Handover of the Deputy Chief of Staff duty

Lieutenant General Slavko Barić was relieved from duty of the Deputy Chief of General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces and appointed as the Director of the Croatian Military Academy “Petar Zrinski”, while Rear Admiral (UH) Ante Urlić was relieved from his post of the Commander of the Croatian Navy and appointed as a Deputy Chief of General Staff for Plans and Resources. These were done pursuant to the Decision of the President and Commander in Chief of the Croatian Armed Forces, on the proposal of the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces, Lieutenant General Drago Lovrić and with the approval of the Minister of Defence Ante Kotromanović. Lieutenant General Slavko Barić was performing duty of the Deputy Chief of General Staff since 2003, and Ante Urlić was the Commander of the Croatian Navy since 2007.

The handover ceremony was attended by the Chief of General Staff of the Armed Forces Lieutenant General Drago Lovrić, commander of CAF services, chiefs of GS directorates, Deputy Minister of Defence, commanders of GS units, generals, admirals and by other guests.

General Lovrić congratulated both and wished them success on new duties. Since 2003, when General Barić was appointed as the Deputy Chief of General Staff, the CAF and the entire defence system have come a long way. It was the time when the first Strategic Defence Review, the first Long-term Development Plan were introduced, when CAF were restructured, significantly reduced the size and abandoned the territorial organization and deployment, when a series of strategic and operational documents were issued, and have introduced significant changes and improvements in the planning and managing of resources. These are just some of the most important achievements in the process where General Barić was directly involved, mostly as a manager or co-ordinator on behalf of the General Staff and the Armed Forces, General Lovric said. He also noted that the Croatian Military Academy, where the new duty of General Barić was, was of crucial importance for the future development of the Armed Forces and the development of professional career of NCOs and officers. It is a place where one develops and test conceptual and doctrinal solutions, where it is questioned and experimented. I expect from you General, the same commitment in the transformation of the Croatian Military Academy to modern higher education institution that will be the backbone of training and career development of professional military personnel. In this transformation you will have the full support of the entire General Staff and myself, General Lovrić said.

He also noted that the Armed Forces await important tasks in the future, particularly in the area of planning. Defence planning and resource management in circumstances where they are substantially limited becomes more important and more complex. In this area, General Lovrić said that he expected from Admiral Urlić and all other members of the General Staff and the commanders of the Armed Forces’ services most active engagement. All together, including the Ministry of Defence must make additional efforts to better use available resources, and despite the limited budgetary resources build capabilities that we define, particularly emphasized General Lovrić in his speech.

Later today at the Croatian Military Academy “Petar Zrinski” a solemn transfer of duties between the former Acting Director of the Croatian Military Academy, Brigadier General Slaven Zdilar and former Deputy Chief of General Staff for Plans and Resources Lieutenant General Slavko Barić was also held.