Defence Minister J. Naď takes closer look at real state of military units in Nitra and Sereď

This time as part of his latest away day, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď took a closer look at the real state of the military units based in Nitra and Sereď. Joined by the Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko, Minister Naď visited the Engineer Battalion in Sereď as well as the 12th Mechanised Battalion and the Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade in Nitra.

Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: "This day I have once and again dedicated to meeting with our service members and I can say that my respect for their profession and work is increasingly deepening with every such away day. At the same time, it makes me all the more sorry to see them confronted daily with the problems that have been left unsolved and neglected in the long run." In this context, he assured the men and women of the SVK Armed Forces that he will do his utmost to create adequate Service conditions for them.

For the Minister, Sereď-based engineers delivered a presentation on their current goals, prospects of further development, international security activities and Active Reserves (AR) training. This year 121 reservists are supposed to undertake training in the Battalion, however, the training programme has been halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Currently, the capabilities of the Engineer Battalion Sereď are employed in domestic crisis management capacity, for example, in cleaning up in the aftermath of natural disasters or delivering humanitarian assistance to civilian populations.

During his visit to air defenders of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade Nitra, the Minister was provided a status update on SVK airspace defence, which is made more complicated by the fact that the radar systems are nearing the end of their life cycle. As well as taking a leading role in Surface Based Air Defence (SBAD), members of the Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade Nitra are deployed abroad, including being posted to NATO structures and Peace Support Operations (PSO) HQs, or as international observers. While still in Nitra, the Minister also met with soldiers of the 12th Mechanised Battalion. Subsequently, Minister Naď and State Secretary Marian Majer paid a visit to Turecký vrch [Turkish Hill] Training Area.