11 Bilten Slovenske vojske INTRODUCTION Liliana Brožič The last issue of the Slovenian Armed Forces Bulletin published this year is also the first non-thematic issue in 2010. This means the Editorial Board has not predetermi- ned the topics this issue should cover. We have invited to cooperation mainly employees of the Ministry of Defence and members of the Slovenian Armed Forces, as well as other authors wishing to present interesting and current topics associated with contemporary security, defence and military issues. We are most pleased to have received more articles than we could publish in this issue; therefore, several authors will have to wait a bit longer for the publication of their articles. At the same time, an increasing interest in publishing articles in the Bulletin means that the Bulletin and its Editorial Board have managed to achieve the goals pre-set in the past years through the programmes of work. The inclusion of the Bulletin in the PAIS International Database earlier this year enables authors to share the results of their work and findings with a wide circle of readers, not only at home, but also abroad. The articles included in this issue are interesting, which you will be able to see for yourself. The publication of the previous issue, addressing security in the Black Sea Region, sparked numerous and various reactions. We took delight in all of them, since both, criticism and praise entail an additional encouragement and challenge for our future work. This time we have selected nine articles for the readers of the Slovenian Armed Forces Bulletin. At the beginning, Uroš Lampret and Staša Novak present a new NATO Strategic Concept and try to answer why NATO is still indispensable – is this merely a question of developing the strategic document which must find an answer 12 Bilten Slovenske vojske Liliana Brožič to important questions associated with the changed security environment, or perhaps a real resolution of internal disputes within it, as well as on its role and purpose, ope- rational tiredness, serious financial restrictions and weak public support. In his article, Anton Žabkar addresses military doctrines between politics and military science and tries to define factors which influence development and imple- mentation of military doctrines. In his article entitled Civil-Military Interface, Ivan Mikuž explains the integrity of processes, procedures and organization of addressing military-political and military- -strategic issues in relation to the state and civil society, and, through various views and practices, presents his findings as well as his proposal related to the Slovenian Armed Forces. Following the case of Great Britain, Gregor Garb addresses the introduction of a public-private partnership into the armed forces, stressing that Slovenia has no such experience, and presents British best practices as a possibility for the Slovenian Armed Forces. Manica Jakič presents findings of a research addressing social representations and organizational culture within the Slovenian Armed Forces. One of the questions analyzed in her research is whether values and perception of the realization of military values of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces differ with regard to the five existing groups within the Slovenian Armed Forces (officers, non-commissio- ned officers, soldiers, uniformed specialists and civilians). Lea Smerkolj’s interest encompasses the placement of members of the Slovenian Armed Forces within or beyond the public civil-servant system. She has therefore made a comparative analysis of various NATO member states to find out how this area, in comparison to the Republic of Slovenia, is regulated in the Czech Republic, the Kingdom of Belgium, the Republic of Lithuania and in the Federal Republic of Germany. Drago Šebalj presents a research carried out among members of the Slovenian Armed Forces who have at least once participated in international operations and missions. The purpose of the research is to find out whether members of the Slovenian Armed Forces were satisfied with the provision of comprehensive care abroad. Metka Rebolj addresses intelligence-security support in international operations and missions as the main element of force protection. She thoroughly describes a comprehensive operation of several factors in the international environment, as well as the role of individual organizational units of the Ministry of Defence and the Slovenian Armed Forces. 13 Bilten Slovenske vojske Drago Čepar’s article is focused on spiritual care of soldiers in Europe and NATO. This topic has been a subject of his extensive research, with an emphasis on the pos- sibility to conclude a special agreement with the Holy See which would include the establishment of a military ordinariate. The article presents the main findings of his research. We look forward to potential response of readers of the Slovenian Armed Forces Bulletin to the selection and contents of the articles, especially in the form of articles which must, however, follow all elements required by the Instructions for Writing Articles published in each issue. Our readers can express their opinion on military issues also in a shorter way. The Slovenian Armed Forces Bulletin has its own website http://www.slovenskavojska.si/publikacije/bilten-slovenske-vojske/ where a special place is reserved for polemics, answers and comments. If you decide to share your opinion with us, it will be published there. Y Your cooperation is welcome! INTRODUCTION