The marking of 20th anniversary of SPP Croatia- Minnesota

The ceremony was attended by the Croatian Defence Minister Josip Buljević, the Ambassador of the U.S. to the Republic of Croatia, Julieta Valls Noyes, the envoy of the President of the Republic of Croatia Maja Čavlović, the Governer of Miinnesota Mark Dayton, the Croatian Minister of Science, Education and Sport, Predrag Šustar, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Mirko Šundov, the Minnesota National Guard Adjutant General, Major General  Richard Nash, former chiefs and commanders of the units of the Croatian Armed Forces and of the Minnesota National Guard respectively, the representatives of the Ministry of Defence and of the Croatian Armed Forces, of government institutions of the Republic of Croatia and of the Minnesota National Guard respectively, the representatives of the associations from the Homeland War, of the local and regional government and others.

The programme kicked off with a formal opening of the kitchen in the Dubovac Elementary School which has been renovated within a 900,000 kuna-worth humanitarian project funded by the U.S government (through the US.Army Command Europe in collaboration with the U.S. Embassy to Croatia). The works began on 23 May 2016 were carried out by the Minnesota National Guard’s engineer units and the Engineer Regiment of the Croatian Army. The opening itself was preceded by the addresses by the U.S. Ambassador Noyes, the Minister of Science, Education and Sport, the Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard, the Commander of the Croatian Army, Lieutenant General Mate Ostović, the Mayor of Karlovac Damir Jelić and the School principal Irmelina Sablić. The speakers appreciated the donours and commended the engineer units, highlighting the project as the example of the assistance provided by the armed forces to the civilian community, as well as an example of the international co-operation of the Republic of Croatia with the United States between the Croatian Armed Forces and the Minnesota National Guard respectively.
The central event was the formal ceremony held at  Dom HV-a “Zrinski” in Karlovac, featuring the reciting of a brief timeline of the co-operation between the Croatian Armed Forces and the Minnesota National Guard and a 5-min film dedicated to it.  The Defence Minister presented the staff of the Office for Defense Cooperation of the U.S. Embassy to Croatia with the decoration and the Adjutant General conferred awards and commendations on the members of the Croatian Armed Forces contributing significantly to the successful co-operation.
The past twenty years of co-operation have brought  closer both the Croatian Armed Forces and the Minnesota National Guard and the two respective countries, said the Defence Minister.  “We value highly the efforts invested by the U.S. government , the state of Minnesota and its National Guard to develop the bilateral co-operation. The co-operation with the Minnesota National Guard has contributed greatly to the realisation of our strategic goals – the entry to NATO and the transformation of the Croatian Armed Forces into a modern and interoperable force capable of responding to the current security threats both in Croatia and to the Alliance.
Summarising the co-operation between the Croatian Armed Forces and the Minnesota National Guard, General  Šundov recalled that during the first ten years the State Partnership Program was confined to education, and in time has grown into a military programme aimed at promoting military professionalism and NATO interoperability“. “The Croatian Armed Forces have since then participated in a number of training activities and exercises with the Minnesota National Guard, including the joint mentoring in ISAF in the period 2009 – 2012“, said the Chief of the General Staff, who also emphasised the joint projects of assistance to the civilian cmmunity as the one concluded in the Dubovac school.

The envoy of the President of the Republic, Maja Čavlović underlined that the past two decades had seen excellent and highly productive co-operation  which has grown into an alliance and partnership. “Among all the  American programs of defence co-operation, the State Partnership Program with the Minnesota National Guard has the pivotal place and role; today the co-operation is better and wider than ever, yet leaving room for further development“.

The U.S. Ambassador looked back on the giant step made by Croatia over the past 20 years from a country heaing the scars of war to a NATO member, providing contribution in the missions in Kosovo and Afghanistan, and the EU member and one of the most important U.S. allies.  The Ambassador enumerated the activities within the State Partnership Program and emphasised those under way – the co-operation in cyber defence, the improvement of the “Eugen Kvaternik“ Training Range near Slunj and the introduction of the U.S. helicopters into the operational service by the Croatian Armed Forces.

Governer Dayton praised the excellent relations between the Republic of Croatia and Minnesota in all domains, and reminded of the recent visit of the President of the Republic of Croatia to Minnesota. Having recalled the former Governor of Minnesora –  Rudy Perpich, who was of Croatian descent – the Governor expressed his pride over the U.S. and the Croatian soldiers and the hope in 20 and more years of continued co-operation.
Major General Nash underlined that the Minnesota-Croatia partnership was strong and that the co-operation evolved from the military training and practice into projects which involved a civilian dimension as well (e.g. cyber defence, humanitarian projects). The partnership has since the beginning been characterised by mutual trust, which is evident in all situations and locations, be it peace support operations and missions, transports or jointly renovated schools.

Following the ceremony, the representatives and the guests visited the “Domobranska” Barracks in Karlovac, hosting the “Open Day“, with the BBQ prepared by the U.S. soldiers and the beans stew by the Croatian soldiers and the music programme performed by the Croatian Armed Forces Orchestra and  folk ensembles. The visitors had the opportunity to see the products displayed by the veterans associations from the Homeland War, family-run farms, craft associations, county and municipal firms as well as the static display of the weaponry and the vehicles used in the first days of the Homeland War.