Doctrine Centre and Organisational Core for Stand-up of Joint Operations Command established in Banská Bystrica

On Thursday 1 October 2020, a new element of the SVK Armed Forces – the Doctrine Centre and Organisational Core for Stand-up of SVK Joint Operations Command – was established by the signing of the Protocols of Establishment in Banská Bystrica, with the participation of Defence State Secretary Marian Majer, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko and top Armed Forces leaders.

Speaking at the official ceremony, Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko said: “By establishing the Doctrine Centre, we are filling one of the gaps in the structure of the Armed Forces. Apart from Armed Forces modernisation and well-trained personnel, what a modern armed forces needs is the development of the doctrinal environment and a rapid response to the changes that the current and future security challenges put before us. In addition, the organisational core for the future Joint Operations Command is being formed here today. This Command will be the answer to the lessons learned from our operations abroad, the experiences of our allies and the expertise from the conduct of operations at the operational and strategic levels. Moreover, it will allow us to make our domestic crisis management operations more effective, including the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.”

During the ceremony, the Chief of Defence appointed Brig Gen Martin Michalko, Deputy Commander of the SVK Army, as the new Commander of the Centre.

As well as designing doctrines, standards and regulations for all services and branches, the new element of the Armed Forces will be tasked to pave the way for the stand-up of the Joint Operations Command, which will be responsible for planning and conducting all operations. The Joint Operations Command will undertake tasks across the entire spectrum of operations, ranging from running domestic crisis management operations, such as disaster relief efforts, to conducting decisive military operations in defence of Slovakia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, while concurrently playing a role in support of international operations and in performance of international commitments.