Best Cadet Award Ceremony

The ceremony was attended by the Academy staff headed by the Commander, Lieutenant General Slavko Barić as the envoy of the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, the Commander of the Support Command, Major General Drago Matanović and the awarded cadets family members.
The Best Cadet Plaques from 1-10 generations were presented to D.Sc. Matija Hoić, 1st Lieutenant Dario Bilješković, 1st Lieutenant Rebeka Krušelj, 1st Lieutenant Zlatko Mihaljević, 1st Lieutenant  Ivan Janković,  2nd Lieutenant Leopold Gelemanović, Ensign Maja Matković, 1st Lieutenant Hrvoje Benić, Private Robert Matok and Private Jurica Bilić. Pvt Bilić, currently attending Basic Officer School, was presented with the challenge sabre (a new cadet ceremony)  by the Commander of the Cadet Battalion, Major Tomislav Kasumović .
Addressing the cadets the Commander of the Croatian Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Barić congratulated  the ceremony organisers, particularly the symbolic handing of the sabre to the last generation’s best cadet.
General  Barić emphasised experience of the current generation of cadets, who have been the first to take the new system took the new system of education of the Croatian officers, aimed at producing the officers equal to the officer of the world’s leading militaries, whose values Croatian officers  do share but also cherish and present their own national values.
Private Jurica Bilić expressed the pride and satisfaction with receiving the sabre which represented the fraternity of a group and appreciated the colleagues for their support towards the title.
This has been a first ceremony of the kind, and the Cadet Battalion and other units of the Croatian Defence Academy wish to make it a tradition.  It comprised a formal and a ceremonial programme, featuring musical, film, recital and drama performance by the cadets. The Cadet Battalion Chronicle emphasised that the first generation of cadets enrolled in the Programme in September 2003.
The Cadet Programme entailed a combination of civilian and military education conducted in a co-operation with the University of Zagreb and the University of Split. In 12 years of its existence the Cadet programme trained more than 964 cadets.
 It was expanded and upgraded  in 2014 when the new generation of cadets took two inaugurated study programmes.