“Hrvatski ponos 2012” exercise
The final part of regular annual exercise “Hrvatski Ponos 2012” which was attended by Defence Minister Ante Kotromanović, Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Drago Lovrić, Commander of the Croatian Army Major General Dragutin Repinc, CAF Inspector General Lieutenant General Marijan Mareković and other senior military officials was held today, February 1, at the military training ground in Gasinci.
This is a regular exercise that has been conducted since 2008, and it represents the final part of the preparations before leaving of the Croatian contingent to the ISAF mission in Afghanistan. In today’s final exercise forces that will leave for Afghanistan had to prove that they were ready, with demonstrated knowledge and capabilities having been judged realistically. “HMMWV” vehicles, Croatian VHS assault rifle were used in the exercises, and solders were in uniforms and equipment of the Croatian production.
Minister Kotromanović expressed his satisfaction and, as he said, the pride with the seen during the military exercise, appraising it, as well as readiness of the Croatian soldiers, to the highest level. “What I saw today is the best of the Croatian Armed Forces with which Croatia can be represented in the mission”, he said, and particularly emphasized the importance of military training for successful and safe conduct of all the tasks.
When answering media questions, the Minister emphasized that he believed there were too many people in the Defence Ministry and in the administrative part of the General Staff. “We have reduced the total number of soldiers since 1995, and now it is necessary to reform the Ministry of Defence. Trends are just like that, NATO reduces the number of administration as well. We must have more people in the units in relation to those who sit in offices”, Defence Minister Ante Kotromanović said.
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