HISTORY

The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia began the year 2023 with the process of transformation of its structure in accordance with the new organizational structure. The aim of the transformation is to increase NATO capabilities and interoperability in accordance with the Defence Strategic Review and the Long-Term Defence Development Plan.

On 8 March 2023, at the General Staff of the Army, there was a handover-takeover ceremony for the position of Director of the GS of the Army, in accordance with the new organizational structure of the Army and the legal regulations. The incoming Director, Brigadier General Simeon Trajkovski, with a decree from the President and the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, took over duty from the outgoing  Director, Major General Zoran Mileski, who is to retire.

Seven hundred members from different units of the Army took part in 13 multinational exercises in the country and abroad. The most notable one was the exercise Immediate Response 23, which took place at the ATA Krivolak, from 22 May to 2 June, with 1,850 participants from the armies of four NATO member countries: the Republic of North Macedonia, the United States of America, Albania, Montenegro, and one partner for peace country, Kosovo.

The Army personnel participated in the following exercises abroad: Anatolian Eagle 23, Combined Resolve 1, Warrior 22, EFES 22, KFOR 32, Orion 23, Beyond the Horizon 23 and other.

This year the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia participated in the operation ALTHEA in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with staff officers and NCOs and one infantry platoon, the mission UNIFIL in Lebanon with staff officers, and KFOR in Kosovo with two infantry platoons and staff officers and NCOs. In the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI) in Iraq two staff members were deployed. We continued our participation and contribution to the NATO activities Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in Latvia with one section, and Enhanced Vigilance Activities (eVA) in Romania and Bulgaria with one platoon. The total number of deployed army personnel this year was 170 members and there were two six-month rotations.

Implementing the Plan for modernizing and equipping the Army with different highly sophisticated vehicles and equipment, with the project for procurement of light armoured vehicles, 32 JLTV tactical vehicles were delivered to the Army in June. According to the NATO Capability Targets 2021 (qualitative and quantitative), our first priority is equipping and modernization of the units that are part of the Light Infantry Battle Group.

During the year, the NATO Standardization Agreement between member nations (standards of interoperability with other partner nations) was being implemented intensively in line with the mid-term capabilities development plan for standardization of the Army with the intention all the capabilities to be verified by the end of 2025.

This year the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia demonstrated its solidarity with its NATO allies deploying military personnel to help in disaster relief on two occasions. In the aftermath of the catastrophic earthquake in the Republic of Turkie, on 8 February 2023, 60 members of the Amy and two military service dogs were deployed to search, locate and extract survivors. Also, in August 100 members of the Army, via the NATO civil emergency response mechanism for help and support in crisis situations, joined the relief efforts to mitigate the consequences of the floods in Slovenia; in Mezica, Crna na Koroskem, Zerjav, and Prevalje. They were engaged in removing flood debris in vital facilities and private buildings, and setting up bridges.

In accordance with the decisions of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia as a bilateral cooperation with the Republic of Ukraine, military materiel and military equipment (in compliance with declassified data) such as infantry weapons and ammunition, artillery equipment, tanks, aircraft, anti- tank warfare equipment, air defence equipment, equipment and ammunition for the air force and military supplies were donated, on several occasions. The donated armament and equipment were not interoperable with the equipment used by the allies and their maintenance would have been costly.

Another important activity this year was the continuous increase of the Army personnel in accordance with the demands and with the necessary dynamics. With the realization of the NCO Course, the newly admitted professional soldiers, as well as the promotion of the officers who have graduated from the Military Academy, the number of necessary military personnel has been reached and at the same time the Army has been rejuvenated.

The most important events and activities of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia during 2023, in accordance with the plan for international military cooperation were the presiding and hosting of the 26^th U.S. – Adriatic Charter (A5) Chiefs of Defence Conference, the Initiative and joining the regional security initiative DECI at a conference held in October, in Zagreb.

Other notable events are the visits of the Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, the Supreme Allied Commander Europe, General Christopher Cavoli, and the Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy.

In June, in Burlington, the USA, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski and the Minister of Defence, Slavjanka Petrovska attended the 30^th anniversary of the partnership between the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Vermont National Guard, marking three decades of cooperation sealing it with a document to continue and strengthen the same. This anniversary was marked in the Republic of North Macedonia in August.

The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, besides his regular attendance at the sessions of the NATO Military Committee, during the year, at the GS met with the Chiefs of General Staff of the Armed Forces of Italy, Albania, and Croatia, and paid visits to the Chiefs of the GS of the AF of the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Serbia, Romania, Croatia, Hungary, Montenegro, and the USA, where he met with the Commander of the Vermont National Guard.

 

The most significant events were the following:

• 01 The second group of new professional soldiers, who were admitted the previous year, took a solemn oath.
• 02 Welcoming ceremony for the Army search and rescue teams who took part in the humanitarian rescue operation in the Republic of Turkie, recognising their engagement, professionalism and consistent execution of their tasks while finding and extracting survivors.
• 04 The Commander of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps in Italy, Lieutenant General Lorenzo D’Addario’s visit to the General Staff of the Army regarding our involvement in the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with the countries that contribute to NATO Rapid Deployable Corps.
• 05 The members of the armies participating in the multinational exercise Immediate Response 23 presented combined land activities: “A multinational company in attack, supported by air and anti-armour support”, at the ATA “Krivolak”, before state and military leaders and a large number of distinguished visitors. The exercise Immediate Response 23 was the largest multinational exercise this year in the Republic of North Macedonia. It began on 2^nd May, and about 1,850 members of the Armies of four NATO countries and one partner country participated in it: the Republic of North Macedonia, the United States of America, Albania, Montenegro and as a partner for peace country, Kosovo.
• 05 The Chief of Defence of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Italy, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, paid an official visit to the Army.
• На 23.06 On the occasion of the end of military service and retirement of Army members, in accordance with the standard operating procedures for retirement, for the first time an appropriate ceremony was held at the military camp “Vasko Karangelevski” in Ohrid.
• 09-10.06 The Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, and the Minister of Defence Slavjanka Petrovska together with the Governor of the Federal State of Vermont, Phil Scott, and the Commander of the Vermont National Guard, Major General Gregory Knight, participated in the solemn celebration of the 30^th anniversary of the establishment of the partnership between the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia and the National Guard of Vermont that took place in Burlington. As part of the activities in Vermont that marked the 30-year partnership with the National Guard of this US federal state, organized by the Governor of Vermont, Phil Scott, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski participated in the signing of the document which continues and deepens this three-decade long cooperation.
• 08 At the Training and Doctrine Command, at barracks “Alekso Damnievski-Bauman” in Veles, a ceremony was held to promote 120 non-commissioned officers, and 150 newly admitted professional soldiers in the Army took a solemn oath.
• 08 The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, accompanied by the Ambassador of the Republic of North Macedonia to Slovenia, Goran Milevski, and the Commander of the Operations Command, Brigadier General Besnik Emini visited the Army members engaged in dealing with the floods in Mezhica, Slovenia.
• 09 The Chair of the NATO Military Committee, Admiral Rob Bauer, visited the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Army, as part of his official visit to the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.
• 09 The Chiefs of Defence of the U.S.-Adriatic Charter (A-5) member countries together with the leaders of the U.S. European Command attended the twenty-sixth conference of the A5 initiative. This year the topic was related to the modern security challenges and opportunities
• 10 The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski in Zagreb, the Republic of Croatia, participated for the first time in the Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) Meeting of the Defence Cooperation Initiative – DECI (Defence Cooperation Initiative) member countries, thus marking our formal joining to this security initiative.
• 11 The Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski paid a working visit to the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom and met with the Chief of the Defence Staff, Admiral Sir Anthony Radakin. General Gjurchinovski also had an official meeting with Lord Stuart Peach, a special representative of the UK for the Western Balkans and a former Chairman of the NATO Military Committee. He visited the Defence Academy in Shrivenham, as well as the Royal Air Force Boulmer, where General Gjurchinovski met with the military authorities.

