New Deputy Chief of Defence

Maj Gen Miroslav Kocian assumed the appointment of Deputy Chief of Defence – Chief of Staff (DCHOD/COS) with effect from 1 April. He has succeeded Maj Gen Jindřich Joch, who has taken over command of the SVK Land Forces as Commander SVK Land Forces (COM SVK LF). Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš received both DCHOD/COS and COM SVK LF during a meeting held in the presence of CHOD Gen Milan Maxim.

“I wish for you to have the best of luck in your new appointments and good teams around you, who you can trust and rely on,” said Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš during the meeting. CHOD Gen Maxim added that “new old blood” is coming back to the MOD, as Maj Gen Kocian acted in the capacity of 1st DCHOD in the past.
 

“I approach this job with respect, just as any other previous job I have held so far. And I wish to contribute to the success of it with my expertise,” said the newly appointed DCHOD/COS.

Maj Gen Kocian has had a distinguished military career. Having been educated at the Military Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš and at the military educational institutions in Brno, Hamburg and Rome, he served with the SVK Air Force as well as with the SVK Training and Support Forces HQ. He also gained other experience of cooperating with the Bundeswehr while serving directly in Germany and with KFOR in Kosovo. At the General Staff of the SVK Armed Forces he held the appointment of Chief of Staff for Operations and became 1st DCHOD in 2011. He led the Office of the Military Representative of the Slovak Republic to NATO in Brussels until the end of March of this year.