General Drago Lovri\u0107, the Envoy of the Minister of Defence – Lieutenant General Mirko \u0160undov, Chief Defence Inspector, the Military Ordinary, Mons Juraj Jezerinac,\u00a0 the representatives of the Croatian academic community, senior civilian and military officials, the staff and the students of the institutions within the Academy.\u00a0 Among the invitees were family members of the first Croatian President, Franjo Tu\u0111man, and of the fallen and deceased generals and officers\u00a0 of the Croatian armed forces\u00a0 – Staff General Janko Bobetko, Major General Blago Zadro,\u00a0 Major General Andrija Matija\u0161 Pauk, Lieutenant Colonel\u00a0 Predrag Matanovi\u0107 \u2013 after whom units of the Academy have been named.\u00a0
The President extended her congratulations on the 24th anniversary\u00a0 nnd the appreciation to the staff\u00a0 meritorious for the establishment and development of the Academy. The marking of the 24th anniversary is of special importance as the first anniversary under the new name \u2013 that of the first Presient of Croatia Franjo Tu\u0111man.
\u201cBy naming the Academy after the first Croatian President we have made a tribute to his role in the establishment of the sovereign state of Croatia and as the Supreme Commander of the Croatian armed forces in the Homeland War. The Croatian Defence Academy was established in hard times, and in the post-war period gained recognition and successfully continued its mission. It gave major contribution in the transformation of the defence system as a precondition for NATO membership\u201c.
The Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces, General Drago Lovri\u0107 in his address recalled the moment and the circumstances of the establishment of the Academy. \u201eWartime students continued their education in the battlefields, and the Academy taught the heroes of the Homeland War\u00a0 – Predrag Matanovi\u0107, Damir Tomljanovi\u0107 Gavran, Marijan Celjak to name a few –\u00a0 who sacrified their lives for our freedom. They were the\u00a0 propelling force of the Croatian military and their loss is only compensable if our armed forces are built on their system of values, patriotism and loyalty; I expect you to be the peacetime heroes and the heroes of knowledge , and to win the future battles with your knowledge and abilities\u201c.
Chief Inspector,\u00a0 Lieutenant General Mirko \u0160undov highlighted the ongoing developments in the Academy, including the denomination, renovation and the new study programmes illustrating the productive co-operation with the\u00a0 Ministry of Science, Education and Sport and with the academic community. \u201eOn behalf of the Defence Minister and on my personal behalf I am extending the appreciation and congratulation to the members of the Croatian Defence Academy, the academic staff and the students on their achievements, evincing the essential role\u00a0 of\u00a0 knowledge, capabilities and skills for the professional development and career\u201c.
The Commander of the Croatian Defence Academy, Lieutenant General\u00a0 Slavko Bari\u0107 remembered the founding days: \u201cthe Croatian Defence Academy was established in historic days 24 years ago, as an institution offering\u00a0 the Croatian soldiers the opportunity to acquire new knowledge and capabilities, which they applied in the battlefields\u201c.
The new impulse was given after the Homeland War, with the establishment of a new system of education and traning of NCOs and officers , whereas from 2012 to 2014 the Academy grew into a higher education and research institution\u201c.\u00a0
“The activities of the Croatian Defence Academy were crowned with the launching of the university study programmes\u00a0 –\u00a0 Military Engineering and Military Management \u2013 designed in co-operation with the University of Zagreb\u201c, said Lt. Gen. Bari\u0107.\u00a0
Traditionally the ceremony was an occasion to present the promotions, decorations and awards. <\/p>\n[nggallery id=1923]\n
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The Croatian Defence Academy\u00a0 “Dr. Franjo Tu\u0111man” on 18 December marked its 24th anniversary at a ceremony\u00a0 attended by the President of the Republic and the Supreme Commander of the Croatian Armed Forces,\u00a0 Kolinda Grabar Kitarovi\u0107, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4698,"featured_media":36218,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10513","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n