During 2022, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia marked the thirtieth anniversary of its formation. According to the plan of activities to mark the jubilee, the first activity was a forum on the topic “30 Years of Development of the Army – formation, events, successes, challenges, future” which was organized together by the Ministry of Defence, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia and the Association of Security Organizations.

In accordance with the Plan, many important activities were carried out in the General Staff, as well as in all commands and units within the celebrations of the days of the units, during which open days were organizaed in the barracks by inviting all former members of the Army, as well as sport competitions, blood donations, humanitarian activities, the march “30 Years of Army” and competitions in different specialties (military skills). In addition to two forums, an exhibition of photographs was organized and carried out, as well as activities by the Honour Guard Battalion together with the allied armies, such as the joint performance with the Norwegian King’s Guard and the concert of the military orchestra together with the military orchestra of Albania. The central celebration of the Day of the Army was the main event to mark the jubilee.

In the jubilee year, the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, with parts of its units, participated in 27 international exercises in the country and abroad, among which, one of the more prominent was the exercise “Swift Response 22” which was carried out in three regions in Europe: the Arctic, the Balkan and the Baltic Regions. About 9,000 members of the armed forces from 17 allied and partner countries were included in the exercise who performed synchronized training activities in Norway, Latvia, Lithuania and North Macedonia. In North Macedonia, about 4,600 members from eight NATO countries such as North Macedonia, the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Montenegro, Albania and Greece took part in the exercise. 45 aircrafts, i.e., fighter and transport planes were involved in the exercise at the training area “Krivolak” and more than 700 jumps were conducted.

Besides this exercise, our members also participated in exercises abroad, such as “Anatolian Eagle 22”, “Seven stars 22”, “Warior 22”, “Efes 22”, “Kfor 30 and 31”, “Cyber Coalition 22”, “Talos 22”, “Beyond Horizon 22” and more.

Another significant exercise during this year was the exercise “Flash-22” during which an evaluation of the Light Infantry Battalion (LIBn) was carried out, which is the first unit assessed according to the Evlatuation standards for evaluating ground commands and units of the NATO Joint Operations Command as a NATO member. All planned activities, according to the list of incidents, were carried out at the highest professional level and the official assessment was “combat capable of carrying out its mission”.

As more significant activities during this year regarding the staff, were the training course for non-commissioned officers, two job competitions for admission of professional soldiers, as well as the new officers who completed their education at the Military Academy, which helped not only to maintain the number of the staff, but also to receive some younger members in the units.

This year, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia participated in the missions “Althea” in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where we increased our participation by one infantry platoon, “Unifil” in Lebanon where we participate with staff officers, “KFOR” in Kosovo where we participate with two security platoons and staff personnel, “EUTM” in the Central African Republic and the NATO mission “NMI” in Iraq, each with one representative as a staff element. In June this year, we started to contribute to the NATO missions “Enhanced Forward Presence” (eFP) in Latvia and “Enhanced Vigilance Activities” (eVA) in Bulgria and Romania. In Latvia we began with one CBRN section, which starting from December 2022 was replaced by one artillery section within the Slovenian contingent.

During the year, the first six light armoured vehicles “Oshkosh” arrived from the United States which will be part of the Light Infantry Battalion. During this year, intensive work was also done on the development and standardization of military doctrines with NATO standards, during which the basic military doctrines and several support doctrines were developed.

Regarding the more significant international activities, this year, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia hosted the fifteenth Conference of the Chiefs of General Staff of the Balkan countries (B9), which was held in June in Ohrid. The Chief of the General Staff participated in the 25^th Conference for Chiefs of General Staff of the Armies from the US-Adriatic Charter member states which was held in Montenegro. During the year, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, in addition to his regular participation in the sessions of the NATO Military Committee, held meetings in the country with the Chiefs of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Norway, Turkey, Greece, Croatia, as well as abroad with the the Chiefs of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Italy, Romania, Hungary, Montenegro and in the USA with the Vermont National Guard Commander.

 

Here are some of the more significant events:

– In the period from January 24 to February 5, 2022 at the army training area “Krivolak”, training flight activities were successfully carried out with military aircrafts from the United States Armed Forces, as part of the final activities of the exercise “Neptune Strike 22”, which is being carried out in the Mediterranean region.

– As the beginning of the activities to mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Army, on March 28, a forum on the topic “30 Years of Development of the Army – formation, events, successes, challenges, future” was held at the Army House in Skopje.

– In March, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, with the introduction of a working visit to the United States of America, was inaugurated and received the highest military award by the highest military educational institution in Fort Leavenworth in Kansas, USA, which is the first such award received by a military representative from our country, but also the first officer from Southeast Europe, after 50 years.

– In the period from April 3 to 11, the national field exercise “Flash 22” was carried out at the army training area “Krivolak”, the training camp “Pepelishte”, the barracks “Jane Sandanski” – Shtip and the barracks “Strasho Pindzur” – Petrovec.

– On May 31 an open event by the Honour Guard units and the military orchestra of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, as well as an independent concert of the Royal Guard of the Kingdom of Norway took place in the square in the center of Skopje.

– On May 12 at the army training area “Krivolak”, the Distinguished Visitors Day was held during the multinational exercise “Swift Response 22” where for the first time in our country, complex air landing operations were presented, followed by parachute jumps, overflights of combat aircrafts and the performance of helicopter landing activities. The demonstrated interoperability, mutual coordination and joint action of the armies of the countries participating in the exercise “Swift Response 22” was mirrored in the best possible way, while at the same time they displayed the capabilities of the “Apache”, “Black Hawk” and “Chinook” helicopters, fighter jets “F-16” and “A-10”, as well as the engaged ground forces.

– On June 16, the fifteenth Conference of the Chiefs of General Staff of the Balkan countries was held in Ohrid on the topic “The Utilization of the Armed Forces in Dealing with the Latest Challenges in National and Regional Context (best practices)”.

– In the period from June 7 to 9, 2022, a situational field exercise was carried out in the barracks “Chede Filipovski – Dame”, in which an assessment of the light infantry platoon was carried out, a platoon which will be part of the Balkan battlegroup (HELBROC 23/1) in accordance with the Army’s Combat Readiness Assessment Guidelines.

– On August 18, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia celebrated its jubilee birthday and achievements during its thirty years of growth and development with a central ceremony that took place in the barracks “Ilinden” in Skopje.

– On September 8, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski addressed the closing of the Conference for NATO communicators which was held in Skopje for four days and which was attended by more than 300 participants from the field of strategic communiations of all NATO structures.

– On October 21, 18 Second Lieutenants from the 22^nd class of cadets were promoted, while 39 cadets took a solemn oath as the 26^th class of cadets at the Military Academy.

– In the period from November 8 to 12, 2022, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovsi had an official visit to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Italy where he visited the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps near Milan, in Rome he held an official meeting with the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Italy, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, and he also gave a lecture to the students at the highest military educational institution of the Italian Armed Forces, the Institute for Advanced Defence Studies.

– On November 2 at the Training and Doctrine Command, the Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course began, which consisted of 150 trainees, among which there were 13 female members from different units of the Army.

