CRO DEPUTY DEFENCE MINISTER MEETS DELEGATION OF U.S. ARMY

ZAGREB, June 30 (Hina) - A Croatian Deputy Defence Minister, Lieutenant General Kresimir Cosic, on Monday received Major General Michael McCarthy, the head of the planning department of the US armed forces command for Europe. Within the American command for Europe, there was a small military liaison team that closely cooperated with the Croatian Defence Ministry, Gen. McCarthy said and added that the team worked on very broad but also on basic issues such as the system of units, the development of professional officers and a civil democratic body for supervision of the army. This visit enabled us to meet with important people in Croatia and to see how we could meet your needs, the U.S. General said. We could show to people the military structure of the American army and how it was responsible before the democratically-elected civil authority. Gen. McCarthy was accompanied by Brigadier Randal Williams, the head of the U.S. Army headquarters Joint Contact Team Programme (or JCTP) for Croatia, and Lieutenant Colonel, Charles Byrd, the head of the JCTP for Europe. Other Croatian officials present at the meeting were Croatia's JCTP chief coordinator, Major Damir Terzic, and the ministry's political department's deputy head, Brigadier Dusan Viro. The JCTP has been cooperating with the Croatian Army since last year, and the cooperation is based on a series of expert seminars held in Croatia and abroad. It also covers the professional development of officers and non-commissioned officers, the education and defence system in line with Western principles, civilian and military relations and the organisation of military forces. (hina) mš 301503 MET jun 97