Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Army General Milan Mojsilović said that Serbia is late with the introduction of mandatory military service. Essence is to build the defense capacity of Serbia, every day and every year that we wait, we lose generations of young soldiers, said General Mojsilović. He added that there are up to 20.000 soldiers-recruits in one class, on an annual basis, two and a half months of five thousand of them in one class, or cycle, and he noted that younger soldiers will be recruited first, starting in 2006. writes RTS.
Regular military service it was suspended in 2011, but not abolished, which makes the reactivation procedure simpler.
On September 20, the Government of Serbia adopted the Conclusion on the establishment of a Working Group for reviewing activities and measures aimed at activating the obligation military service, which started all the necessary actions with the aim of enabling the introduction of mandatory military service.
On the other hand, there are conflicting opinions about the reasons and benefits it will bring to the defense system.
Why is the reactivation of military service necessary?
The Chief of the General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilović, said in the show "Takovska 10" that he had to explain what personnel in the army do - the active staff consists of officers, non-commissioned officers, soldiers under contract, including soldiers on voluntary military service, and the reserve staff consists of reserve officers, reserve non-commissioned officers and reservists.
"Since military service or military service was frozen, a total of 14 years have passed, in 2010 a decision was made, in 2011 we actually had no soldiers on military service. That's a total of 14 years. Take into account that the reserve team is deleted from the records and obligations to the reserve team end after the age of 65. It is simply deleted from the records, all kinds of responsibility ceases in relation to the reserve squad", points out General Mojsilović.
In 14 years, about 280.000 soldiers were registered
He notes that in 14 years, and the recruitment contingent ranges between 20.000 and 36.000 per generation, around 280.000 potential soldiers were de facto entered into the military records.
"Quite a serious number of people, with definitely the healthiest years, I'm talking about 2011 to 2024 - that's 14 years times 20.000, that's 280.000 people - 280.000 young men, who were only entered into the military register without a single day of military training," he said. is a general, noting that it is about 1992 or 1993.
He explains that 280.000 of our citizens do not have a single day of training. Which means that the age of the reserve team has gone up.
According to him, the youngest should be more than 30 years old if he was the last soldier to serve in the military in 2010.
The younger ones, from 2006 onwards, will be recruited first
"In one class, we counted on up to 20.000 soldiers-recruits, on an annual basis. So, two and a half months, 5.000 of them in one class, that is, a cycle," said Mojsilović and added that younger soldiers will be recruited first, starting in 2006.
He adds that the elderly will go to training centers and that they have a plan to work with them a little shorter than those 75 days.
"We draw the starting point for the training of Serbian citizens in the national security strategy. And she says that our decision is to have military neutrality. That is, in the defense strategy, where we recognize one of the models for achieving certain national interests through the model of total defense. "The model of total defense involves military and civil defense," said Mojsilović.
What can be learned in 75 days
Answering the question of what can be learned in those 75 days, Mojsilović says that the defined goal is for it to be basic infantry training.
"We planned for the first 30 days to be spent on training for a certain type of shooting, to undergo training in the handling of personal and individual protective equipment, to do exercises related to the production of protective shelters, medical training, first aid. So, it's all about the individual capabilities of the soldiers," he explained.
The second month is intended for tactical training - marksman, machine gunner, including supplementary infantry shooting: at least two during the day and one at night.
Then, 15 days, those up to 75 days, would be directed towards training in camp and field conditions.
A part of the contingent would end up in specialist training centers. There are three basic training centers and six specialist training centers in the army.
"In the part that refers to the recruitment of soldiers, if you are profiled as a tank driver, you are automatically sent to the army training center in Požarevac and there you will be trained as a tank driver, within those 75 days, and if you are profiled as a motor vehicle driver vehicles, you go to Kruševac, that is, to Kraljevo, and there you train for 75 days as a motor vehicle driver," he explains.
And he adds: "If you are a paratrooper, you will undergo basic training at the training center in Valjevo. In Valjevo, they will deal with recruits and soldiers of the first category".
What will happen to the employment relationship?
The general said that the suspension of the employment relationship must be represented in this case, adding that such a thing is possible in public companies.
"We appreciate that there are not many cases of people being employed over the Internet at that age, when someone is 19 years old." "We have an idea to propose to the Government that those who have loans and need to be recruited receive a moratorium on repayment for at least those two and a half months," said General Mojsilović.
The idea is that when a soldier completes his military service, he should be in a war deployment in the garrison closest to where he comes from.
Conscientious objection
When it comes to conscientious objection, Mojsilović said that it is a constitutional category and that it cannot be ignored.
"There are professions and specialties in the military that do not require and do not require you to train to hold a rifle." But those recruits will also be in training. Those who would not be trained to shoot, would be in military service for 155 days. There is no difference between religious and national elements in the army, so you can also be a firefighter in the army," said Mojsilović.
Source: RTS
