Maj Gen Daniel Zmeko assumes the appointment of SVK Chief of Defence at a formal Chief of Defence Change of Command ceremony

Maj Gen Daniel Zmeko (to be promoted Lieutenant General with effect from 7 May) has today taken over the appointment of Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Slovak Republic (Chief of Defence) from Gen Milan Maxim at a formal Chief of Defence Change of Command ceremony held in front of MOD Main Building, as the tenure of Gen Milan Maxim as CHOD comes to an end. Maj Gen Zmeko will officially take up his duties on Monday (7 May 2018). In attendance at the formal CHOD COC ceremony was Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defence and Security Anton Hrnko.
 
SVK Minister of Defence Peter Gajdoš expressed his gratitude to Gen Maxim for his service not only at the top of the hierarchy of the SVK Armed Forces Command but also for his lifelong – more than 40-year military career in favour of the SVK Armed Forces. “General, I appreciate having cooperated with you,” he said. At the same time, he wished a lot of strength to the incoming CHOD Maj Gen Daniel Zmeko. “It is essential for you to win respect from all Servicemen and women, because that is the alpha and omega of commanding the Armed Forces. I have no doubt you will manage to do so, otherwise I would not have placed my trust in you,” said Head of the MOD.
 
Gen Milan Maxim said: “I can say that the past 43 years of my service have not been easy, especially the last four years. They have brought challenges and I have had to be ready to resolve the seemingly unresolvable problems.” He also wished the Armed Forces well for the future, hoping that no tragedies would befall them.
 
As the newly appointed SVK Chief of Defence Maj Gen Daniel Zmeko said, he will go out of his way to fulfil the expectations: “I will do my best to harmonise the processes associated with the building of armed forces so that personnel, training and modernisation go hand in hand with each other, and will make sure that our Armed Forces develop smoothly.”

President of the Slovak Republic Andrej Kiska, the Commander-in-Chief of the SVK Armed Forces, announced the appointment of Maj Gen Daniel Zmeko to the SVK Armed Forcesʼ most senior post on 26 April 2018. Over the duration of his more than 30-year-long military career in the SVK Armed Forces, Maj Gen Daniel Zmeko held a number of command appointments with mechanised units from platoon through to brigade levels, and whilst posted to the SVK General Staff and deployed on international crisis management missions and operations.