Oath of Allegiance sworn by a high number of Junior Soldiers in the public after years of pause

Almost 400 new Junior Soldiers (JS) swore the Oath of Allegiance in the grounds of the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) Memorial and Museum in Banská Bystrica as they embarked on their service to the nation. This is the highest number of soldiers taking the oath together in one day since the Slovak Armed Forces went fully professional in 2006. The passing out parade took place in the presence of Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko.

Altogether, the oath was taken by 396 Junior Soldiers, including 305 servicemen and 91 servicewomen. These figures include 190 trainee soldiers, 186 Officer Cadets (OCs), and 20 Professionally Qualified Officers (PQOs) – all of whom have passed out of the challenging seven weeks of basic training.

In his congratulatory speech addressing the “military reinforcements”, Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer said: “The war in Ukraine has shown us that security, peace and intact borders cannot be taken for granted today. Also, it has shown us that the individual soldierʼs career is a significant and important mission, even in todayʼs Slovakia.”

In his speech to the young men and women of the Slovak Armed Forces, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “A great honour and recognition have been bestowed on all of you who are standing here today for mastering the intensive seven-week Initial Military Training (IMT) programme – you took the Oath of Allegiance in the imaginary shadows of the heroes of the Slovak National Uprising Memorial on Armed Forces Day. On this day, we remember a handful of Slovak volunteers who, despite being outnumbered, dispersed a good chunk of Hungarian troops on the fields around Brezová. By taking the Oath of Allegiance, you committed yourselves to being the followers of these ancestors of ours who are credited with shaping the national identity of the Slovak people and Slovakiaʼs statehood.”

The Slovak National Uprising (SNP) Memorial and Museum in Banská Bystrica, the venue of the passing out parade, epitomize the legacy of the heroes of Slovakia's WW2 Resistance and the fight against the enemy.