"I am very proud, not for myself but mostly for the Croatian Armed Forces and Croatia, as it is a big deal that one of the youngest and smallest of NATO members has been offered an opportunity to show the quality of its noncommissioned officers in a command post such as this," Petek said.
The role of the first noncommissioned officer of NATO's Allied Command Operations (ACO) is to advise the the Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) of development, the training of soldiers and noncommisisoned officers in NATO and Partnership for Peace member states, mentoring soldiers and noncommissioned officers, and presenting their requirements to NATO. The ACO first noncommissioned officer's duties also include the professional development of soldiers and noncommissioned officers and standardisation of allied procedures.
Petek was appointed by the current SACEUR, Philip Mark Breedlove, a U.S. general. Petek was selected among 19 candidates.
"This is a big day for the Republic of Croatia and the Croatian Army. Croatia has gained its first noncommissioned NATO officer which shows how much the Alliance values it. Davor Petek has become the Alliance's first noncommissioned officer and in that position he will develop the entire noncommissioned and military chain in the entire Alliance," Croatian Chief-of-Staff Drago Lovric said.
I nominated Petek as I recognised his values and abilities and this was recognised by the Alliance when General Breedlove appointed him to this position, General Lovric added.
Supreme commander senior advisor Sergeant Major Bryan B. Battaglia also welcomed Petek's appointment.
This is the first time that a non-American has been appointed to fill such a responsible position in the Alliance. He is an excellent noncommissioned officer, Battaglia said.
Davor Petek was born in Slunj and in 1989 he enrolled in military school in Zagreb. He also studied in the US as an exchange student and returned to Croatia in 1993 and as a youth joined the Croatian army, where he remained until 2003. Petek then went to the US where he graduated at the Noncommissioned Officers Academy in Fort Hood Texas.