume that most of you will continue your careers in the Serbian Armed Forces, you will command our soldiers. The soldiers of our country will be entrusted to you, so to speak, you will be their superiors and you will have to be leaders, the first among equals and you will have to show bravery, intelligence and courage, because those are the qualities that an officer of the Serbian Armed Forces needs to possess. I ask you and request that you be like that - said Stefanović.
 
The Minister said that the parents, families and friends of the newly promoted reserve second lieutenants must be extremely happy and filled with pride.

- Never forget the words you have said, guaranteeing that you will always be a support to Serbia and its people and that you will stand with your homeland at all times. Once again, I congratulate you on this extraordinary success, we are all proud of you because you are now part of the most glorious people in this country and I wish you much success in your personal and professional life. Long live Serbia! - said the Minister.



The best reserve second lieutenants in their classes are Uroš Begović (114th Class, Air Surveillance and Early Warning Service) with a GPA of 9.73, Dušan Marković (110th Class, Quartermaster Service) with a GPA of 9.73 and Lazar Lazarević (Technical Service) with a GPA of 9.62.
 
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence presented watches with dedications to the best reserve officers in the Class of September 2021 and congratulated them on their remarkable success.

Uroš Begović, the top-ranking Reserve Second Lieutenant, thanked Minister Stefanović, senior officers, relatives and friends whose presence has made this day even more important.

- Although reserve officers’ training is intended for mature university graduates, I must admit that today is the crown of the most intensive six-month educational experience of our lives. Seventy seven of us, who used to be strangers, are now true friends who, guided by love of the fatherland, dared to follow the path of our famous ancestors and preserve the highest human values ​​- honesty and humanity - said Begović.

He thanked his superiors for their firm leadership and commitment while he and his colleagues were facing the challenges.
 
- There are no better role-models for individuals who are making physically difficult and mentally tiring endeavours during their military service than their superiors who embody values ​​we all admire - said the best in class.
 
Seventy seven students of the Class of September 2021 have successfully completed military training with a GPA of 8.43. As of today, the Serbian Armed Forces have 21 new reserve second lieutenants in the Infantry, 37 second lieutenants in the Quartermaster Corps and nine in the Technical Corps, three officers in the Air Surveillance and Early Warning Service and seven second lieutenants in the Medical Corps. 



Today's ceremony at the “General Jovan Mišković” barracks in Banjica was attended by Assistant Minister for Human Resources Katarina Tomašević, Deputy Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, Lieutenant General Petar Cvetković, Rector of the Defence University, Lieutenant General Goran Radovanović, PhD, Head of the Human Resources Department, General Staff, Brigadier General Savo Iriškić, Head of the Training and Doctrine Department, General Staff, Brigadier General Petar Latković, Head of the Telecommunications and IT Department, General Staff, Colonel Mile Vitezović and Commandant of the Military Academy, Colonel Srđan Blagojević, PhD.