Addressing the ceremony, President Stjepan Mesic, who is the supreme commander of the national military, said that the Croatian armed forces were an example of a successful army that defended and liberated its territory in the war and that was transformed into a peace-keeping force in peacetime.
For this purpose it was necessary to depoliticise the army and to develop its transparency and professionalism, Mesic said adding that Croatia's admission to NATO in April proved that these processes were successful.
Mesic added that reform processes were not altogether completed and that more efforts should be invested when it came to transparency and modernisation.
Prime Minister Ivo Sanader congratulated the current and former staff for victories in the Homeland Defence War and for the military reforms in peacetime.
"Just as we entered NATO, we will also join the European Union through embracing the international law and European values and not by giving up territory," Sanader said alluding to a months-long stalemate in Croatia's EU accession negotiations caused by a Slovenian-Croatian border dispute.
He also said that the latest support for Croatia from the global financial market was the confirmation that Croatia was going into the right direction despite big global challenges. He referred to the successful issuance of the government bonds on international stock exchanges.
Several thousand people and diplomatic and military representatives of seven NATO member-states attended day-long ceremonies, including the National Air Force exercises, in Karlovac.
Croatian Armed Forces Day is observed on May 28, commemorating the first official review of the Croatian National Guard at the stadium of the Zagreb Football Club in the Croatian capital on 28 May 1991.