MILITARY EDUCATION AND TRAINING

Abstract

Much has already been written on the importance of military education and training since the creation of the independent Slovenia. Some may wonder why to re-open this topic, while others might think that nothing has been written on the issue in a while. Irrespective of the approach, this is a very dynamic area, filled with action and changes, especially with regard to activities in the context of the classic military education and training, international military exercises, and participation in international operations and missions. Last year, the Slovenian Armed Forces adopted the Doctrine of Military Education and Training. It was signed by the then minister on 15 March 2013. The Doctrine reflects the changes that the Bologna Process has brought into the European environment. It could be said that the Bologna Process planted the desire and necessity in the European spirit to be more comparable, interoperable and of higher quality. The quality of education, training and advanced training is gaining importance in both the European Union and the Alliance. Increasing integration and transparency of educational institutions are blurring the boundaries and divisions between the public and military educational institutions. There are substantive differences between the two, while the common objective is being the best. Regardless of the international links, the foundations of the public and military educational institutions are in the domain of individual countries. These are always the ones that allow, direct and provide the organizational, substantive and financial conditions for the operation and, in particular, the development of such institutions in which our common future is being developed. It has been known for some time that there is a constant decrease in educational resources in the broadest sense, which is a reason more for increasing the quality of education and better utilizing the internal potentials. What, therefore, is new in military education and training? The future vision of military education in relation to the latest European trends in Romania and the Romanian Armed Forces is presented by Olivian Stănică in his paper titled Global Success of “Europe 2020” – Remodelling Education Systems, Even Military Ones?. In his paper Security Studies – Synthesis between Academy and Practice, Darko Trifunović, Serbia, points to various conflict situations in the world and the ways to resolve them, building on the example of the “Arab Spring”. The key quality issue is whether the education systems follow and include the latest knowledge acquired from practice. The Macedonian approach to the development of the military education system is described by Slavko Angelevski and Metodi Hadji-Janev in their paper titled Contemporary Challenges in Military Education – Macedonian Military Academy in the Context. They claim that the redefinition of the role and responsibilities of the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” in Skopje was most affected by the dynamics of the transformation processes in the Alliance and Macedonia. The Slovenian view of military education and training is presented by Vinko Vegič and Stojan Zabukovec who, in the paper titled Officer Education: From Discussions on the Organization to the Consideration of Contents, emphasize the importance of higher quality at all levels of military education and training. Particular focus is placed on the role and importance of quality providers. Miha Rijavec, in his paper titled Future of the Officer Career Development System in the Slovenian Armed Forces, derives from the recent organizational changes in the Slovenian Armed Forces and proposes the introduction of several best practises from the British Army, which he believes would bring added value to the Slovenian officer career development system. “Auftragstaktik” is a German term for the doctrine principles which are the product of the Prussian-German military school. In English, the term best suited to this expression is mission command. This prompted the writing of Viktor Potočnik, who addressed the topic in his paper titled Auftragstaktik/Mission Command in the Slovenian Armed Forces. We hope that the content presented above contributes to the development of military scientific and professional thought. We particularly want to encourage all those who are interested in military topics. Perhaps, here and there, you sometimes think of writing something on a military topic you are well familiar with, but there is not much literature on your topic. This might be a good reason and an additional incentive for writing.