21st Anniversary of CAF General Staff

The celebration was attended by the President and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces Ivo Josipović, Deputy Minister of Defence Višnja Tafra, Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Drago Lovrić, former chiefs of General Staff, Armed Forces service commanders, deputy chiefs and chiefs of General Staff directorates, and other military and civilian guests .

During his address, Josipović said that the anniversary was the opportunity to recall the Homeland War, development and management of the Armed Forces from the wartime to the present day. For CAF to successfully execute their mission, their management structure should foster patriotism and professionalism, two components that are necessary for high-quality military. “History has shown that we have both,” the President concluded, expressing his pride with the Homeland War, but as well with the peace development of the Armed Forces, which are still the guarantor of independence and security of the Republic of Croatia.

Deputy Defence Minister Višnja Tafra said that by the establishment of the GS, the Croatian Army and its members, Croatian soldiers, got leadership capable of making decisions critical for the defence and liberation of the occupied parts of Croatia. Even then, when the members of staff were mostly warriors, the obligation of training, education, acquisition and adoption of new knowledge and skills was imposed as a priority, being aware of the necessity of building the army after the war that would be able to respond to the challenges of peacetime. Time has shown the correctness of such a decision, concluded the Deputy Minister.

Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Drago Lovrić thanked all previous GS chiefs, whose “inexhaustible knowledge, experience, and patriotism was of paramount importance to the creation and operation of the General Staff”. They were also the driving force of successful GS transformation and adaptation to peacetime organization, to NATO standards and for the implementation of the tasks set before us by the global security trends. Due to the quality of our Armed Forces we are proudly a part of NATO, and future European security architecture, General Lovric said.