Participants in Pilot Training of National Defence Forces Take Ceremonial Oath-2

Brezova pod Bradlom, 20 July (TASR) - Forty participants in the pilot training of the National Defence Forces (NOS), including President Peter Pellegrini and Defence Minister Robert Kalinak (Smer-SD), took a ceremonial military oath near the General M. R. Stefanik's Mound on the Bradlo Hill on Sunday. Pellegrini pointed out that every day brought situations where it was necessary to go to the limit of one's physical and mental abilities. However, the training doesn't end with the oath-taking. "The most difficult part is yet to come, as we have the final training from Monday to Tuesday, which will be about surviving 24 hours under the open sky somewhere in the forests and using all the skills and information that we have learnt during the whole training," he said. He reiterated that as a NOS member he is ready to help the Slovak Republic whenever necessary. Sunday's oath-taking strengthened the president's conviction that undergoing the training was the right thing to do. The hardest thing was to overcome one's own limits, he said, adding that he hasn't missed a single discipline so far. Pellegrini doesn't understand the criticism from the public and part of the political spectrum regarding his participation in the training. Before taking the oath, the participants in the ceremony honoured the memory of General M. R. Stefanik, who was born on July 21, 1880 in the nearby village of Kosariska. "Stefanik is a man who is intertwined with our entire history, and he also serves as a role model for me in many moments. I am therefore extremely proud that we are the first NOS training graduates to take the oath on the mound," stated Pellegrini. Kalinak expressed his pleasure over the public's interest in being part of NOS. He spoke about the thousands who have sent in the registration form. "We have already managed to register more than 600 of them and we're preparing next [training] rounds," he explained. Given the limited capacities, four to six rounds might be held by the end of this year. Therefore, as the first task after returning from the training, he wants to intensively work on the modernisation and reconstruction of the existing infrastructure in Martin (Zilina region), the construction of new facilities in the east of Slovakia and the completion of the Turecky vrch military training area. NOS has been divided into three types of reserves. Operational reserves are intended mainly for people with military experience, for example, former soldiers or people who have already undergone some kind of training or underwent basic military service and know what they would do in the army. Army newcomers without experience could apply for the standby reserves. Within the NOS structure, military reserves have also been established, in which those interested can receive training without the obligation to commit to the reserves. Those who undergo the training will receive an allowance and the salary of a soldier of a respective rank. The Defence Ministry has also promised to provide some other benefits. ko