– On November 30, at the barracks “Ilinden”, the members of the Army who participate in the NATO enhanced vigilance activities were headed to completing the tasks as part of the operation. The first contingents, consisting of one platoon each, participate in the joint activities of the established multinational NATO forces, which are stationed at specific locations in Romania and Bulgaria.

– On December 26, a briefing on combat readiness was held at the General Staff for the Commander in Chief of the Army and President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski.

In 2021, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, implementing the “COVID-19” safety measures and precautions, carried out all activities and exercises planned for this year. During the first part of the year, one of these activities was reintroducing of the NCO course, which was not conducted for eleven years.  Another event was the celebration marking the first year of NATO membership held in April, which was attended by the highest military and state officials. This celebration was supposed to take place the year before, but it was postponed due to the “COVID-19” restricting working and living conditions.  The “Resolute Support” mission in Afghanistan also ended during the first half of the year.  Since 2002 with the beginning of the ISAF mission, which was followed by the Resolute Support mission, we were part of these NATO–led missions, and the end was in accordance with NATO decisions and the principle “together in, together out”.  During this period, our engineer battalion and the members of the U.S. Armed Forces worked on improving the ATA “Krivolak”.  The first half of the year ended with two international exercises: the Special Forces “Trojan Footprint” and “Decisive Strike 21”, which were part of the large–scale U.S. Army–led exercise “Defender Europe 21”.

The second half of the year was marked by the participation of the members of the Army in the August wildfire extinguishing activities as well as the final stage of the military integration into NATO structures.  The Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski and Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Europe, General Philippe Lavigne signed the Joint Declaration on Military Integration, on 16^th November. The last event of this year was in December, when joining the Alliance Air Policing system, our airspace as a NATO member country was integrated into the Alliance collective security system for airspace defence.

During the year, the Army took part in a few international exercises and activities in the country and abroad, and the cooperation with the Greek Armed Forces in the area of special forces training was intensified.

 

Some of the most significant events were the following:

– In February, the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Command Europe, Major General Joseph Gerrard visited the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.

– In the same month, as a fully- fledged NATO member we had the promotion of the first generation of non-commissioned officers. The members of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia who successfully completed the three-month Basic Non-Commissioned Officers Course (65 NCOs) were officially promoted to NCO ranks at a graduation ceremony at barracks “Ilinden” in Skopje.

– In March, the members of the 15^th Engineer Battalion of the U.S. Armed Forces in Europe and their equipment arrived at the training area ” Krivolak” to participate in joined activities and training as part of the preparations and improvement of the training area facilities thus enabling a successful execution of the exercise “Decisive Strike 21”.

– On 27^th March, a military ceremony marking the first anniversary of the NATO membership of the Republic of North Macedonia was held at barracks “Ilinden” in Skopje. The President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, the President of the Government, Zoran Zaev, the Minister of Defence, Radmila Shekerinska and the Commander of NATO Allied Joint Forces Command Naples, Admiral Robert Burke, addressed the guests at the ceremony. During the ceremony, helicopters of the Air Force WING and NATO aircrafts, part of the air policing and protection of the airspace, conducted  flypasts.

– In April, a delegation of the Romanian Armed Forces, led by the Chief of the General Staff of AF, Lieutenant General Daniel Petrescu, visited the General Staff of the Army and the Ministry of Defence. At the end of this month the second group of Army members, 55 professional soldiers, were promoted to non-commissioned officers and thus the first generation of non-commissioned officers, as a fully- fledged NATO member, was complete.

– In May, the exercise “Trojan Footprint 21” was conducted. The aim was to improve NATO and partner nations capabilities for special forces operations coordinated with conventional forces, improving the interoperability, cooperation and trust between the armies of the Alliance. The exercise “Trojan Footprint 21” was part of the large–scale U.S. Army–led exercise “Defender Europe 21”.

– From 17^th May to 2^nd June, the exercise “Decisive Strike 21” took place at the army training area

“Krivolak” and it was one of the exercises that were part of the largest NATO exercise “Defender Europe 21”, with 27 armies, 28 000 soldiers and 16 countries of Southeastern Europe.  One thousand five hundred soldiers from four armies of NATO member countries– the Republic of North Macedonia, the USA, Greece and Bulgaria, participated in the exercise “Decisive Strike 21”. The exercise demonstrated a high level of interoperability, combat readiness and integration of NATO procedures of the declared light infantry battalion with the armies of the Alliance as well as its integration onto conventional and special forces.

– In June, the new commanders of the Operations Command and the 1^st Infantry Brigade were appointed, in accordance with a decree by the President of the Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Army, Stevo Pendarovski. At the Operations Command, the duty handover was between the former commander Major General, Pavle Arsovski and the newly appointed commander Brigadier General, Besnik Emini, who as a previous commander of the 1^st Infantry Brigade, was succeeded by the newly appointed commander of this unit, Colonel Sasko Lafchiski. Another event in June was the participation of the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General, Vasko Gjurchinovski at the 14^th Conference of the CHODS of the Balkan countries (Forum B-9), which was held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina.

– U.S. European Command and NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Tod Wolters, visited the General Staff of the Army. General Walters is one of the two strategic NATO commanders who commands with the Allied Command Operations (ACO) and is at the same time the Commander of the U.S. European Command.

– On 29^th June, at barracks “Ilinden”, a formal ceremony was held marking 19 years of deployment of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia in the NATO missions – “ISAF” and “Resolute Support” in Afghanistan. At the ceremony the soldiers who were deployed, including the ones from the last rotation, presented the national flag, which was proudly waiving for 19 years together with the flags of the countries participating in these missions.

– In July, the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski paid an official visit to the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey, and met with the Chief the General Staff of the Turkish AF, General Yaşar Güler.

– On 2^nd August, by order of the President of the Republic of North Macedonia, Stevo Pendarovski, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, issued an order to deploy the Army in dealing with the fires that were actively burning on different locations on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia. The Army, with its personnel and equipment necessary to extinguish the fires, undertook coordinated activities with all involving parties. Two thousand two hundred and forty-three Army members were deployed at 13 fire locations throughout the country.  The Army helicopters, with 79 flight hours, dropped 472 tons of water.

– In accordance with the Plan for bilateral military cooperation between the Republic of North Macedonia and the Republic of Greece, members of the Special Forces Battalion had basic and advanced diving training, at the Greek Special Forces Training Centre in Nea Peramos, from 30^th August to 08^th September 2021.

-From 20^th to 24^th September, members of the Army participated in the crisis management exercise “North Macedonia 2021” in Ohrid and Struga, organised by NATO Euro-Atlantic Disasters Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) and the Crisis Management Centre,

– Some of the most significant international events were: the visit of the Deputy Commander of the U.S. Army Europe and Africa, Major General Joseph Gerrard, the participation of the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski at the Chiefs of Defence Conference of the US-Adriatic charter (A-5) nations in Split, the two-day visit of the Army of the Republic of Slovenia as well as the visit to the members of our Army deployed in KFOR regional command in Pekj.

– In October, the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Hungary, Lieutenant General Romulusz Ruszin-Szendi, paid a two-day official visit to the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia. The members of the Army, from 18^th to 28^th October, participated in the exercise “Disaster Relief Military Mobility Exercise 21”, which was held in different locations in Slovenia. Twenty countries took part in this exercise, which was led by the Joint Forces Command (JFC) of the Armed Forces of R. Slovenia.

– The most important event of the year was the signing of the Joint Declaration on Military Integration into NATO structures on 16^th November, and with this our country formally achieved full militarily integration into the Alliance. The Joint Declaration was signed by Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski and the Supreme Allied Commander Transformation Europe, General Philippe Lavigne, at the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of North Macedonia.

