She is in command of the 22nd Slovenian contingent, which for the most part is made up of members of the 132nd Mountain Regiment. She took up her duties in Lebanon on 20 May this year. This is her fist assignment to United Nations forces, having previously served in 2007 in Althea, the European Union operation in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Upon her appointment she said she felt honoured and privileged to be shouldering this great responsibility. “Because as a commander, regardless of gender, I need to bring all my soldiers safely home with some good and professional work left behind us. We will all give our best to implement UNIFIL’s mission in the area of operation.”

Why did you decide on a job in the military?
Since my earliest days I have been interested in different things, things that are not typical, which prove that stereotypes are false. I liked to challenge myself in things that seemed impossible to others, and I admired the perseverance of soldiers who through their courage and unbreakable support for their homeland emerge victorious in the most impossible situations, and who are prepared to give their lives for something greater. I was interested in action, dynamics, a different way of life, comradeship, dedication... And since I wanted to get an education alongside the action, after secondary school I enrolled in defence studies and from that point on my career was mapped out. After I graduated, I completed the one-year training course for officers and joined the Slovenian Armed Forces (SAF) as a young lieutenant. At that time, I didn’t know that the officer’s profession differs in many respects from that of a soldier, and that there is “much less lying around in mud and digging trenches.” I always believed that being an officer or solder meant living life honourably, for the team, sometimes at the limits of your capacity, and with dedication. And today this still convinces me that I made the right decision.

You applied for work on the mission. Did you really want to go to Lebanon?
I applied for the mission because I wanted to face the challenge of leadership and command. And I met all the conditions. I decided to go to Lebanon because I wanted to complete an international operation under the United Nations. In an environment offering completely different conditions of operation to those, for instance, within NATO or the EU.

Describe your work day.

The unit operating in the field adjusts its timetable to the coordinated matrix of operation, which is coordinated on the level of Sector West command. This means that the routine is not the same each day. But regardless of the departure for the assignment, the working day has to begin no later than eight in the morning, and is most commonly over after seven in the evening. Actually setting off on an assignment demands a lot of preparation, inspections of vehicles and equipment, checking communications, additional training and clearing up and cleaning after the assignment. In one week we perform between five and six operational assignments, one day is set aside for maintaining technical equipment, armaments and premises, and one day for rest.

My working day begins before seven in the morning and often ends late into the night. The most important thing is the work with my contingent. This involves a range of coordination work, meetings with the team and issuing guidelines. I must emphasise that we are an outstanding team. I should make special mention here of the commander of the reconnaissance assignment, who is a truly first-class link between myself and the troops.

I consider my other task to be working within the Sector West command, which involves me working in the Operations Section (J3), in the non-kinetic operations area. As part of this I face a daily agenda of several meetings, planning and coordination procedures, formulating operation documents, making assessments and analyses and working with key leaders – and so on and so forth, and if I add to this all the reports for back home and the daily orders, it’s already way past midnight.

And what is your “personal mission” in Lebanon?
My personal mission is to build a team, to shape a cohesive and unbreakable 22nd Slovenian Contingent in UNIFIL, to bring all the lads safely home and to leave behind us professional work and a visible contribution to fulfilling the mandate of the force mission under which we are operating. My additional wish as commander of the small Slovenian contingent, which numbers 15 members, is to earn our place among the big players, and I must say that so far our professional approach, hard work and daring are proving very successful.

A purely personal wish is to gain as much experience as possible in a crisis and international operating environment, to learn as many new things as possible, to get to know as many new people as possible and to acquire a part of their knowledge. And in this way to take a step forward in my personal growth as a contribution to the common goal of the mission – a peaceful and secure Lebanon.

Who have you already met there and what possible common goals have you identified?
The common goal of all members of UNIFIL is to fulfil the force mandate in line with UN Security Council Resolution 1701. In accordance with that resolution, the focus of the UNIFIL forces operation is on maintaining peace and calming the situation, making regular patrols and providing surveillance of the terrain, detecting rocket-firing positions, bunkers and equipment, and training and working with members of Lebanese army units. As part of the ITA Brigade, in the western sector of UNIFIL responsibility, the Slovenian contingent carries out tasks of stabilisation in line with the UN mandate, with the objective of preventing renewed hostilities and creating the conditions for establishing a lasting peace. Within the UNIFIL forces our unit is placed in Sector West, where it operates directly under the command of the united brigade in which the lead nation is Italy. Through individuals and units in this sector, another 10 countries are involved in addition to us and the Italians (from Ireland, Finland, Ghana, Estonia, Korea, Armenia, Serbia, Malaysia, Fiji and France).

In professional terms we have most contacts with members of the Sector West command, where in addition to myself there are two other members of our contingent, and where our contingent is directly placed. On a daily basis we encounter the local environment in performing our duties and in showing our presence in the area of operation.

I count as the greatest privilege (both personal and for the contingent) the fact that we served under the command of the exceptional General Francesco Olla. This is a man who gave absolutely no precedence to his own soldiers, and any precedence was gained on the basis of expert and professional work. And we may also thank him for his initiative and support in the organisation of cultural evenings for the countries operating within Sector West. He is truly a general with a capital ‘G’.

So Slovenia also responded to his initiative and organised a national day?
Yes, that was a really nice project in which we all participated. Some of us gave talks, we sang and danced, others cooked and sang, and still others mixed music and provided video content, then others were on instruments and helped in a raffle, some compèred the show and handed out little flags – in short, we put in a serious shift that day, but it paid off. We presented Slovenia in the best light.

You are one of the rare women to hold such a high rank in the Slovenian military. How do you see yourself as a woman in the male ranks?
No, I’m not, there are quite a few women in the SAF, I think around 16%, which is exceptional compared to other countries. And quite a few women hold high ranks, we even have a female brigadier.

The experience to date has been for the most part positive, if you’re not looking to cut corners because you’re a woman, if you hold your head up as an equal, if you’re not waiting for someone to open the door for you, then you’re there, part of the team and that’s what counts. It is true, though, that personally I sometimes get the feeling that I have to prove myself more than a male colleague, that I have to do things 120%– but this is not a real problem, I realised this soon after I joined up and took it as part of the deal.

Can you offer any special message in this regard? Does a woman have different responsibilities?
Women should not and cannot have different responsibilities to those of men, especially not in the military, because you’re responsible for the lives of those under you ... no way, never. My responsibilities are the same, and I must carry out my duties just as well as the others, there is no other way. The alternative would involve short cuts which in the long run don’t lead to the desired results, set objectives and good relations.

What I would like to communicate is – go forward with courage and integrity, no obstacle is so hard that you can’t get over it, and integrity always bears fruit, even though it sometimes hurts. And in all this, never forget that things are viewed differently from different angles, and sometimes the greater success requires you to step out of your comfort zone, and never, absolutely never, forget that we are all human.

You are also a wife and mother – is your family in Lebanon with you?
Yes, the most important role in my life is being a wife and mother to three wonderful children. With the incredible support of my husband and parents, as well as my patient children, I am probably very fortunate that my primary mission can be so successfully combined with my career. I am extremely proud of this. We talk about everything and support each other. And then my husband can also have a successful military career and my children can fulfil all their school and other obligations. We love one another.