SLOVAK soldiers ended their ISAF mission in Kandahar, Afghanistan on September 22 by symbolically taking down the Slovak flag in the camp.
“We successfully finished our operational tasks, for which I would like to sincerely thank everybody,” said Zoltán Iboš, the commander of the Slovak contingent, as quoted by the SITA newswire. “I am proud that the confidence and trust in our soldiers has become well known among our coalition partners.”
Iboš also noted that the mission will officially end after the soldiers return to their units and families. Therefore, it will be necessary to maintain respect and security until the absolute end of the operation, he added.
Defence Minister Martin Glváč said he appreciated the work of all Slovak contingents that have served in Afghanistan, and that they have done great deal of work and represented Slovakia at the top level. He also noted the deaths of three Slovak soldiers in Afghanistan and stressed that they “will never disappear from our memories”, as reported by SITA.
Glváč awarded the coalition partners who contributed to the successful performance of the mission of Slovak units with memorial medals.
Also, Major General Michael A. Bills, the acting senior commander of the 4th Infantry Division and Fort Carson, appreciated the work of the Slovak soldiers, emphasising their reliability, honesty and active approach to fulfilling tasks, SITA wrote.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
