In the Ceremonial Hall of the Serbian Central Military Club the two most recent editions of the Media Center "Odbrana": "From the Partisan Medical Service to the Military Medical Corps 1941-1945", by retired Brigadier General doc. Dr Veljko Todorovic and Major General retired prim. Dr Branislav Popovic and "Infectious Diseases in the Serbian People and the Military during the Wars in the 20th Century - activities of the Serbian Military Medical Corps on their Prevention and Treatment," written by Colonel Prof. Dr. Dragan Mikic, Acting Head of the Clinic for Infectious and Tropical Diseases MMA.

The promotion was attended by Assistant Minister for Budget and Finance Radmila Jagodic, Col. Ugljesa Jovicic, Acting Head of the Military Healthcare Department, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the Serbian Armed Forces, academics, generals, colleagues and friends.

On behalf of the publisher, the director of the Media Center "Odbrana" Colonel S. Stevica Karapandzin addressed the audience. Talking about the publishing activities of the institution, in particular the publicizing, he said that there were editions relating to the Serbian military medical services in several past years and pointed out that it would be in the future as well, because, when it comes to military issues, the military medical service issues should be present.

Also, Mirjana Sandić, the editor of editions, reviewers Col. Ugljesa Jovicic and Prof. Dr. Dragan Stupar, the authors doc. dr Veljko Todorovic and prim. Dr. Branislav Popovic and Colonel prof. Dr. Dragan Mikic talked about the books.

The book "From the partisan medical service to the military medical corps 1941-1945" is intended primarily for members of the medical service in the Serbian Armed Forces and other medical professionals, and its aim is introduce the readers with information on the development of medical service in partisan conditions. The authors had a rich historical material from that period, and the manuscript was written in a new, original and modern way. Last year this work was awarded the "Dragojlo Dudic" in the field of historiography.

Col. Dr. Ugljesa Jovicic said that these two books presented how our doctors, in addition to the professional, scientific and educational work also write about history - the history of the Serbian Military Medical Services. He mentioned the continuity in the development of these services and the current moment of military health care - doctors going on peacekeeping missions.

Reviewers Colonel Dr. Jovicic and Prof. Dr. Dragan Stupar then talked about the book and its chapters in details.

At the promotion, it was also pointed out that the Serbian military physicians, medical technicians and paramedics were always with the military and the people, often on the front lines. Their contribution to the war was very important, and that was the reason to publish 62 biographies of the most prominent medical workers decorated with the Order of National Hero.

The authors noted that the "fortunate circumstance" was that almost all prominent members of the medical corps survived the war, long after the war continued their activity and had a significant role in the development of military health care, almost to the end of the 20th century.

In the book "Infectious diseases in the Serbian people and military during the wars in the 20th century," Colonel Prof. Dr. Mikic described the outbreaks of infectious diseases on the territory of Serbia, especially in the wars. The reviewer Dr. Branislav Popovic considered that the Prof. Dr. Mikic approached this problem in a specific, unique and original way, because many of his quotations were the part of his long lasting research on the history of the military medical corps in the Balkan and the First World War. Popovic said that the fact is that it cannot be determined for sure whether the cause of casualties of the Serbian people in wars in the 20th century was larger from a rifle bullet or from severe infectious diseases.

Speaking at the end of the promotion, Colonel Prof. Dr. Mikic emphasized that it is necessary to remember the outbreaks of the infectious diseases "to study them constantly, to be afraid of them, to educate the population about them, because infectious diseases, especially in times of natural disasters and wars come unexpectedly, in times when we are relaxed and when we forget."

The author’s wish was, having written about infectious diseases in the 20th century, to warn of possible trouble that can befall us in this century.