A ceremonial promotion of the youngest officers of the Serbian Army was held VIDEO

A ceremonial promotion of the youngest officers of the Serbian Army was held VIDEO

The ceremony started at 10 a.m. and was attended by the President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, who at the beginning greeted the young officers in front of the Serbian Parliament with "Officers and cadets, hello!"

After this, the national flag was raised and the hymn "God of Justice" was performed.

The decree of the President of the Republic of Serbia on the promotion of cadets of the Military Academy to the rank of second lieutenant was read.

The president then awarded the most successful second lieutenants with pistols with a dedication. The best cadets of the Military Academy are Miloš Kostić - first in the rank in the form of RV and PVO, overall score 9.66, Aleksandar Nikolić - first in the rank in the form of KoV, overall score 9.16 and Kristina Živanović - first in the rank in the services, with overall score 9.96.

The best cadet of the Faculty of Medicine of the Academy of Medical Sciences is Mladen Hadži Makunčević, with an overall score of 9.96. The first in the rank of the Military Academy, Kristina Živanović, addressed the gathering.

"In front of you are brave men, taught to give their best and even more. As descendants of the heroic past, we are obliged to preserve and defend for future generations the seal of the sacred and the beauty of the officer's calling, that is our mission and our choice," she said.

Vučić: Serbia is much richer today

President of Serbia and the Commander-in-Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces, Aleksandar Vučić, addressed the crowd in front of the National Assembly.

"The University of Defense made us happy with a new generation of second lieutenants. Serbia is much richer today, richer for another generation of second lieutenants who do not remember wars. I congratulate you on completing your education," he said. Also, according to his words, looking through a historical prism, the creation of modern Serbia is unthinkable without the creation of large domains of our army.

"Only the People's Army could defend itself in the way it did in the First World War, in Košare, Kačanik. By choosing the profession of an officer, they show their patriotism in an unequivocal way. Who knows better than the army what war is, that's why we want peace. We want that young people like you build their families here. Serbia is determined to follow the path of military neutrality, we do not threaten anyone, it is not our intention to cause anxiety and fear," President Vučić clearly said.

He added that everything will be done to ensure that their standard of living is at the highest level, and that wage growth is the highest in modern history.

"In our tradition, officers are people who enter into a covenant relationship with their country. Serbia appreciates and loves its army, Serbia sings about its army. We all know what the presence of our army in the Land Security Zone means. Duke Mišić knew how to raise the spirit of his army with his personal knowledge and courage. You will also be guided by this. I think and hope that you will never have the need to repeat the magnificent undertakings of your ancestors. Serbian military morale is the vertical to which our whole society is struggling. Those who threaten our people and Serbia today have never understood how strong we are to protect what is ours. We will not give Kosovo, Metohija, nor an inch of our homeland to anyone," Vučić said at the end.

After the President's address, a ceremonial parade was performed with the singing of "March on the Drina". The song "Heart of a Hero" was performed by the choir of the artistic ensemble of the Ministry of Defense "Stanislav Binički", after which the parade of the cadet brigade was performed, and then the helicopter ceremonial flyover of the Serbian Air Force followed.

Those gathered could also hear the song "Heroes from Pastrik" performed by soloist Katarina Božić, and the choir "Stanislav Binički", and Katarina Božić and Dušan Svilar performed the musical track "Voice of Serbia". After this song, the flag was sent off, which ended the ceremony.

Just to reiterate, a total of 135 cadets of the Military Academy and the Faculty of Medicine of the Military Academy were promoted to the first officer ranks, the Ministry of Defense announced. 118 cadets of the 142nd and 143rd classes of the Military Academy graduated from the Military Academy, including eight cadets from the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and one cadet from the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Srpska.

17 young men and women of the 8th class of the Faculty of Medicine of the VMA graduated from the Faculty of Medicine of the VMA. According to the protocol of the ceremony, the best cadets were awarded pistols with a signature of dedication.

The program of the ceremony was enhanced by the participation of the Air Force of the Serbian Army and the performances of the Artistic Ensemble of the Ministry of Defense "Stanislav Binički" and the Guard's Representative Orchestra.