Slovenia has a rich military tradition. Its historical memory is linked to the local noble family, the Counts and Princes of Celje, the battles with the Ottoman Empire, and the great peasant uprisings in Slovenia. Slovenians were highly valued as soldiers in the military units of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Austrian Empire. The most famous Slovenian soldier in the 18th century was the renowned mathematician and artillery officer Baron Jurij Vega. During the Illyrian Provinces, Napoleon Bonaparte ordered the formation of a special Illyrian regiment, which took part in the 1812 campaign in Russia. Thus, in 1918, with approximately 12,000 members, the first Slovenian army in the modern history of the Slovenian people was formed, led by General Rudolf Maister. His army liberated and preserved Maribor and its hinterland. In 1919, the Slovenian army was disbanded and replaced by the army of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
After the Axis invasion in April 1941 and the collapse of the army and the kingdom, the Slovenian territory was divided among four occupying powers. On 26 April 1941, the Anti-Imperialist Front was established, which was renamed the Liberation Front of the Slovenian People in the summer and organized an armed struggle against the occupiers after the German attack on the Soviet Union. Through direct combat, Slovenians certainly made an important contribution to the victory of the Allies. After the war, for the second time in the 20th century, we had to abandon the idea of establishing our own army.
The first plans for a Slovenian army in an independent Slovenia took shape in May 1991, when the first generation of Slovenian soldiers in the modern history of our country began their military service at the 710th Training Centre in Pekre and the 510th Training Centre in Iga near Ljubljana. Ta vojska je v eni najkrajših vojn v zgodovini svoji domovini priborila neodvisnost. Slovenia has been an independent and sovereign state since 25 June 1991.
Through their excellent work and efforts, members of the Slovenian Armed Forces preserve and develop the traditional values of the Slovenian people.