German Military Attaché received the Order of the Croatian Trefoil

The decoration is awarded for outstanding merit in the development of bilateral relations between Croatia and Germany. Colonel Mayer was accredited on 21 September 2009, and during his tenure, he established an excellent platform that has enabled the entry of the Republic of Croatia in the group of countries with the status of privileged partners of the Republic of Germany.

Deputy Minister Višnja Tafra said that Colonel Mayer significantly contributed to the successful implementation and improvement of bilateral defence cooperation between the defence ministries of the two countries, raising it at a very high level. “During the mandate of Colonel Mayer bilateral cooperation was based on joint actions within the NATO, participation in operations and joint engagement in the stabilization of Southeast Europe, and as a result has created an excellent platform to establish a more comprehensive and privileged partnership”, Tafra said. She noted that the Croatian-German alliance was evident the best in the international ISAF operation in which members of the Croatian Armed Forces and their German counterparts contribute to the stabilization and transition of Afghanistan, and thereby to global security.

In early September, 2012, the 20^th CAF contingent of 259 members was sent to the ISAF international peace support  operation, which have been deployed in the Regional Command North under German leadership.

Lieutenant Colonel Ralf Mayer, who before taking over the military attaché duty was a student of the 11^th generation of the “Ban Josip Jelačić” War College, thanked for the decoration, saying it was the result of a joint efforts of the Croatian and German defence cooperation. As one of the largest joint successes, he stressed the Croatian involvement in the Atalanta international operation, where from this year there have been two officers of the Croatian Navy deployed, one of which is on board the German Navy, the other in the German base in Djibouti.