– On 9^th December, a ceremony marked the inclusion of the airspace of the Republic of North Macedonia into the Alliance Air Policing system.  NATO Air Policing system is a vital part of the collective defence, which serves as the backbone for the Alliance, ensuring a single standard of airspace security for all member countries.

The previous year, 2020, was marked by the official accession of the Republic of North Macedonia to NATO as its thirtieth full-fledged member, by which the strategic goal to become part of the Alliance was achieved. The activities of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia were primarily connected to engaging the members of the Army to assist the institutions and citizens in the fight against the “Covid-19” pandemic, since the first day of the state of emergency. The other activities for exercises, conferences and international visits were taken to the level of necessity in accordance with the situation. The following can be considered as some of the more important activities during the previous year:

 

– The beginning of the year was marked by the first official visit to the Republic of North Macedonia by the highest military advisory NATO body – The Military Committee. During the visit, they discussed the current processes in the Army regarding the full-fledged NATO membership.

 

– At the end of January, the Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski was on an official visit to the Norwegian Armed Forces where he had a meeting with his host, the Chief of General Staff, Admiral Haakon Bruun-Hanssen.

 

– During February, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia welcomed the visits by the Chief of the Defense Staff of the Italian Armed Forces, General Enzo Vecciarelli, the Commander of the Allied Air Command, Lieutenant General Ruben Garcia Servert and a military delegation from the Army of the Republic of Serbia led by the Chief of General Staff of the Serbian Armed Forces, General Milan Mojsilovic.

 

– At the beginning of March, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia was visited by the Commander of the Kosovo Security Forces, Lieutenant General Rrahman Rama and the Chief of Joint Staff, Liutenant General Senad Masovic.

 

– On 14^th March, based on the decision made by the President of the Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Army and in accordance with the decision made by the Government for a state of emergency in order to prevent the spreading of the Corona virus in the Municipalities of Debar and Centar Zupa, the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia became part of the support of these units of local self-government as part of the mission of the Army to provide support to the people in case of illnesses and epidemics.

 

The General Staff of the Army ordered engaging of the units of the Army based on the certain requests by the Crisis Committee. The Army is engaged to provide support to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health to maintain security and control in the crisis area and to provide support to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in securing the state border in the region around Debar. Part of the Army units, together with the police became part of the joint patrols that secured the vital state institutions, as well as the control checkpoints for entrance and exit from the settlements in accordance and guidance by the Government. The members of the Army provided support to the Ministry of Internal Affairs in securing certain parts of the state borders, certain vital institutions, control checkpoints, quarantine facilities, provided help to the Red Cross in delivering humanitarian help, provided help to the local self-government in disinfecting facilities and participated with medical teams in the public health.

 

– On 27^th March, the Republic of North Macedonia officially became the thirtieth full-fledged NATO member. Artillery fire was organized from barracks “Ilinden” on the occasion of depositing the Accession Protocol of the Republic of North Macedonia to the US State Department, by which the Republic of North Macedonia officially became a full-fledged NATO member.

 

– In April, the activation of the light manuever field hospital ROL-2 in the health system of the Republic of North Macedonia was also part of the activities and measures taken by the General Staff and the subordinate commands and units in order to prevent the spreading of the “Covid-19” virus. After a previous preparation of the ground by the Enginers Battalion and the City of Skopje at the location near the University Clinic for Infectious Diseases, the members of the Military Medical Center installed the construction elements and enabled the operability of the field hospital.

 

– In June, the Engineers unit of the Army started the project for improving the road infrastructure at TA “Krivolak”. The members of the Engineers Battalion are opening new roads and they are also widening, rearranging and repairing the existing ones, and this will lead toa a ring road around the training area with internal connections to roads which will be connected to external roads with a total length of 75 km. This will enable the organization of bigger exercises and rationalization of the resources due to shortening the time needed to get from one to another place at the training area. The work is planned to be conducted in several phases, until the beginning of the exercise “Decisive Strike 21’ which is planned for the period May-June, 2021.

 

– In August, the Commander of the Armed Forces of the Netherlands, Admiral Rob Bauer paid an official visit to the Republic of North Macedonia.

This year, the Day of the Army was marked by a ceremony in accordance with the measures and protocols for prevention of the spreading of the “Covid-19” virus.

 

– On 27^th August, the Command of the South-Eastern Europe Brigade – SEEBRING officially marked the beginning of their work in the Republic of North Macedonia with a ceremony in the barracks “Boro Menkov” in Kumanovo.

 

The SEEBRIG HQ rotates its location, and it will be located in these barracks in the period 2020-2026, which gives the Army of the Republic of Macedonia the opportunity to present itself as a responsible and good host in the upcoming six-year period.

 

– On 12.09.2020, in the camp Marmal, in Mazar-e Sharif at the Train Advise Assist Command – North (TAAC-N) in Afghanistan, a ceremony was held for lowering the flags of the Republic of Albania, the Republic of Croatia, Montenegro and the Republic of North Macedonia, which marked the end of the mission of the Macedonian contingent in the camp Marmal, Mazar-e Sharif in TAAC-N.

 

– In October, a military ceremony attended by high military and state representatives was organized on the occasion of sending the first contingent of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia in the NATO mission in Kosovo – “KFOR”. This is the first time for the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, as the 30^th NATO member to have a direct participation in the KFOR mission in Kosovo where the contingent with 44 members of the Army, comprised of staff officers and security platoon, will carry out the tasks in the mission command and in the KFOR Command – “West”.

 

– In November, Colonel Simeon Trajkovski and Colonel Besnik Emini were promoted to the rank Brigadier General by decree by the President of the Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Stevo Pendarovski, in accordance with the organization and formation structure of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.

 

– In December, two staff officers of the Army were the first Army members who went on the EU mission in the Central African Republic – training mission.

 

The Basic NCO Course began at the Training and Doctrine Command at TA “Krivolak”. The course is attended by 65 trainees – professional soldiers from the units of the Army out of the planned 120 in the first group who will be the first generation of NCOs since we have become a full-fledged NATO member.

Traditional visit by the President of Republic of Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces to the membes of the Army of Republic of Macedonia on duty on the first day of the new year, 2019 was at the military barracks ‘Chede Filipovski – Dame’ in Kichevo.

 

13.01 ARM members from the Air Brigade of the JOC, using a helicopter Mi-17, together with representatives of the Red Cross distributed one ton of food and other necessary supplies to the inhabitants of the cut off villages Brest and Malino Maalo. Later, on 16, January they also provided help to the village of Tanushevci.

 

21.01 A delegation from the US National Guard, led by the Chief of the US National Guard Bureau, General Joseph L. Lengyel realized their first official visit to the Ministry of Defence and the ARM General Staff, and also visited part of the units and capacities of the ARM.

 

01.02 Commander of the United States Army Europe, Lieutenant General Christopher G. Cavoli, was in an official visit to the Army of the Republic of Macedonia.

 

18.02 The Logistics Support Brigade got a new Commander. Colonel Cvetko Janevski handed over the duty to Colonel Muharem Muharemi.

 

01.03 Members of the SOR at Ilinden Barracks in Skopje, with a military ceremony, marked the Day of the Unit and celebrated the 25^th jubilee of the ‘Special Operation Forces’.

 

From 4 to 9 March the Chief of the Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, who was in a working visit to the US, visited the Joint Staff of the US Armed Forces in Pentagon and the Vermont National Guard.

 

06.03 Hand-over of duty Commander of the 1^st Mechanized Infantry Brigade (1stMIBde) was marked with a military ceremony. Colonel Dragan Kovachki took over the duty from the former Commander of the 1^st MIBde, Brigadier General Mirche Gjorgoski.

