400 Initial Military Training (IMT) and Voluntary Military Training (VMT) graduates swear the Oath of Allegiance at Martin base

A total of 351 trainee soldiers and officer cadets of the Slovak Armed Forces Academy, including 94 women, have passed out of a seven-week Initial Military Training (IMT) programme and sworn the Oath of Allegiance at the Attestation Ceremony at the Training and Mobilisation Force Generation Base Martin today. Apart from them, 49 graduates of an 11-week Voluntary Military Training (VMT) programme have taken the Oath of Allegiance too. Of them, 30 VMT soldiers want to serve in the Slovak Armed Forces.

They were congratulated on making their oath – the highest moral promise of loyalty to the Slovak Armed Forces – by State Secretary of the SVK Ministry of Defence Marian Majer and Deputy Chief of Defence Maj Gen Peter Babiar.

Addressing the gathered graduates, State Secretary Marian Majer said: “This day will influence the rest of your lives – you are entering an establishment which enjoys high levels of public support, because the Armed Forces have been doing a superb job, while demonstrating the justification for their role in the system of institutions in Slovakia. This has been especially so in the past 2-3 years as we have addressed such uneasy tasks as the response to the pandemic, the evacuation of our citizens from Afghanistan, and, last but not least, the conflict in Ukraine.”

Mr Majer appreciated all those who were joining the Armed Forces at this difficult time, saying: “The Slovak Armed Forces are the basis of not only the security of the State but the functioning of the State. This is largely thanks to the personal quality of each and every individual in the Armed Forces. Most importantly, it is the personnel that give the Slovak Armed Forces their reputation and that we can rely on and we are so proud of.”

Mr Majer thanked the instructors for getting the new soldiers ready for service in the Armed Forces. After completing the IMT, the young soldiers are ready to perform only basic military duties and will, therefore, move on to branch-specialised training. On their successful completion of Phase 2 training, they will report to respective military units of the Slovak Armed Forces.

On completion of the VMT programme, VMT soldiers are promoted to the rank of 2nd Degree Private (OR-2) and are transferred to the Reserves, with an option to enter the Active Reserves and deploy on domestic crisis management operations.

This is the third intake to SVK regular forces this year. Over 460 new soldiers – the highest number of soldiers to pass out of initial training on a single day in the history of the Slovak Armed Forces – took their oath in February, as did almost 200 young soldiers in May. Over 1,000 new soldiers have pledged their allegiance to the Slovak Armed Forces so far this year.