A newly refurbished gym reopens to elite Žilina-based Special Operations Forces (SOF) service personnel
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- Date: 07.11.2022
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As of today, gymgoers of elite 5 Special Forces Regiment are getting back into their exercise and fitness routine at the newly refurbished gym of their home base in Žilina. Complex refurbishment works to the gym have secured funding of €1.8m from the MOD. The gym was reopened by Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď, State Secretary Marian Majer, and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko in a ribbon-cutting ceremony today.
Through this state-of-the-art SOF facility, which should have been the standard of the day years ago, the MOD has taken care to establish better quality conditions for physical fitness and training – these belong to the basic professional attributes and requirements for regular personnel, as set out in the in-Service Physical Employment Standards (PES).
Meanwhile, a number of refurbishment works have been completed on the Žilina base this year. Over €221,000 has been spent towards routine maintenance to improve the conditions for SOF service members, marking a more than threefold increase in this area in just twelve months.
Among other additional improvements, completed or still in progress, are the replacement of windows and washrooms, the repair of a loading ramp and toilets, hygiene paint coatings and plaster repair, as well as the numerous repairs of electrical and gas installations, lightning rods, and pressure equipment.
More investment projects worth nearly €13.5m are planned for the coming years, including refurbishing buildings, installing new fences, upgrading the heating systems, and constructing an armoury storage facility.
Elsewhere, the head of the MOD visited 1 Mechanised Brigade in Topoľčany, where he was given a tour of the recently completed works to the base's facilities, to include new doors and floors, repaired toilets, roofs, electrical wiring and fittings, interior lighting systems, and an insulated building.
After the tour of the facilities, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “I am delighted to see the progress being made here too. We have invested over €444,000 in maintenance this year alone, which is a fourfold increase in maintenance expenditure against 2021. Nevertheless, we are aware of the host of challenges that lie ahead of us. That is why, in addition to standard maintenance, an additional almost €3mil will be dedicated to more extensive projects in the coming years.”
Looking to the future, the MOD is planning to reconstruct a repair workshop and protected spaces, to replace exterior fences and gates, and to upgrade the heating distribution system on the Topoľčany base, Director General of the MOD Estate and Infrastructure Department Ján Bučan added.
Through this state-of-the-art SOF facility, which should have been the standard of the day years ago, the MOD has taken care to establish better quality conditions for physical fitness and training – these belong to the basic professional attributes and requirements for regular personnel, as set out in the in-Service Physical Employment Standards (PES).
Meanwhile, a number of refurbishment works have been completed on the Žilina base this year. Over €221,000 has been spent towards routine maintenance to improve the conditions for SOF service members, marking a more than threefold increase in this area in just twelve months.
Among other additional improvements, completed or still in progress, are the replacement of windows and washrooms, the repair of a loading ramp and toilets, hygiene paint coatings and plaster repair, as well as the numerous repairs of electrical and gas installations, lightning rods, and pressure equipment.
More investment projects worth nearly €13.5m are planned for the coming years, including refurbishing buildings, installing new fences, upgrading the heating systems, and constructing an armoury storage facility.
Elsewhere, the head of the MOD visited 1 Mechanised Brigade in Topoľčany, where he was given a tour of the recently completed works to the base's facilities, to include new doors and floors, repaired toilets, roofs, electrical wiring and fittings, interior lighting systems, and an insulated building.
After the tour of the facilities, Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “I am delighted to see the progress being made here too. We have invested over €444,000 in maintenance this year alone, which is a fourfold increase in maintenance expenditure against 2021. Nevertheless, we are aware of the host of challenges that lie ahead of us. That is why, in addition to standard maintenance, an additional almost €3mil will be dedicated to more extensive projects in the coming years.”
Looking to the future, the MOD is planning to reconstruct a repair workshop and protected spaces, to replace exterior fences and gates, and to upgrade the heating distribution system on the Topoľčany base, Director General of the MOD Estate and Infrastructure Department Ján Bučan added.
