Brigadier Glavaš was first received by the Minister of Defence Matej Tonin, who emphasized that the new Chief of the General Staff was a truly dedicated soldier, who had proven himself throughout his long career performing many duties both at home and abroad. For this reason, the Minister put his trust in him and proposed that he become the new Chief of the General Staff, emphasizing that during the past month when the pair collaborated intensively, Brigadier General Glavaš proved to be a dedicated and extremely professional soldier who understands and knows what the Slovenian Armed Forces need. Additionally, the Minister listed some fundamental challenges of his tenure, where he specifically underlined the reversing of the trends of personnel recruitment in the Slovenian Armed Forces and the defence budget. The latter one, he considers as a priority and his duty. He expects from the Chief of the General Staff that the Slovenian Armed Forces would present realistic and feasible proposals. The Minister also expressed his appreciation to members of the Slovenian Armed Forces who have so far demonstrated exceptional performance in the fight against COVID-19. He congratulated the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces and wished him good luck in leading the Slovenian Armed Forces.

The new Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, Brigadier General Robert Glavaš, thanked the Minister for his confidence and announced that he and his closest colleagues would strive to meet all the challenges of the Slovenian Armed Forces. He will put in his maximum effort to reverse the trends of personnel recruitment and acquisition of financial resources. He looks forward to and expects good and constructive cooperation with all members of the Slovenian Armed Forces whom he puts his trust in. “Be proud to have the Slovenian Armed Forces that we have. You can count on us in the future," said the new Chief of the General Staff.

Later in the day, Brigadier General Glavaš met with the command structure of the Slovenian Armed Forces and briefed commanders on the focus of his activities in the future. In doing so, he highlighted the important role of the Slovenian military in stemming the spread of the new virus, further provision of support to the police in preventing illegal border crossings, training in changed circumstances, recruitment of personnel, and acquisition of financial resources.

The President of the Republic of Slovenia and Commander-in-Chief of the defence forces, Borut Pahor is planning to receive the new Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces on Tuesday, 21 April.

Photo: Tadej Krese, PA Section/SAF General Staff

Video (youtubeMOD): Robert Cotič