CAF Schools Graduation Ceremony
The graduation ceremony of the Croatian Armed Forces schools was held in the “Petar Zrinsk” Defence Academy on 18 June 2014
on the occasion of the Croatia Statehood Day, and was attended by the President of the Republic as Supreme Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces, by the Defence Minister, Ante Kotromanović, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Drago Lovrić, the Commander of the Croatian Defence Academy, Lieutenant General Slavko Barić and other senior civilian and military officials as well as the graduates’ family members,
The Croatian military schools have had 377 graduates in the academic year 2013-2014 (227 officers and 150 NCOs, 59 female officers), among whom 15 were from foreign countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia and Serbia).
The President of the Republic congratulated the graduates in his capacity as Supreme Commander. He underlined the fact that the schools at various levels were attended by members of the Allied and Partner countries witnessed of the progress achieved in establishing peace and co-operation in the region, which was also evident in recent flood relief operations.”The manpower is our critical component, and therefore the knowledge and the skills that you have acquired guarantee that you will continue defending, safeguarding and presenting your country in the best possible way”, concluded the President.
Defence Minister Ante Kotromanović, extended his congratulation and emphasised that the Ministry of Defence was determined to continue investing into the Academy and that the new study programmes, due to commence in September proved the Ministry and the Armed Forces kept up with the general trends.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Drago Lovrić said that the graduation at the present level opened a new period in the lifelong learning and announced the Croatian military studies programmes (military management and military engineering) inception in the academic year 2014 -2015, in association with the Zagreb University, modernising the processes of education of the Croatian officers.
In his congratulatory address the Director of the Croatian Defence Academy wished the graduates success in their future careers and stated “You are NCOs and officers of the Croatian Armed Forces but at the same time you are NCOs and officers of the EU and of NATO, and you have acquired the abilities and knowledge to act in that status”, and emphasised that the NATO and the EU membership implied missions beyond the national tasks and borders – keeping peace in the region, in Europe and worldwide. General also underlined the new military studies programmes as an excellent outset in the transformation of the military education system in Croatia.
The President of the Republic presented the 16th generation of the „Ban Josip Jelačić“ War School and the 18th generation of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence Basic Officer School with the respective diplomas, and the Chief of the General Staff presented the students of the 13th generation of the Croatian Army’s Basic Officer School respectively.
The 22nd generation of the „Blago Zadro“ Command and Staff School, the 13th generation of the Advanced Officer School and the 12th generation of the Senior NCO School, the 30th generation of the Advanced NCO and the 45th generation of the Basic NCO School respectively also had their graduation ceremony, and the best students were presented with commendation certificates and prizes.
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