Ceremony on Occasion of 70 Years of Military Police
Wednesday, 10.9.2025 | Culture and traditions
At the Guard’s Club in Topčider, a ceremony has been held this evening to mark the 70th anniversary of the Military Police. The ceremony was attended by Minister of Defense Bratislav Gašić and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff General Milan Mojsilović.
Minister Gašić congratulated the members of the Military Police on their jubilee and expressed deep respect for their work, professionalism and dedication in carrying out the most complex security challenges and tasks.
— For seventy years, regardless of the challenges, changes and temptations, the Military Police has remained consistent with the values that make up its identity — honor, discipline and responsibility. It is a testimony to the continuity, strength and dedication to the values of the army and the state, for which the Military Police has always been a reliable support. Members of the Military Police, who, thanks to their courage and expertise, became a symbol of professionalism and patriotism in the most difficult moments for the army and the state, are responsible for the endless series of successfully completed tasks for the last seven decades of the existence of this unit, said Minister Gašić.
The Minister of Defense has emphasized that he is convinced that every officer, NCO and soldier who wears a black beret knows that professional, physical and moral excellence is expected of him or her.
— The imperative of your work in the coming period is therefore — top professional training and flawless execution of all assigned tasks. The Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces, with the support of the state and Supreme Commander, President Aleksandar Vučić, will support you in this and provide the best quality equipment, weapons and working conditions and will continue to take care of the improvement of your material position. Once again, I congratulate you on the Day of the Military Police hoping that in the coming decades you will serve your country and people in peace and prosperity - said Minister Gašić.
At this evening’s ceremony, Head of the Military Police Directorate, Major General Milan Lazić, presented the plaques to the Minister of Defense Bratislav Gašić and the Police Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
General Lazić has pointed out that today the Military Police is a modern, well-equipped, highly trained and socially recognizable part of the Serbian Armed Forces and that the basic principle of the Military Police’s work is prevention.
— By performing complex and responsible tasks, we make a full contribution to preserving and improving the operational and functional capabilities of the armed forces and the Ministry of Defense. Our priorities and directions for further development will be to achieve greater operational efficiency and effectiveness in the work of the units, institutions and bodies of the Military Police, strengthen the security of the units and institutions of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces, improve the training system of Military Police personnel in accordance with modern security challenges and risks and equip them with modern weapons and technical assets - said General Lazić, emphasizing that they were proud of their past and the results achieved by members of the Military Police, and that each of them “left a lasting print on the history of the Military Police” in the past seventy years.
The film about the Military Police “Protectors of Law and Order”, produced by the Military Film Center “Zastava Film” was shown at the ceremony on the occasion of the jubilee.
Tonight’s ceremony was attended by members of the collegiums of the Minister of Defense and Chief of the Serbian Armed Forces General Staff, members of the Military Police, representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, as well as numerous guests.
As part of the jubilee celebration, General Lazić, in the presence of representatives of the authorities, units and institutions of the Military Police and representatives of the Association of Security Authorities and the Military Police, opened the memorial room of the Military Police of the Serbian Armed Forces in the “Banjica 2” Barracks in Belgrade the day before.
The beginnings of the Military Police date back to the time of Prince Milan Obrenović, who ordered the formation of the first police departments in the brigades of the then army, and it was officially formed on September 14, 1955, by order of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, as a separate entity in the then Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA).