 

02.04 First Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which is the largest combat unit in the Army, marked the Day of the Unit with a military ceremony at the military barrackes ‘Strasho Pindzur’ in Petrovec.

 

04-09.04 As part of the activities marking the 70^th anniversary since the foundation of the NATO alliance and our progress to NATO membership, the Ministry of Defence and the Army General Staff organized and realized many different activities during the NATO Week.

 

The main event was the joint concert held on 4, April, at the National Philharmonic in Skopje, where besides our orchestra, the military orchestras of the US, the UK, Greece and Slovenia also had wonderful performances.

 

06.05 On the occasion of Poland’s accession to the NATO alliance and their 15 years of membership to the EU, at the invitation of the Polish Minister of Defence, our Army participated in the main ceremony represented by members of the 4^th Mechanized Infantry Battalion of the 1^st Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

 

In the period from 12 to 18 May, 2019, one platoon from the Military Police Battalion, with 5 combat motor vehicles, took part in the International military exercise ‘Beyond Horizon – 19’ at the military base ‘Novo Selo’ near Sliven in Bulgaria.

 

22.05 Chief of the Army General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski attends the 181^st Military Committee in Chiefs of Defence Session at NATO Headquarters in Brussels, Belgium.

 

This is the first time a CGS of our Army to participate throughout the session of the NATO Military Committee, and by its full-fledged membership it will assume the role of an invited member. Until now the Chiefs of the GS took part in the sessions open to the NATO partner countries, as well as to countries participating in the mission ‘Resolute Support’ in Afghanistan.

 

29.05 VIP Day at the International Military Exercise ‘Quick Response 19’, realized at the military training range ‘Eugen Kvaternik’ in Slunj, Croatia. Members of the Ranger platoon of the SOR and 25 membes of the Air-defence Battalion and a medical team participated in this exercise.

 

31.05 President of the Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Stevo Pendarovski, had his first working visit to the Ministry of Defence and the Army General Staff.

 

From 5, June to 9, July, North Macedonia hosts the largest military exercise ever organized in our country, ‘Decisive Strike’. Over 2,700 members of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, and representatives of Armed Forces of the the US, Montenegro, Albania, Bulgaria and Lithuania took part in the exercise.

 

The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia participated with around 1,300 members, and the US participated with the same number, Montenegro with 75, and 25 from Albania and Bulgaria, as well as 10 army members from Lithuania.

 

12.06 Annual meeting of Deputy Chiefs of Staffs of countries members of the Initiative for cooperation of South – Eastern Europe Defense Ministerials (SEDM) was held. Besides its many-years participation and contribution to the SEEBRIG Brigade, the Republic of North Macedonia is going to host the Command’s Head Quarters from 2020 to 2026.

 

At the military training area near Vranje in Serbia, during the International field exercise ‘Platinum Wolf’, from 01 to 18 June, 2019, the 3^rd Mechanized Infantry Battalion took part with one infantry squad and 5 staff officers from the 1^st MIBde, while members of the 4^th Mechanized Infantry Battalion, participated with one infantry platoon and 3 officers at the military exercise ‘Strike Back 19’ in Bulgaria, which was realized in the period from 6 to 21, June, 2019.

 

From 1 to 2, July, 2019, the Commander of US Army Europe, Lieutenant General Christopher G. Cavoli was in the Republic of North Macedonia.

 

22.07 With a Decree from the President of the Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Stevo Pendarovski, at military barracks ‘Strasho Pindzur’ in Petrovec, a military ceremony on hand-over of duty Commander of the 1^st Mechanized Infanry Brigade was held. Colonel Besnik Emini took-over the duty from the former Commander of the 1^st MIBde, Colonel Dragan Kovacki.

 

18.08  Central ceremony on the occasion of celebrating the Day of the Army in Ohrid.

 

From 26 to 30, August at the sport centre ‘Jane Sandanski’ in Skopje the 11^th regional army footsal ‘Cup for Peace 2019’ was held. Besides the team from the Army of North Macedonia, as host, teams from the armies of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro also participated.

 

140 army members, from 10 to 30, September were part of the military exercise ‘Syber Junction 19’ which was realized in Germany in organization of the Command of US Army Europe (USAREUR). This exercise was one of the largest held this year in Europe and it had participants from more than 20 partner countries. Army of the Republic of North Macedonia took part with one infantry unit of the Joint Operations Command (JOC) and one platoon of the SOR.

 

From 16 to 20, September 2019 at the military barracks ‘Jane Sandanski’ in Stip a military exercise for dealing with natural disasters ‘National Response 19’ was held. The goal of the exercise was to coordinate the efforts of different structures engaged in dealing with natural disasters with various scopes.

 

04.10 The Chairman of the EU Military Committee, general Claudio Graziano in an official visit to the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia, which is first visit of a EU Military Committee Chairman to our country.

 

16.10 at military barracks ‘Alekso Demnievski – Bauman’ in Veles hand-over of duty Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command (TDC) was realized. Brigadier General Metodi Hadzi Janev, previous commander of the SOR, took-over the duty from the former commander of the TDC, Colonel Ljubencho Petrovski.

 

From 14 to 18, October 2019 Military exercise ‘REGEX 19’ was realized. Besides members of the North Macedonia Army, members of 13 armies of NATO partner countries took part. As mentors and monitors to the process of planning and realization of the exercise, in accordance with the Directive for collective training and exercise, are three NATO member states which are part of the Allied Joint Force Command Naples.

 

15.10

In the presence of the President of Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Stevo Pendarovski and the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski at the Military Academy ‘General Mihailo Apostolski’ in Skopje, a military ceremony was held on the occasion of promoting into the rank of Second Lieutenant and taking an oat by the newly-accepted cadets and attendees of the course for the needs of the services in the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia. 30 cadets from the 19 class were promoted to rank Second Leieutenant.

 

From 28, October to 09, November 2019 24 members of the Operations Command (OC) participated in the military exercise ‘Maple Arch 2019’ in Zhitomir, Ukrain.

 

03.12 At the military barracks ‘National Hero Strasho Pindzur’ in Petrovec, handover of duty Commander of the Air Brigade – WING was realized with a military ceremony. Colonel Stojko Pejovski took over the duty from the former commander of the Air Brigade, Colonel Robert Malezanski.

 

13.12  Under the motto ‘The Sound of Cooperation’ and ‘The Sound of the Alliance’, the Military orchestra of the Army of Republic of North Macedonia in the spirit of cooperation, together with members of military orchestras of the armies from the region, traditionally before New Year organized a joint concert at the Army House in Skopje.

 

27.12 The Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski at the Combat readiness Briefing informed the President of the Republic of North Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Stevo Pendarovski on the circumstances in the Army of the Republic of north Macedonia, in the course of 2019.

 

From 28, November to 02, December 2019 Members of the Honour Guard Battalion, representing our Army, took part in the military parade on the occasion of celebrating 101 year of Romania National Day.

The traditional visit of the President of the Republic of Macedonia to the ARM units on the first day of 2018 at the barracks “Chojlija”, where ARM members from the Tank Battalion and the NBC Company from the First Mechanized Infantry Brigade are stationed.

 

On January 12^th, marked ten years since the death of eleven ARM servicemen in the helicopter crash near Katlanovo-Blace.

 

As part of the Ministry of Defense program for the popularization of the military profession on April 4^th, at the square “Macedonia” in Skopje, an event “ARM with You” was held, where citizens had the opportunity to watch the performances of the ARM Ceremonial Guard Battalion, The Military Orchestra and the Special Operations Battalion.

