Minister of National Defence Angel Tilvar said on Thursday in southeastern Constanta that as many young people as possible should be attracted to pursue a military career, as it is a reality that new members are currently needed for the Romanian Armed Forces, write Agerpres.

„It is a reality that we need new members for the Romanian Armed Forces, on the one hand, on the other hand it is a reality that a number of soldiers, a number of officers are about to meet or are already meeting the conditions to retire and to leave the Armed Forces. That is why I invite those who talk about lowering military pensions to think twice before calling for such a thing, because on the one hand we are not talking about special pensions, on the other hand, apart from today’s festive moment, behind each of you there is a career path that has meant sacrifices,” said Angel Tilvar, at the end of the award ceremony for the winners of the „Man of the Year in the Naval Forces” contest.

According to the minister, the main resource that the Romanian Army has is its people.

„What happened here was dedicated to the main capability and the main resource that the Romanian Army has, namely the person, the person who takes precedence over equipment, because all this equipment that we are talking about these days and during this period, because 2.5 percent of GDP for Defence means something, it is an effort that the Romanian society makes, but it is useless to talk about tanks, missiles, corvettes, frigates, all the things we want and that we will have. They need highly qualified personnel because at present the Romanian Army means highly qualified personnel and that is why I insist that the motivation to join the Armed Forces, but also the desire to stay in the Armed Forces should be encouraged by ensuring a standard of living and the predictability of a career in this field,” said Angel Tilvar.

The National Defence minister attended the award ceremony for the winners of the 13th edition of the „Man of the Year in the Naval Forces” contest, which was held in five sections. The event took place in the festivity hall of the Naval Forces headquarters in Constanta.