P. Gajdoš: Awarded war veterans are deserving of gratitude and recognition from us

Today (8 November) war veterans gathered at the State Opera House in Banská Bystrica to attend the 2nd Military Bands Concert and to receive medals from President and Commander-in-Chief of the SVK Armed Forces Andrej Kiska and Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš. The ceremonial event was dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the end of World War I.
 
Speaking at the State Opera House, Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš said: “Awarded veterans are deserving of gratitude and recognition from us for what they have done in favour of freedom and peace. Events such as this one provide us with an opportunity to award them in public for their service to our country.”
 
Defence Minister Peter Gajdoš presented the SVK Armed Forces 25th Anniversary Commemorative Medal to members of the national struggle for liberation Sgt (Rtd) Jozef Sokol and Benjamín Strmeň as well as to contemporary veterans Lt Col (Rtd) Jíří Kvasnička and SSgt (Rtd) Jozef Kubík.
 
President Andrej Kiska awarded the Slovak President Gratitude Medal to members of the national struggle for liberation Brig Gen (Rtd) Ján Iľanovský (the medal was taken over by his son) and Vladimír Strmeň as well as to contemporary veterans Col (Rtd) Ľubomír Kolenčík and SSgt Katarína Gašparíková.
 
Currently, 475 SVK personnel (26 servicewomen) are deployed on international crisis management operations. 18,500 SVK personnel (521 servicewomen) have rotated in and out of missions and operations abroad since the foundation of the Slovak Republic on 1 January 1993. As of today, the MOD registers 7, 686 war veterans, of whom 127 are WWII veterans and 7,559 are contemporary veterans.