The Best Enlisted Soldiers and NCOs of October, November and December 2018

Five members of the Croatian Armed Forces were named the best enlisted soldiers and NCOs of October, November and December last year. They received commendation for their professional, dedicated and conscientious work not only in their units, but also in the Croatian Armed Forces’ international activities. General Mirko Šundov told them: “You are the pillar of our military. Continue being responsible, professional and proud of the Croatian Armed Forces and your homeland…”

On 29th January, the Chief of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces General Mirko Šundov awarded the best enlisted soldiers and NCOs of October, November and December 2018. The ceremony was attended by Colonel Nenad Samardžić of the General Staff’s Human Resources Division, aide-de-camp of the Chief of the General Staff Captain Miljeko Herceg, the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the Croatian Armed Forces Command Sergeant Major Marko Mateljić, Acting Command Senior Enlisted Leader of the Croatian Armed Forces Command Sergeant Major Michael Fanuko and Command Senior Enlisted Leaders of the rewarded soldiers’ units. The ceremony was held at the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces in Zagreb.

The following members of the Croatian Armed Forces were commended for their professional, dedicated and conscientious work not only in their units, but also in the Croatian Armed Forces’ international activities: Private First Class Josip Velečko as the best enlisted soldier of October; Corporal Mario Varžić as the best NCO of October; First Sergeant Dalibor Delić as the best NCO of November;  Private Filip Štuka as the best enlisted soldier of October; and Sergeant Iva Varga as the best NCO of December.

Private First Class Josip Velečko is a gunner/operator at the 1st Mechanized Battalion Sokolovi (Falcons) of the Guards Armoured Mechanized Brigade of the Croatian Army.

He made a big contribution to the military exercise Velebit 18 – Joint Force, where he was tasked with firing a demonstration shot. He had previously been recognized as an expert operator on the M-80A AMV and had had excellent results in training operators on the CROTREND M1.1C training system for guiding anti-tank rockets.

During the Distinguished Visitors’ Day at the exercise Velebit 18 – Joint Force, Private First Class Velečko fired six 9M14M Malyutka missiles from a 2000-metre distance and all six hit the mark. His capability and precision earned him a long applause from the guests.

Private First Class Velečko is a competent soldier who always puts the needs and interests of his unit ahead of his own. He motivates the other members of his unit and contributes to their cohesion. He serves as a role model to younger soldiers not only in his squad, but in his entire company.

This unpretentious, true professional has set a high standard with his example and has earned the title of the best enlisted soldier of October 2018.

Corporal Mario Varžić is a tank commander at the Tank Battalion Kune (Martens) of the Guards Armoured Mechanized Brigade of the Croatian Army. He demonstrates a high level of precision, diligence, knowledge and responsibility in his work. Along with his desire to acquire new knowledge, he stands out with his perfectionism in the execution of the tasks assigned to him.

He distinguished himself at the international competition for the best tank crew, held from 30th September to 2nd October 2018. Corporal Varžić and his team demonstrated a high level of trainedness and won the first place, beating the tank crews of the Guards Armoured Mechanized Brigade and the Slovenian Armed Forces. They dominated the competition with their speed and precision in the execution of all given tasks, leaving the competition far behind them.

After the completion of the competition, Corporal Varžić travelled to the “Eugen Kvaternik” Training Range near Slunj, where he joined his company in training for and conducting the exercise Velebit 18 – Joint Force. With his crew, he completed all the tasks assigned to them, led and trained other soldiers by his own example and thus demonstrated a high level of professionalism, competence and humaneness. His readiness and trainedness were prominently featured in the competition, as he used them to demonstrate his level-headedness, efficacy under stress and the capability to adjust to new challenges and situations.

Corporal Varžić is a living example of how one can contribute to the Croatian Armed Forces and improve the quality of task execution with personal engagement and a professional approach to one’s colleagues, job, resources and tasks.

First Sergeant Dalibor Delić is a sports NCO at the Command of the Honour Guard Battalion. He originated the idea for the CrossFit competition titled Viribus Unitits – The Physical Readiness Challenge; the 4th edition of that competition was organized by the Honour Guard Brigade in November 2018.

The latest edition of the competition gathered 120 competitors from the Croatian Armed Forces, the Ministry of the Interior, the Ministry of Justice, the Croatian Firefighting Association and the Croatian Mountain Rescue Service. The number of applicants makes it the second-largest competition after First for Croatia.

As in earlier years, the event was organized under the leadership of First Sergeant Delić. He planned out the competition and the advertising campaign for it in the media, organized the preparations for the competition as well as the competition itself within the Honour Guard Battalion and designed tracks for the scoring of the competitors in collaboration with CrossFit coaches.

