Graduation Ceremony in Croatian Defence Academy on Statehood Day

The ceremony was attended by the President of the Republic of Croatia as the Supreme Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces,  Kolinda Grabar – Kitarović, the  Speaker of the Croatian Parliament, Željko Reiner, the Defence Minister, Josip Buljević (also in the capacity of the envoy of the Prime Minister), the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Mirko Šundov, other senior officials and visitors, as well as the friends and family members of the gradutes.

Congratulating the graduates on their success and the 25th anniversary of independence, the President recalled and paid tribute to the fallen and the deceased participants of the Homeland War and the Croatian defenders.  The President also highlighted the role of the first Croatian President Franjo Tuđman, after whom the Acadeny has been named.

The 1990ies were the part of the recent Croatian history when the then  Croatian government, led by President Tuđman wisely made strategic decisions, after thorough examination of the complex situation. Today, 25 years on, their decisions gain in value, and one of them was the decision on the establishment  of the Military Academy, which has since then been one of the crucial facilitators of professional training and development of the Croatian Armed Forces, who continue to enjoy high respect in the society and trust by the Croatian people.  “The Croatian soldiers have proved to belong to the world’s élite troops”, stressed the President.

The Chief of General Staff, General Mirko Šundov in his address recalled the heroic sacrifice of Croatian defenders from the Homeland War as the foundation of the modern state of Croatia. General Šundov congratulated the students too:  “My most sincere congratulations to to all of you for your commitment, the studying motivation,  professonalism and soldier-like conduct. I wish that you continue to gather new knowledge, skills and capabilities” and said that the students of the military schools have demonstrated their superiority and reliability.

The ceremony was the occasion to present the best peforming students with commendations and awards. Major Davor Vladović has been proclaimed the best student of the 24th generation of the Command and Staff School), 2nd Lieutenant Ivan Dejanović the best student of the 15th generation of the Basic Officer Training, 2nd Lieutenant  Robert Matok the best student of the 19th generation of Military Pilot Training – Cadet Pilot) and 1st Sergeant Dalibor Dumbović the best student of the 14th generation of Senior NCO Training. 
As many as 240 students graduated from the Croatian Defence Academy in the academic year 2015 – 2016; 222 from the Croatian Armed Forces (20 females), one student from the Croatian Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and 17 from foreign armed forces (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Kosovo, Republic of Macedonia, the Republic of Slovenia and the Republic of Serbia).

The graduation ceremony on the occasion of the Statehood Day was preceded by the wreath laying ceremony at the Zagreb Cemetery (at the grave of the first Croatian President Franjo Tuđman and at the Monument to Croatian Defenders), at the momument at the Medvedgrad fort  and at the Šestine cemetery (at the grave of Ante Starčević), the Mass served in Saint Mark Church and the formal session of the Croatian Parliament. The members of the Croatian Armed Forces fired honorary volleys at Medvedgrad Fort, and five ships of the Croatian Navy led  the honorary naval parade from the Lora Navy Port to the town port of Split, and their crews manned the rails at noon rendering the salute to the Homeland.