site.btaChief of Defence Presents Implementation of Armed Forces' Priorities

Chief of Defence Presents Implementation of Armed Forces' Priorities

Sofia, December 1 (BTA) - More than 450 members of the Bulgarian Armed Forces are now committed to border protection assignments. Since the beginning of the spring, the military manned more than 10,000 patrols and over 2,000 observation posts, and helped transport over 3,300 persons to the refugee centres, the Chief of Defence, General Konstantin Popov, said here on Thursday in a presentation of the implementation of the Armed Forces' priorities.

"Priority is set on care of the people, modernization and integration," the General said.

The Chief of Defence stressed the need of raising service persons' pay. "If we want to have a serious, stable army, financial resources should be budgeted for the personnel, for an increase of the basic monthly remuneration," Popov argued. He added that this is the key problem which they have clearly pointed out, and that the issue was discussed at three Defence Councils. His proposals to this effect have been presented to the President, the Prime Minister and the parliamentary Defence Committee.

General Popov went on to say that more than 1,000 personnel fill-up competitions have been announced, and a large part of them are still in progress and due for completion at the beginning of next year. He noted that a competition for soldiers at the 68th Special Forces Brigade was last held seven years ago.

A lot has been done for personnel training: the training programmes have been revised, and changes have been made in other spheres as well. The G.S. Rakovski National Defence College and the Vassil Levski National Military University have doubled to trebled their enrollment, the Chief of Defence reported. "The main problem is commissioned officers, who take a long time to train, and this will produce an effect but with a clear awareness that this will not happen soon," Popov commented.

He recalled that the priorities for Armed Forces modernization are set in the Programme for Development of Defence Capabilities up to 2020. "The Land Forces modernization project is crucial, they must develop in sync with the Navy and the Air Force," the Chief of Defence said. Among the other modernization projects, he singled out the acquisition of a new type of combat aircraft. He described as "a major success" the fact that the political leadership of the State has opened the door to this. "Clearly, investing in the army is a must. A lot of equipment is needed - the sooner, the better," General Popov said.

He also noted the participation of Bulgarian service persons in international and inter-institutional exercises. They took part in more than 70 exercises and training events, including NATO's largest exercise for the year, Anakonda 2016, with Air Force fighter jets and a large Land Forces contingent, including the special operation forces.

At the meeting, General Popov presented citations to BTA staffers Asen Boyadjiev and Dima Shopova and members of other national and regional media for their high professionalism, objective coverage and contribution to the assertion of the prestige of the Armed Forces.