 

On May 17^th, in the barracks “Ilinden” in Skopje, there was a handover of duty Commander of the Special Operations Regiment (SOR). Brigadier General Metodi Hadji Janev received the duty of the SOR Commander from Brigadier General Orce Jordev, who is an adjutant to the President of the Republic of Macedonia.

 

In the First Mechanized Infantry Battalion within the First Mechanized Infantry Brigade, on May 15^th, for the first time in the history of ARM a female member of the ARM lieutenant Aleksandra Boshkovska was appointed a commander of the First Mechanized Infantry Company.

 

On May 18^th, handover of duty Deputy Chief of ARM General Staff was held. According to the Decree of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Major General Azim Nuredin, who has been the Chief of Staff in the Joint Operations Command, received the duty ARM Deputy Chief of General Staff from Major General Muhamet Ratcaj.

 

On May 22^nd, in the barracks “Boro Menkov” in Kumanovo, a handover of duty Commander of the Joint Operations Command from Major General Zoran Mileski to Brigadier General Pavle Arsoski was held.

 

Consequently to the previous handover of the command duties in the ARM commands, on June 8^th, in the ARM General Staff, Major General Zoran Mileski received the duty “Director of ARM General Staff” from Major General Dimche Petrovski.

 

At a formal ceremony in the Ministry of Defense, today 125 citizens of the Republic of Macedonia were admitted as professional soldiers in the Army of the Republic of Macedonia. The 125 professional soldiers are part of the 375 new professional soldiers planned to be admitted in the Army this year. There are 15 female members within this generation of professional soldiers.

 

The Strategic Defence Review was adopted by the Government of the Republic of Macedonia at the beginning of July. Regarding the development policies that are planned with the Strategic Defense Review, one of the priority goals of this document is the creation of a modern and flexible army that will guarantee the stability, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of Macedonia.

 

From 1^st to 20^th August, units of U.S. Army Europe conducted training at the Training Area “Krivolak”. The ARM provided logistic support, accommodation and training grounds, also assistance and escort of military transport to and from the Training Area “Krivolak” and they observed the training.

 

At the central ceremony on the occasion of the Day of ARM, handover of duty Chief of General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia was held. With the Decree of the President of the Republic of Macedonia Major General Vasko Gjurchinovski was appointed the eleventh Chief of GS of ARM.

 

During his visit to the Republic of Macedonia, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg visited the Special Operations Regiment in “Ilinden” barracks, on 6^th September.

 

On October 4^th, in the frameworks of the joint military exercise “Challenge 2018”, which started on September 28^th and was conducted by members of the ARM and the Armed Forces of the Republic of Slovenia at the Training Area Krivolak, distinguished visitors’ day and at the same time closing of the exercise was held.

 

In the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia Technical Arrangement for Cooperation between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia and the Republic of Italy has been signed, within the framework of the United Nations Peace Support operation UNIFIL. Thus mutual military cooperation was enhanced as well as our contribution to peace support operations with additional staff officers.

 

The NATO Military Committee visited the Republic of Macedonia for the first time in the format of a regular session and held a meeting on November 6^th.

 

On November 8^th , on the celebration of the Day of Ceremonial Guard Battalion,  the first Macedonian Officers’ Saber for Honors was promoted

 

November 22 ^th, 2018, was the Distinguished Visitors’ Day for the exercise “Autumn Storm 18”, which was conducted from 8^th to 13^th November. The exercise is the first successfully realized large project within the mutual cooperation among the primary institutions responsible for the safety of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia. The exercise was attended by members of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, the Ministry of Interior, the Crisis Management Center and the Protection and Rescue Directorate.

 

On November 26^th and 27^th, after almost 12 years of our participation in the mission “UNIFIL” in Lebanon, for the first time, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia visited our peacekeepers in this United Nations mission.

 

On December 12^th, the Military Orchestra of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, together with members of the military orchestras of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Army of Montenegro, performed a memorable New Year’s concert in the Army House in Skopje.

 

Traditionally, at the end of 2018, at the military part of the Airport “Petrovec” in the barracks “NH Straso Pindjur” the event  “Arriving of Santa Claus with ARM helicopter” organized by the Air Brigade was held.

This year the ARM of RM celebrated the jubilee “25 Years of ARM”. On the occasion of this jubilee, various activities were organized that included marking the days of the units, humanitarian and sport events, significant historical events related to the formation of ARM and previously planned activities for 2017.

10.03.2017- At the watchtower “Ramna Niva” in the presence of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces H.E. Gjorge Ivanov and the ARM Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski, 25 years since raising of the flag of the Republic of Macedonia on the state border was marked by a military ceremony. This, at the same time, is a day of ARM Reserve Command.

24.03.2017- The Army of the Republic of Macedonia, within the framework of the activities for 25th Jubilee, marked the takeover of the largest military facility in the Republic of Macedonia from the Yugoslav Army in the barracks “Ilinden” in Skopje with a military ceremony.

28.03.2017- The General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, today with a line up, marked 25 years since the formation of the GS, the commencement of activities for functioning and managing of the army.

26.05.2017- A joint demonstration exercise of the ARM and the Macedonian Red Cross was held at the military stadium in Skopje, where a high level of coordinated activities of ARM members and Red Cross volunteers was demonstrated in saving lives at a crises simulation.

19.07.2017- In the Army House in Skopje, a central blood donation campaign was held on the occasion of 25 Years of ARM. At the ceremony some of the blood donors, who have donated blood more than 25 and 50 times, were awarded certificates of appreciation, acknowledgments, plaques and badges.

28.07.2017-The joint exercise of ARM and the United States Ground Forces European Command, “Dragoon Guardian 17”, started. On this largest ever bilateral exercise of Army of the Republic of Macedonia and the United States Ground Forces European Command, held on 10.08.2017 participated more than ninety ARM members from the Engineers Battalion as part of the first Mechanized Infantry Brigade and about three hundred members of the 2 Cavalry Regiment (2CR) of the United States Army Europe (USAREUR). Besides the activities at TA “Krivolak”, the units had an exhibition of motor vehicles and equipment for the citizens of Kumanovo, Skopje, Shtip, Veles, Strumica and Struga.

18.08.2017- A central ceremony was held on the occasion of August 18th, the Day of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia. The ceremony was preceded by a tactical technical exhibition for the public in Skopje and in all garrisons where ARM units are located.
The central celebration was held at the military stadium in the City Park in Skopje, in the evening hours with interaction and socialization with the civilian population. The Minister of Defense, Radmila Shekerinska and the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Gjorge Ivanov addressed the citizens. The President awarded Order of Military Merit to: the Training and Doctrine Command, the Honors Guards Battalion and 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion from 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

25.09.2017- Field exercise “Joint Reaction-17” started at the Training Center “Pepelishte” and the TA “Krivolak”. The “Joint Reaction-17” was a joint exercise of the military police from Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, the National Guard of the state of Vermont, the National Guard of the state of Minnesota and, of course, members of the Military Police from the Joint Operations Command.

02. 10 – 06.10.2017-Exercise “Macedonian Flash-13” was conducted. The NATO reassessment of the Medium Infantry Battalion Group (mibg) and NATO assessment Level 2 of the Ranger Company (RC) was carried out, in accordance with NATO Catalog of Joint Capacities and Capabilities from 2016. With this, for the second time, this largest declared unit received NATO’s “Combat Ready” certificate.

