Following the replacement, on 22 February 2018, of Andrej Osterman by Alan Geder as Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces, it seemed that Slovenia would stop dying by a thousand papercuts. Geder warned that without financial resources we will no longer have Slovenian Armed Forces in 2020, which did not appeal to the government of Marjan Šarec, which does not want to come to its senses and ensure the necessary means. It is no surprise that Defence Minister Karl Erjavec thus recently elevated Alenka Ermenc to the rank of Major General, replacing Geder at the top of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces.
According to former chairman and current member of the Defence Committee, Žan Mahnič, it was only a question of when Karl Erjavec would replace General Alan Geder as Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces (SAF). The latter did not bow to the deep state and its executives from the defense field, represented today by structures from the DeSUS, LMŠ and SD Parties. Geder also did not want to satisfy their appetites for positions.
“General Geder’s main mistake was that he wished the Slovenian Army and its members well, in contrast to the interests of the deep state and especially the SD Party, which wishes its complete destruction”, Mahnič stressed. In order to stop the downward trend in the number of personnel in the SAF, Geder increased the uniformed members’ salaries by 19%, thus angering bureaucrats at the Ministry of Defence and those uniformed members who were under its auspices and did not receive any raise.
Capt. Korče Worked Intensively Against Geder
“I was informed at the time that Captain Slavko Korče, a worker in the protocol who did not get this allowance increase, was particularly intensely against General Geder. Korče became very influential overnight at the Ministry and in the SAF, since he is the father of Deputy Leader of LMŠ Deputy Group Jerca Korče. The additional anger of Minister Erjavec was provoked by General Geder because of his constant insisting that we urgently need the purchase of Boxer 8×8 vehicles for the new mechanised infantry battlegroups and that without additional funding, there will be no progress and no development of the Slovenian Armed Forces, which will only stagnate to a brisk end, expected by 2020″.
The Turn of Slovenian Armed Forces from Pro-Russian to Pro-Western and Pro-European Direction Seen as Annoying
According to Mahnič, Minister Erjavec wants someone in this position who could make a miracle and save the Slovenian Army without any extra money, since he knows there will not be any. However, there is no one like that, despite the fact that Erjavec is very much interested in Brigadier Branimir Furlan for this position. Furlan has already done enough damage to the Slovenian Army in the process of purchasing the 8×8 vehicles from Patria. Mahnič said that “the current leadership of the Slovenian Armed Forces was professional, competent and non-political. The result was also a turn from pro-Russian to pro-Western and pro-European direction of the SAF leadership, with which General Geder, over the recent weeks, angered the State Secretary of the LMŠ Dr Klemen Grošelj“. Mahnič added that the current leadership of the SAF has made some staff changes in recent weeks, especially in managing units and managing sectors, where some incompetent and politically motivated officers were replaced, which were mostly connected with the SD Party. With this, General Geder angered also the State Secretary from the SD Party mag. Miloš Bizjak.
“Similarly, the leaderships of the Ministry of Defence and of certain veteran organizations were not happy because Geder did not show any enthusiasm over the celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Slovenian Territorial Defence”. General Alan Geder, according to Mahnič, therefore had to leave because he acted in favor of the Slovenian Army, which is not in the interest of those who want to destroy it.
M. H.