Graduation Ceremony of 13th Class ASDS and Officers of 67th Class GSC

Today, Envoy of the President of the Republic and Supreme Commander of the Serbian Armed Forces Aleksandar Vučić, and Minister of Defence Bratislav Gašić attended a Graduation ceremony held in the House of National Assembly for the attenders of 13th Class of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies and officers of 67th Class of the General Staff Course.



The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Miloš Vučević, Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces General Milan Mojsilović, ministers in the Serbian Government, members of boards of the minister of defence and chief of General Staff, representatives of the military-diplomatic corps, religious communities and families of the attenders.

Minister Gašić conferred replicas of Serbian mediaeval swords to the attenders of 13th Class of ASDS and officers’ sabres to three top ranking students of 67th Class of GSC - Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandar Pavić, Lieutenant Colonel Dalibor Sedlar and Lieutenant Colonel Miroslav Maksimović, while Chief of General Staff General Mojsilović presented sabres to other officers of 67th Class of GSC.



At the beginning of his address, the minister of defence greeted the professors of the University of Defence, the attenders of 13th Class of ASDS and 67th Class of GSC, and particularly the officers from foreign armed forces who, according to his words, by attending professional advancement in the Republic of Serbia, testified to the friendship and paid homage to the reputation that our country and our armed forces enjoyed in their countries.

- Serbia respects and fosters universal values, national dignity and international law. Steadfastly oriented towards military neutrality, we wish to build good and mutually beneficial relations with all states of the world founded on mutual respect - Minister Gašić stated.

He pointed out that Serbia does not rely on membership of military alliances, but exclusively on itself and its own strength, so he stressed that the unity of the state, military and people in the spirit of freedom, justice and truth had been and always would be the chief factor of internal stability, deterrence and defence of Serbia and Serbian people against any kind of existential attacks and threats.



- In historically defining moments, our country has always had the greatest confidence in knowledge, capabilities and morale of its officers, and in the readiness, perseverance and patriotic spirit of the citizens of Serbia. That is why, all responsible people in the system of defence should approach with equal attention to military education and development of deterrence capabilities in accordance with the total defence concept. The defence of Serbia is the joint task of all of us, and the freedom of the fatherland is the condition for any kind of progress and welfare. When we are free, we can do anything, without freedom we are nothing. However, freedom has its price that is paid by permanent readiness to defend it. Freedom entails the existence of people who are ready, capable, trained and willing to fight for it and win. It, also, demands knowledge as to how to defeat an enemy in the fight for freedom and preserve lives of soldiers and civilians - the minister of defence said stressing that exactly those men are members of the Serbian Armed Forces and that the best of them are educated at the National Defence School that proudly bears the name of the oldest among Serbian field marshals.

Minister Gašić sent a message to all attenders that he could not guarantee that they would never put to practice the knowledge that they had gained having in mind the events at the global level.



- Sadly, we are witnesses to events that show us that great geopolitical changes are taking place globally affecting all of us. Today, Europe as well is in the state of uncertainty, which was unthinkable in previous decades. We are witnessing the public messages to its inhabitants that insinuate long-lasting crisis and wars. Many states are increasing military budgets and restoring human and technological capabilities to fight long-lasting high-intensity conflicts. This indicates that the world, unfortunately, is on the path of escalation - Minister Gašić stated and added that for that reason the issue of defence and security of Serbia was the first condition of its survival, but with the assistance of President of the Republic Aleksandar Vučić and the Government of the Republic of Serbia we would continue investing in our armed forces - the men, arms, equipment and training, because that was an investment in the overall development and preservation of foreign and internal security of Serbia, and the protection of the Serbian people.

According to the minister of defence, today’s ceremony was organised in honour of the great success of all attenders and he stressed that Serbia highly valued hard-working and motivated people who invested in their knowledge and education to serve their fatherland even better and more diligently.

- By attending the professional advancement in the National Defence School, you have made a significant step in your careers, but that step is even more important for the strengthening of the defence system in Serbia. Apply the modern and the best knowledge gained during your education at the positions that you are about to take over. Constantly keep in touch with military science, refresh your knowledge, think creatively, improve your work, and the state in your commands and units with which you will be entrusted. We live in the times of fast changes that we need to understand and respond to in order to guarantee defence capability of our fatherland. I wish that you carry that responsibility with dignity and success - Minister Gašić stated congratulating the attenders on successful conclusion of the professional advancement.



The most successful in the 67th Class of the General Staff Course Lieutenant Colonel Aleksandar Pavić addressed the audience on behalf of the attenders stating that this generation of officers was characterised by high motivation, knowledge, military skills and strategic thinking which is the trait of supreme professionals.

- Peace is not the absence of war, but a virtue that has to be cherished. For that precise reason, the professors at the National Defence School “Vojvoda Radomir Putnik”, cherishing traditions of our forefathers and war experiences that shaped the statehood of Serbia, always stressed during their lectures the strategic thinking as a basis for the achievement of national interests. Military skill, knowledge and determination of General Staff officers that are standing in front of you are the guarantor of the preservation of peace and prosperity of Serbia. A state can only be stable if it has strong, well equipped and well-trained armed forces, and Serbian Armed Forces certainly are one such institution - Lieutenant Colonel Pavić stated.



Acting Head of National Defence School “Field Marshal Radomir Putnik” Colonel Zoran Jekić congratulated the attenders of 13th Class of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies, and officers of 67th Class of the General Staff Course on successful completion of their education.

- By completing the professional advancement, you have made another step in development of your careers. I sincerely believe that the knowledge that you gained during your professional advancement will provide contribution to the development of the system of defence in your future work - Colonel Jekić stated.

Today, Minister Gašić conferred replicas of Serbian mediaeval swords to members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces who completed the Advanced Security and Defence Studies abroad in 2022 and 2023, while General Mojsilović presented officers’ sabres to members of the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces who completed General Staff Course abroad in previous two years.



One of the attenders of 13th Class of the Advanced Security and Defence Studies is Goran Selak from the Ministry of Justice of the Republika Srpska. As he underlined it was his honour to gain six-month life experience and career advancement and education at the National Defence School in Belgrade.

- We have gained rich experience. We have witnessed a powerful progress that the Republic of Serbia has made, possessing personnel of high quality and expertise. We have visited institutions in Serbian and abroad and there we exchanged views and experiences. When I return to the Republika Srpska, I will make efforts to transfer the gained experience and to serve my people and the Republika Srpska - Selak stated.

Attender of 67th Class of the General Staff Course Lieutenant Colonel Momčilo Mladenović points out that this is the highest level of education at the Serbian Armed Forces and the crown of career for each officer.

- It is a difficult pat that leads to this point. Immense effort and hard work have been made, and it requires great knowledge, and responsibility first to the Republic of Serbia - Lieutenant Colonel Mladenović stressed.



This year, 19 attenders have completed the Advanced Security and Defence Studies, nine of them from the governmental authorities and Serbian Government services, five from the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces, and five attenders from abroad - the Ministry of Defence of Hungary, Ministry of Defence and Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Ministry of Interior of the Republika Srpska and Ministry of Justice of the Republika Srpska.

The General Staff Course was completed by 46 officers from the country and abroad - 41 from the Ministry of Defence and Serbian Armed Forces, three members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a member of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and one member of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Germany.