In co-operation with a CrossFit club outside the Croatian Armed Forces, he hired licensed CrossFit judges who judged the competition and provided technical support pro bono.

First Sergeant Delić stood out as the co-ordinator between judges and team captains; not a single competitor filed a complaint during the competition. During the preparations for the competition, he presided over the technical meeting with team captains.

In collaboration with other units of the Croatian Armed Forces and civilian CrossFit clubs, he arranged that the equipment that was missing for the competition be lent, transported and set up. He was also active in raising funds for the prizes in the categories of the competition.

Along with his engagement in organising and conducting the competition, First Sergeant Delić competed in the 45+ category and won a gold medal in spite of strong competition from the Special Police of the Ministry of the Interior.

In November 2018, he led the technical and physical preparations of the competitors from the Honour Guard Battalion, who won four gold medals in individual categories and the first place in the team category. While organizing the competition and preparing the members of the Honour Guard Battalion for it, he also performed his regular duties of providing support in using the sports capacities at the Barracks “1st Croatian Guards Corps”.

His idea for the competition as well as his role in organizing the competition, his motivation and his will to work have been recognized across the board, as witnessed by the widespread support for his idea that Viribus Unitis – The Physical Readiness Challenge  be organized by the Honour Guard Battalion on the international level.

With the support of other sports NCOs in the Honour Guard Battalion, he drafted the Manual for the Physical Conditioning of the Members of the Honour Guard Battalion, which is centred on CrossFit exercises. Because of all of the above, First Sergeant Dalibor Delić proudly holds the tile of the best NCO of November 2018.

Private Filip Štuka is a driver of an infantry fighting vehicle in the 2nd Mechanized Battalion Pume (Pumas) of the Guards Armoured Mechanized Brigade. He is a model soldier with a high level of knowledge.

He stood out already during the integration training, when he achieved above-average results and ranked among the best. He received several oral commendations from his commander due to his commitment to guard duty and prominence in training, which he approached as a challenge and where he sought best solutions for achieving group excellence.

He continued demonstrating his excellence during the last training year. He successfully executed tasks at the training events of the 3rd Mechanized Platoon as well as the training events of his company. The tasks included everything from individual initial shooting to a live-fire exercise on the level of a team and a squad, intensive individual and joint training, tasks in the fire-fighting season and the maintenance of his company’s vehicles.

Private Filip Štuka stood out during the 210-kilometre long walk Pumin skok 18 (Puma’s Jump 18) in December 2018, for which he volunteered. As a younger participant, he set an example with his military appearance and behaviour, and especially with his endurance and resilience which he demonstrated from day to day. He passed his motivation onto others, rousing them to hold out until the end. Filip Štuka proudly wears the beret of his unit. He has set an example with his relationship with his unit, his approach to his commitments and his readiness to help anybody who was having a crisis during the walk. All of that has earned him the title of the best enlisted soldier of December 2018.

Sergeant Iva Varga is a driver at the House of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. In 2018, she participated in special protocol activities related to the conveyance of representatives of foreign armed forces in the Republic of Croatia as well as the conveyance of generals, admirals and senior officers of the Croatian Armed Forces in the country and abroad.

She took part in preparing and conducting the international military exercise Saber Guardian, which took place in Split in June 2018. Aside from conveyance tasks, she was also involved in organising thirteen workshops for about 300 members of foreign armed forces and in providing total logistics support at the event. For 17 days, she was involved with preparing and conducting the military exercise Velebit 18 – Joint Force. In that time period, she travelled 5,500 kilometres without a single on-the-road incident.

In December 2018, she was named the personal chaffeuer of the Chief of the General Staff during his tour of the Southern Front. She received oral commendation for her work and engagement.

Sergeant Iva Varga demonstrates exceptional capabilities, creativity, experience and seriousness in her approach to work. As a professional driver, she abides to all road safety regulations and obeys the decisions and instructions given to her by the competent authorities from the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces.

She is meticulous, adaptable, efficient and correct in her judgement under all circumstances of the job. She has confidence in her knowledge, expertise and capabilities, which confirms the strength of her military character.

Because of this, Sergeant Iva Varga has been named the best NCO of December 2018.

 

General Šundov commended the best enlisted soldiers and NCOs for their achievements and thanked them on behalf of all members of the Croatian Armed Forces for their good work. He emphasized their important role as the foundation of the armed forces and proudly stated that the military calling was imbued with professionalism, humanity and patriotism, all of which are traits of the Croatian Armed Forces.

He told the best enlisted soldiers and NCOs: “You are the pillar of our military. Continue being responsible, professional and proud of the Croatian Armed Forces and your homeland.”

Text by INDEPENDENT PUBLIC AFFAIRS AND PUBLISHING SERVICES

Photo by NINA KRNIĆ

Translation by IVA GUGO