BRATISLAVA, July 18, (WEBNOVINY) — Slovak Defense Ministry plans disbanding its tank troops by January 1, 2012. “The reason is that all big changes are planned from this date. Not only the tank troops, but also disbanding the military folk ensemble Janosik. We will cut deep into these structures,” said Defense Minister Lubomir Galko. According to valid legislation, tanks will be declared redundant and will then be offered for sale in a transparent tender. The minister does not know for how much they could be sold. “I strongly believe that we’ll manage to do the same thing as with the last sale when we earned far more than we had expected,” Galko said. There are only few companies authorized to buy weapons, such as tanks, as they need to have a valid license for arms trade. However, the ministry would like to do everything it can in order to have as many participants in the tender as possible. Galko, however, also said that it is not easy to sell tanks, as the market is currently overstocked. Former Warsaw Pact countries as well as other armies are getting rid of such technologies on the basis of treaties on conventional disarmament. If the department did not succeed in selling the tanks, they would have to find another way of getting rid of them.
„Tank units [will be abandoned] because in our conditions, from the viewpoint of future threats they are unusable,“ Defense Minister Lubomir Galko told SITA news agency over the weekend. They have no justification for home defense, and abroad its support role can be secured by the allies. Disbanding the tank units is based on the conclusions of the Strategic Defense Review, already discussed by the National Security Council.
In practical terms, disbanding tank troops will mean that service in the army will end for 28 T-72M1 tanks and two T-72M1K command tanks. They are now in service in three garrisons – one in Trebisov and two in Martin. About a hundred people, soldiers as well as civilian employees are involved with their operation. However, canceling tank troops would not automatically imply that all those people would have to leave. „If tank troops are canceled, the personnel will be relocated to departments and units of the Armed Forces in line with the needs of the Armed Forces to other functions, pursuant to provisions of the law on state service of professional soldiers in the Armed Forces,“ said Armed Forces spokesman Peter Michnica.
SITA