09.11.2017- In Skopje, the twenty-first Conference of the Chiefs of the GS of the US-Adriatic Charter member countries was held. This year, for the first time in addition to operating functional groups in terms of security, training and exercises, logistics and major NCOs, the communication and cyber defense team started to work.

05.12.2017- In Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC, “Alekso Dеmnievski-Bauman” barracks in Veles, Simulation Center equipped with a donation from the United States was officially opened by the Supreme Commander, the Chief of General Staff and the US Ambassador in the Republic of Macedonia H.E. Jess Baily.

13.12.2017- The Jubilee “10th Army Cross Country Running Championship” was held.

07.12-15.12. 2017 –In the frameworks of a working visit to the United States, the ARM Chief of General Staff, Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski held several meetings with high officials in the UN Peace Support Department. He also addressed representatives of the US Congress, who for the first time had the opportunity to be briefed by the Chief of General Staff of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia, to get acquainted with the efforts made by the Republic of Macedonia in the field of defense for full -fledged membership in the Euro-Atlantic structures.

This jubilee year, the Army of the Republic of Macedonia continued to implement the measures in accordance with the tasks assigned by the President of the Republic of Macedonia and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Gjorge Ivanov, from September 24, 2015 for the strengthened and continuous securing of the southern and northern border, and assisting the Ministry of Interior and Border Police. Apart from this, ARM members were engaged in dealing with natural disasters providing assistance to the civilian population. Thus, in the period from 27th July to mid-August, two MI 8/17 helicopters from the ARM Air Force Brigade and 60 members of 4th Battalion of 1st Infantry Brigade of ARM from Kichevo took part in extinguishing fire in the area of village Trebovlje.

The members of the Engineers Battalion from 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade once again put their skills at the disposal of civilian structures in the areas where the floods damaged the infrastructure facilities last month, with a full construction of a new wooden bridge in the village Poroj, municipality Tetovo.

During the year, there were 2 (two) rotations of contingents in the “Resolute Support” mission in Afghanistan, 2 (two) rotations in the EUFOR ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one in the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia and the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces HE Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, accompanied by Minister of Defence HE Zoran Joleski and the Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski, traditionally, on the first day of New Year visited ARM servicemen engaged on the southern border region of Gevgelija.

On March 1st in ‘Ilinden’ barracks in Skopje, the 22nd anniversary of the establishment of Special Operations Regiment was celebrated.

On May 9th in ‘Strasho Pindzur’ barracks in Petrovec a handover ceremony for Air Force Brigade commander was conducted.

In the period from 7th to 17th of June the Army of the Republic of Macedonia participated at the international exercise ‘Anaconda-16’ which was held in the Republic of Poland. The total number of participants at the event was 157servicemen from the following units: Infantry Company, Military Police Platoon, Special Operations Regiment and staff personnel.

In the period from 31st of July to 4th of August, Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski visited ARM servicemen who are engaged in Kabul in IR Afghanistan in the mission ‘Resolute Support’. During the visit General Velichkovski met the commander of the mission ‘Resolute support’ General John Nicholson.

Twenty one people lost their lives in the storm which swept the vicinity of Skopje. The Army of the Republic of Macedonia fully engaged the necessary capacities in handling the aftermath of the storm. The results of the commitment of ARM were more than obvious. During the engagement which ARM carried out in 5 stages 1116 private houses were cleared of silt, 239 public and private buildings were cleaned and disinfected, 12.750 meters of streets and 1014 of private houses were disinfected. ARM servicemen worked together with the MOI in the regulation of the traffic in this area.

On August 18th at the central ceremony on the occasion of the Army Day Macedonian President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces HE Dr. Gjorge Ivanov awarded the Order of Military Merit to the Military Police Battalion and the Order of Military Merit to the Engineers Battalion.

In the period from 19th to 25th of September in the VIP arena ‘Boris Trajkovski Sports Center’ 31st World Wrestling Military Championship was held.

From 2nd to 7th of October, 250 ARM servicemen and representatives of the armed forces from 21 NATO member countries and Partnership for Peace countries participated in a field exercise ‘Macedonian Flash 12’. The exercise was conducted in training support center ‘Pepelishte’ and military training area ‘Krivolak’. During the exercise, NATO evaluation Level 1 was executed according to the operable abilities of the declared Ranger Company as part of the Special Operations Regiment (SOR).

On November 10th in ‘Ilinden’ barracks members of the Ceremonial Guard Battalion celebrated the day of the unit with a military ceremony, and also a duty handover of a commander of the unit was held.

On November 28th with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Macedonia and a Supreme Commander of Armed Forces HE Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, Colonel Orce Jordev the commander of the Special Operations Regiment, was promoted into General. Major General Vasco Gjurcinovski was appointed as a High Military Representative of the Republic of Macedonia to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Brigadier General Zoran Milevski was appointed to a position of commander of the Joint Operations Command, and Brigadier General Mirche Gjorgoski was appointed a commander of the First Mechanized Infantry Brigade.

On December 23rd, in the Army House in Skopje, the Command Sergeant Majors and First Sergeants in commands and units of ARM briefed Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski about the accomplished and the upcoming activities of the NCO Corps of ARM. The major and first sergeants insignia were presented at the meeting in accordance to the Regulation for uniformed insignia in ARM.

In 2016 ARM continued the implementation of the measures in accordance with the tasks assigned by the decision of the President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Gjorge Ivanov issued on 24.09.2015 for a strengthened and continuous protection of southern and northern borders helping MOI and border police. Performing the tasks extremely professionally ARM daily prevents dozens and on some days hundreds of attempted illegal crossings. By the end of the year more than twenty thousand such attempts had been prevented by applying the international norms and a correct attitude towards all attempts at trespassing. The humane treatment was best proved with the rescue of four migrants from floodwaters of Suva Reka which happened on 14.03.2016. Recognition for successful execution of the tasks was paid by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Gjorge Ivanov who four times visited the Army engaged on the southern border in the past year.

This year ARM had undertaken intensive international activities, primarily the expressed support given during the visits of the highest military structures of the Vishegrad Group (the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Poland) that just before the NATO summit in Warsaw had visited ARM (of which Chief of general Staff of Poland for the first time). A strong support and praise for the way the Army deals with the refugee crisis was expressed at these visits. For the first time ever a visit and a meeting between the General Staff Heads of ARM and UK Royal Forces was held.

During the year two (2) contingents rotated in the mission ‘Resolute Support’ in IR Afghanistan, two (2) rotations in the mission EUFOR ‘ALTHEA’ in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one in the ‘UNIFIL’ mission in Lebanon.

On 16th January at the Army Hall in Skopje there was a celebration marking the end of the twelve years of ARM deployment in “ISAF” peacekeeping mission, in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

In February, ARM service personnel provided relief assistance in the flooded areas in Pelagonia region.

At the Army Hall in Skopje, from 2nd to 5th June, the annual Meeting of Logistics Chiefs of member- countries of A5 Adriatic Charter signatories was held.

In the first half of August, ARM members were deployed in Tetovo region, dealing with the after-effects of the floods by using engineers’ equipment and providing tank trucks with potable water for the local population. Members of the Engineer Battalion reconstructed and rebuilt two bridges connecting the inhabitants of Poroj, who were mostly affected by the floods.

At the main celebration of the Day of ARM-18th August, the President Gjorge Ivanov with a decree appointed a new Chief of the General Staff. The flag of the General Staff was given to the newly appointed CGS Lieutenant General Metodija Velichkovski, who previously was the Commander of the Joint Operations Command.

On 27th August 2015, at the General Staff of the Republic of Macedonia, there was a Deputy Chief of General Staff handover ceremony. The newly appointed DCGS Major General Muhamet Racaj, whose previous appointment was Deputy Commander of the Joint Operations Command, took over the duty from the outgoing DCGS Lieutenant General Naser Sejdini.

