Dear soldiers and sergeants, officers and generals, veterans of the Armed Forces, esteemed compatriots!
It gives me an enormous pleasure from the bottom of my heart to congratulate you on the landmark date in the life of our country – the Day of Defenders of Homeland and the 24th anniversary of establishment of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan!
Looking back at uneasy path traversed during a quarter of a century, we have all grounds to declare that, thanks to implementation of the timely adopted and deeply thought-out program of reforms, at present Uzbekistan possesses professionally trained and well-equipped army devoted to its Homeland and people, capable to effectively tackle the broad range of tasks in terms of ensuring security, territorial integrity of the country, inviolability of its borders, protecting peaceful and tranquil life of citizens.
The elaboration of a principally new approach to the military development based on resolute refusal of the obsolete and routine decisions, comprehensive consideration of peculiarities of a possible theater of war operations and rapidly changing situation in our near and far surrounding, as well as in-depth practical assimilation of achievements of foreign experience became to much extent a decisive factor in establishing the modern Armed Forces of our country.
Today we can proudly declare that our army has assimilated the best experience of the world’s military development and art, preserving our historical and national traditions, and has become a reliable guarantor of ensuring security of our borders. The image of a modern serviceman of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan is embodied, above all, in his comprehensive knowledge and intellect, devotion to Homeland, his firm will and strong readiness to fulfill his sacred military duty.
Dear friends!
We have always realized and now comprehend that the time, which we live in, keeps flowing. The rapidly changing situation in the world and aggravating state of affairs in its certain regions, ever growing confrontations, conflicts and bloodsheds, increasing threats of international terrorism, extremism and radicalism, unremitting military standoffs in our near neighborhood cannot but raise
a deep feeling of concern and alarm in us.
The unfolding complex and hard-to-predict situation requires of all of us to maintain high vigilance and constant readiness, reinforce attention to further reforming our army, equipping it with modern weaponry and military hardware, raising efficiency of combat training of troops, and on the whole – comprehensively strengthening the potential and combat efficiency of our Armed Forces.
In this regard, at the modern stage I deem it exclusively important to implement the following tasks:
First, further improvement of the organizational structure and combat strength of the army, system of commanding troops taking into account the unfolding military and political situation, achievements of modern military art and experience of military development accumulated by us, as well as peculiarities of a possible theater of war operations.
In the conditions of increasing threats and constantly changing situation in the regions neighboring on Uzbekistan, which doesn’t rule out the possible intrusion of various bandit formations and subversive groups into the territory of our country, further reinforcement and concentration of troops, in the first instance, at the vulnerable operational directions require a special attention.
It is greatly important to raise attention and radically revise the principles and approaches to military exercises, maximally approximate them to the real conditions of locality and region, identify
a possible character of actions of a probable enemy, train the command personnel and headquarters to comprehensively assess the situation and make well-grounded decisions, practice the rapid redeployment of troops, increase the individual skills of each serviceman to confidently handle weaponry and military hardware, survive in the conditions of critical physical pressure and high moral-psychological stress.
For these purposes it is significant to ensure a full-fledged functioning and broad use of training grounds while continuing a comprehensive development of their infrastructure and training material-technical basis.
Second, the step-by-step implementation of the program of supplying troops with cutting-edge weaponry and military hardware, which allow us to tangibly increase the combat capabilities of our Armed Forces, their mobility and promptness, practice the ability to deliver lightning strokes on vulnerable positions of an enemy exploiting the capabilities of the Special operation forces, helicopters and other available hardware.
Third, there must be an unremitting attention to the issue of training, retraining and raising qualification of the command and sergeant personnel. In this regard, it is of an urgent significance to continue a consistent work in terms of improving the system of training at the Academy of Armed Forces, military colleges and sergeant schools, where our servicemen have all opportunities to continuously raise their professional, theoretical and applied knowledge, acquire experience and skills necessary in service and combat activity.
Along with this, it is expedient to constantly renew and specify the list of specialties, methods and technologies of teaching the military disciplines and curricula taking into account the gradual equipment of the national army with modern weaponry and military hardware, alterations in its combat strength and structure, as well as changing nature of military conflicts.
Further raising qualification of the teaching staff at military training institutions, mastering by them the foreign languages and advanced foreign experience of handling a teaching process and application of the latest information and communication technologies also remain to be a priority task.
Simultaneously, it is necessary to systemically and consistently reinforce our activity related to broad attraction of professors, experts and specialists from leading foreign military educational and research centers to teaching at the Academy of Armed Forces and other core educational institutions of the country on the most in-demand and acute directions of the military science.
Fourth, given the rapidly changing conditions of the modern world, when the attempts are on the rise to impose the alien destructive ideas in the society, which absolutely contradict the spiritual values, culture and traditions of our people, when there is an ongoing struggle for the hearts and minds, especially of a young generation, the role and place of educational work and moral-psychological training of servicemen and pre-conscription youth become very important.
In this respect, it acquires an exceptional significance to enhance the work to organize and hold the events of military-patriotic nature at educational institutions, military units, workplaces and makhallas (neighborhood community areas) with an aim to bring up in our youth the deep feelings of love to Homeland, pride for its Armed Forces and respect for a military service.
The Public Council at the Ministry of Defense, Public Youth Movement «Kamolot» and other public organizations and structures, as well as the renowned representatives of culture, art and sport are called upon to play a special role in addressing these long-term and urgent tasks.
Avoiding formalism and perfunctory approach, we should also broadly use the mass media and national segment of the Internet in this most important cause.
Fifth, there must be an unconditional implementation of state programs on social and medical care of servicemen, as well as providing them and their families with housing. In the framework of the governmental resolutions and state programs adopted on the occasion of announcement of 2016 as the «Year of Healthy Mother and Child» the set of concrete measures should be realized on material and social support of servicemen’s families.
The decent conditions of service and social protection, as well as well-being of servicemen and their families stand as the key factors to further reinforce the authority of the Armed Forces of our country.
Dear compatriots!
Taking this opportunity, I would like to once again underscore that our Military Doctrine has a defensive character and reinforcement of the country’s Armed Forces, in the first instance, is aimed at protection of its state sovereignty, territorial integrity, peace and tranquility of our people.
It is for this very reason that Uzbekistan, as a non-bloc state, undertook a conscious and comprehensively thought out step, making a principle choice for itself, i.e. to conduct a peace-loving policy and not to join the military-political alliances and coalitions, not to allow deployment of foreign military bases and facilities in its territory, and not to participate in peacemaking operations abroad.
In this festive day I would like to express the words of sincere gratitude, above all, to the parents – the mothers and fathers of those who now with dignity fulfill their honorable, noble and responsible duty– protect Homeland!
I wish all servicemen – the privates and sergeants, officers and generals a sound health, big successes, strength and energy in serving Homeland, as well as happiness and prosperity to your families in the New Year 2016!
Islam Karimov
President of the Republic of Uzbekistan
– Supreme Commander – in – Chief of the Armed Forces