Major General Daniel Zmeko to become the next Chief of Defence, SVK Cabinet has today approved his nomination
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- Date: 25.04.2018
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Acting on the nomination of SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš, the SVK Cabinet has today approved the appointment of Major General Daniel Zmeko as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Chief of Defence/CHOD). General Zmeko meets all the legal conditions and is fully professionally qualified for performing the duties and responsibilities of the post.
Over the duration of his more than 30-year-long military career in the SVK Armed Forces, he held several command appointments with mechanised units from platoon to brigade levels. He served as Chief of the Operations Branch and Chief of Staff in the SVK Land Forces HQ. He held several senior staff positions in the General Staff, including Commander of the Operations Control Centre. He also served as Deputy Commander of the SVK Land Forces. Maj Gen Zmeko has operational experience from UNFICYP, Cyprus and commanded the SVK Contingent in Iraq. As the Commander of the Operations Control Centre, he was responsible for all international operations and carried out an extensive transformation of the SVK Contingent in Afghanistan. He also held the appointment of Chief of Staff for Operations Support in the SVK General Staff and was responsible for the fields of logistics, finances, personnel, CIS, and SVK Air Force operations in the SVK Armed Forces as a whole. Currently, he is the National Armaments Director with responsibility for modernisation and armaments. All things considered, he has extensive expertise and experience of the command and control (C2) processes and the support processes across the General Staff and the Ministry of Defence.
Needless to emphasise, the selection and nomination of the Chief of Defence falls under the remit of the Minister of Defence who submits the nomination to the SVK Cabinet for approval, whereupon the President appoints the new CHOD. We respect the right of people to express their opinion, however, we object to those who are trying to question this nomination, on which the Minister of Defence has the right to decide. We cast no doubt on the qualities of other generals, however, the post of Chief of Defence cannot be claimable and, in light of the significance of this post, all factors must be considered when making such nomination. We are strictly against politicising this post, which has never been subject to political wrangling until today, because as an institution the SVK Armed Forces is apolitical as per legislation.
Needless to emphasise, the selection and nomination of the Chief of Defence falls under the remit of the Minister of Defence who submits the nomination to the SVK Cabinet for approval, whereupon the President appoints the new CHOD. We respect the right of people to express their opinion, however, we object to those who are trying to question this nomination, on which the Minister of Defence has the right to decide. We cast no doubt on the qualities of other generals, however, the post of Chief of Defence cannot be claimable and, in light of the significance of this post, all factors must be considered when making such nomination. We are strictly against politicising this post, which has never been subject to political wrangling until today, because as an institution the SVK Armed Forces is apolitical as per legislation.
