Firefighter forces and Wings of Storm visit EU Parliament

The visit took place from 8 – 10 November at the invitation by Dubravka Šuica, the Croatian MEP, in recognition to the crews for the years-long outstanding firefighting  contribution along the Adriatic coast and to the “Wings of Storm“ as a great international promotor of the Croatian Armed Forces and the Republic of Croatia following the best overall performance award won at  the Royal International Air Tatoo (RIAT) show in the RAF Fairford Base, the UK in July 2016.

They also visited the NATO Headquarters, and were welcomed by the Croatian Military Representative to NATO and the EU, Major General Mate Pađen.
The Commander of the Firefighter Squadron, Lieutenant Colonel Davor Turković underlined that the air firefighter forces maintained the year-round readiness to intervene in the event of fires, and said that the invitation to Brussels was a recognition and award for the efforts invested in that respect“. 
“The Croatian firefighter forces have an important role and developed capability of assistance in firefighting to other countries at the operative level within the EU” , said Lt. Col. Turković.

The “Wings of Storm“ Team Leader, Lieutenant Colonel Damir Barišić extended the appreciation to Ms Šuica for initiating the memorable visit to the EU and NATO main institutions.
“It was always an honour to perform at the many international air shows and to present the capabilities of our armed forces“, stressed  Lt. Col. Barišić.

The Croatian MEP Dubravka Šuica expressed her honour to host the pilots and crews guarding the Croatian littoral and island from the fires for years already.  “The Croatian crews fighting the fires, performing emergency medical flights and search-and-rescue actions on a 24/7 basis, displaying the courage and humanity in helping the locals and the tourists during the high season have merited our deep gratitude,  said Ms Šuica and pledged to continue lobbying for the Croatian firefighter forces to receive the “European Citizen Prize“ – awarded by the European Parliament for outstanding contributions by individuals and organisations promoting mutual understanding within the EU. 
MEP Šuica also expressed the honour of meeting and hosting the “Wings of Storm“ Team, whose superb performances continue  to delight the domestic and international audiences and demonstrate the excellent promotion of Croatia in Europe and wider by its Armed Forces. She said that hosting the two units of the Croatian Air Force and Air Defence in her professional environment and presenting the work of the Croatian delegation in the European Parliament was her way of showing the appreciation to them.