Ponoš: Defense policy non-existent

Serbian Army (VS) Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Zdravko Ponos says the Defense Ministry has no strategy and that his feud with the minister is nothing personal. “This is not a personal conflict, but a clash of concepts about where Serbia is going to be, as a secure country, in 2015 or 2020. The Serbian people have to know how their money is being spent, and today no one knows that except the people spending it,” he told daily Politika. Ponos: Defense policy non-existent Ponos said the feud was linked to the “ the VS’s strategy, which exists, and the lack of a strategy in the Defense Ministry.” Ponos said that almost nothing had been done to improve fighting capabilities. He said that defense reforms were at a standstill and that there were no plans to move ahead. “If something was moving, it was from inertia. I did not want that kind of damage to be ascribed to the army’s incompetence and, on more than one occasion, I highlighted these blockages and backtracking,” he said. The lt.-gen. added that he had informed ministry officials of his concerns, adding that it had soon become clear to him “that the ministry collegium was not a place for problem-solving, but a place to exchange compliments.” He said that “defense policies here only function symbolically.” “I would say that they do not exist. We are reaching a situation where there is no national security strategy, which, in turn, means no defense strategy,” Ponos said. The lt.-gen. said that there were currently 19,500 people employed by the VS and 10,000 working in the ministry. Asked whether it was true that the Defense Ministry was being militarized, he replied: “I do not know if it is a militarization, but the VS has 192 colonels and the defense ministry 476. The army has 28 generals, while the ministry has 15.” Asked about his relationship with civil government, Ponos stated that he did “not wish to interfere, but we’re sure that the government must do something to enable experts to do their job." Zdravko Ponos (FoNet, archive)

Ponoš: Defense policy non-existent

Ponoš said the feud was linked to the “ the VS’s strategy, which exists, and the lack of a strategy in the Defense Ministry.”

Ponoš said that almost nothing had been done to improve fighting capabilities.

He said that defense reforms were at a standstill and that there were no plans to move ahead.

“If something was moving, it was from inertia. I did not want that kind of damage to be ascribed to the army’s incompetence and, on more than one occasion, I highlighted these blockages and backtracking,” he said.

The lt.-gen. added that he had informed ministry officials of his concerns, adding that it had soon become clear to him “that the ministry collegium was not a place for problem-solving, but a place to exchange compliments.”

He said that “defense policies here only function symbolically.”

“I would say that they do not exist. We are reaching a situation where there is no national security strategy, which, in turn, means no defense strategy,” Ponoš said.

The lt.-gen. said that there were currently 19,500 people employed by the VS and 10,000 working in the ministry.

Asked whether it was true that the Defense Ministry was being militarized, he replied: “I do not know if it is a militarization, but the VS has 192 colonels and the defense ministry 476. The army has 28 generals, while the ministry has 15.”

Asked about his relationship with civil government, Ponoš stated that he did “not wish to interfere, but we’re sure that the government must do something to enable experts to do their job."