Ensign Jović wins Best Soldier Competition 2016

The winner in men’s category is a member of the Croatian Navy, Ensign Ante Jović, who ran the fastest time along an exhausting 40-km competition route in the “Gakovo“ Training Range and in Grubišno Polje (consisting of 11 work posts and 13 control posts) carrying the 17.6kg full kit.
The first runner-up was Private Zvonimir Tadejević, a member of the Special Forces Command, and the second runner-up was Sergeant Dalibor Vondra, member of the Intelligence Division.
The most successful competitor in the Allied/partner category was French Sergeant Major  Lionel Melinard (of JFG Naples).
After the qualifiers in VHS firing, the competition was kicked-off for a total of 145 competitors,a among whom  112 members of the Croatian Armed Forces and of  a number of representatives of the armed forces of Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Czech Republic, Germany, Kosovo, Macedonia, Greece, Slovenia, Denmark, the U.S., France and Italy.
In the audience waiting at the finish line in the courtyard of the “Bartol Kašić“ Secondary Schoold in Grubišno Polje  were the Deputy Defence Minister  Tomislav Ivić, Deputy and Envoy of the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces,, Major Drago Matanović, the Assistant Defence Minister  Zoran Piličić, the commanders of the services of the Croatian Armed Forces and other representatives of the Ministry of Defence and of the Armed Forces,  NATO ACO CSEL, Sergeant Major Davor Petek, the representatives of the diplomatic corps and of the participating countries.
“The competition has demonstrated that the Croatian soldiers were ready for any challenges placef before them, well-trained and capable of enduring all physical and psychological efforts“, said the Deputy Defence Minister  Tomislav Ivić,  who also underlined that the international character of the competition added to its high reputation. 
The competitors were supported by the residents of Grubišno Polje, who had also the opportunity to see the static display of the weapons and the equipment used by the Croatian Armed Forces ( the Patria, MRAP and M-ATV vehicles and the MiG-21 flight simulator. The members of the Honorary Company of the Honorary Battalion performed a ceremonial sequence, and the members of the Military Police an exercise with the working military dogs. Also presented were the military study programmes of the Croatian Defence Academy and the voluntary military service.
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