Military Lost Over 12,000 Members in Last Decade, Union Says

Promotional Ceremony for Army of Serbia Junior Officers (BETAPHOTO/MILOS MISKOV)

In the last decade, over 12,000 professionals have left the Army of Serbia as a result of poor management by the Defense Ministry, the Army Union of Serbia announced on Dec. 6.

“We completely understand the panic and fear of the Defense Ministry’s current management, who are justifiably concerned that army members and their adult family will, in the secret ballot on Dec. 17, finally have the opportunity to penalize those who have humiliated and decimated our military, [causing the loss of] over 12,000 professionals. [These same individuals] brought criminals to target train in army barracks, are responsible for the deaths of [Major Omer] Mehic and his crew and of [Staff Sergeant] Dejan Stojkovic, [and] are the reason why professional army members are not being paid a fair meal stipend, vacation bonus or reimbursement of transportation costs,” the press release reads, referencing the 2015 helicopter crash which claimed the lives of its Mehic and his rescue crew and 2021 death of Stojkovic during a training exercise, both of which remain the source of controversy to this day.

The Army Union added that the Defense Ministry is also to blame for the fact that military employees’ rights have been violated for years in that a collective employment agreement has yet to be signed, even though the Union was formed in 2015.