In accordance with the decision of the President of the Republic of Macedonia, on 21.08 the members of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia were deployed along the southern border, to enhance and provide continuous protection of the southern and northern borders as a support to MoI and the Border Police.

On 17th September 2015, at the hotel “Granit” in Ohrid, the nineteenth Conference of the USA- Adriatic Charter (A-5) Chiefs of General Staffs (CGS) was held.

There was a visit and evaluation of the ARM declared units by the South-Eastern Europe Brigade from 16th to 19th November.

On 05th December 2015 soldiers of the Engineer Battalion started building a barbed-wire security fence along the southern border, in order to prevent illegal crossing and to channel the flow of migrants through the official check points.

The declared Military Police Company successfully completed NATO Evaluation Level 2, and at the same time the declared Rangers Company completed Self-Evaluation Level 1 during the exercise “Macedonian Flash-11”.

On 6th October 2015 there was an evaluation of a Military Police company during the exercise “Macedonian Flash 11”.

During the year there were two (2) rotations of the deployed contingents in the mission “Resolute Support“ in IR Afghanistan and the mission “ALTEA“ in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and one rotation of a staff officer in the mission UNIFIL in Lebanon.

In 2015 ARM service personnel took part in several international exercises like, “Joint Reaction-15“, “Trident Juncture-15”, “Saber Junction-15“, “Immediate Response-15“ and others.

ARM continues accomplishing successfully all the tasks resulting from the process of the transformation. ARM commands and units have been working on maintaining and improving the combat readiness and evaluating the training.

During the year there were two (2) contingent rotations in “ISAF” mission in IR Afghanistan and two (2) rotations in the EUFOR mission “ALTEA” in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

During the year, ARM service personnel prepared to take part in the mission “Resolute Support”, which is a follow-on mission to “ISAF”, and were finally deployed in December. As a part of the new mission ARM participated securing the mission Command and the staff officers at the Train Advise Assist Commands in the Regional Command, Capital and North.

This year in accordance with the decree for appointing a Day the Unit, issued by the President and Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, for the first time 17th October was celebrated as the Day of JOC, a unit that upholds the traditions of the Kresna Uprising Headquarters founding.

The exercise “Macedonian Flash-10” was carried out from 5th to 12th April 2014, at the TA Krivolak, during which NATO Evaluation Level 2 of Medium Infantry Battalion Group (MIBG) and Light Maneuver Field Hospital (LMFH) were successfully conducted.

There was a NATO Self-Evaluation Level 2 of the Force Protection Company of the EU Battlegroup Company, from 12th to 16th May, and it was graded as “Combat Ready”. The company, from 2nd to 13th June participated in the exercise “Quick Lion” in the Kingdom of Belgium, and since 01st July 2014, as a part of EUBG 2014-2, was put in operational readiness until 31st December 2014.

ARM units carried out a larger number of engineering tasks for the needs of ARM units and as support to the civilian structures of the Republic of Macedonia. As part of the project for cooperation with the local government in the Republic of Macedonia, the Military Orchestra and members of the Ceremonial Guard Battalion gave performances in several cities around the country.

ARM participates in missions “ISAF” in Afghanistan, the mission ALTHEA in BiH and UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

On 30 July the ARM website was put into use by the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, Gjorge Ivanov PhD.

For the first time in the history of the ARM, Military Army Brass Band held a concert at the Macedonia Square marking the 18th August – The Day of ARM

On 19 September at the General Staff of ARM a meeting was held with celebrities and representatives of institutions who performed and helped the concert on the occasion of the Day of ARM which was held on 16 August 2013 on Square “Macedonia” in Skopje. For this occasion, the Chief of Staff gave “Bronze badge of the Army for partnership, coordination and cooperation” to: Esma Redzepova – Teodosievska, Blaga Petreska, Mustafa Imeri, Dragan Mijalkovski, Universal Hall, DJ Nikifor, Sitel TV, Antenna 5 radio and Children’s Cultural Center “Karposh” from Skopje.

In the period from 30 September to 2 October, “the 5th International Futsal Cup for Peace” was held in the sports center “Rasadnik” in Skopje. Besides the team of the Army of Republic of Macedonia, which participated as a host, there were futsal teams from the armies of Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia and Montenegro at the Cup.

On 17 December, the Military Band of the ARM in the Army Hall in Skopje performed a New Year concert. The concert was attended by: the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Goranco Koteski, ARM generals, key personnel from the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff of ARM, members of all commands and units of the ARM and part of the military attaches accredited in the Republic of Macedonia.

There was a promotion of the new official uniform of the ARM on December 24 in the Army hall in Skopje, attended by the Minister of Defence Talat Xhaferi, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Goranco Koteski, key personnel from the MOD and GS of ARM, representatives from the President of the Republic of Macedonia, the retired ARM generals and media representatives.

A new cycle of transformation has started. The process is planned during 2010-2011, and was brought in close cooperation with NATO and U.S. strategic partner.

ARM participates in missions “ISAF” in Afghanistan, the mission ALTHEA in BiH and UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

On 21 April on ATA Krivolak, methodical demonstration exercise “Fire support of the mechanized infantry unit in attack” was held. The exercise included units of the artillery battalion, mortar battery and tank units of JOC

This year ARM celebrated the “20 years ARM” anniversary. On the occasion of this Jubilee various activities were organized including humanitarian assistance, solemn academy, tactical-technical words, blood donations, sports events, etc. The main celebration of this anniversary was held in the Ilinden barracks on the 18th August.

The following exercises were conducted during 2012:

• COOPERATIVE LONGBOW LANCER 2012 – This exercise is part of the NATO / PfP exercises. The role of leader of the exercise was the ARM and NATO Land Command from Madrid with a total of 1650 participants from Macedonia and NATO / PfP countries.
• Special Operations Regiment of ARM was the leader of international joint exercise of the special forces of the Balkan countries B-9 “WISE WOLF”. The exercise was conducted from 01 to 10 June on ATA Krivolak and the Centre for training on water in Ohrid.
• With the bilateral cooperation between ARM and the Army of the Republic of Slovenia the exercise “Challenge 2012” was conducted. At the exercise participated AAD units from both countries, and were conducted live firing at air targets with RS “IGLA” and the establishment and maintenance of C2 systems.
• With the bilateral military cooperation with the Kingdom of Norway the exercise “Safe way – 12” was realized for authentication of the interoperability and demonstration of the capacity and capabilities of the donated mobile hospital (ROLE-2)

Logistics Support Command transformed into Logistics Support Brigade. It is under the command of JOC.

By the transformation from 1st MIB Stip and 2MIB Kicevo was formed 1st MIB. The command of the brigade is located in barracks NH Strasho Pindzur in Petrovec, where it issues commands to the subordinate units.

On August 14th Special Operations Regiment was awarded the “Order of Merit”. The Order was awarded by the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Mr. Gjorge Ivanov, PhD.

On 07 December the Chief of General Staff attended the ceremony to promote the “Museum for peaceful security defense research” in the Museum of Macedonia.

ARM participates in missions “ISAF” in Afghanistan, the mission ALTHEA in BiH and UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

The government in 2011 approved the long-term development plan for defense 2011-2020. This ensured the unity of institutional efforts for systematic development of the defense and alignment of the limited resources with key development priorities.

In 2011, the president, as supreme commander of the armed forces, adopted a Decision on restructuring the commands and units of the Army

In 2011 the following significant exercises of ARM were realized

• exercise “Macedonian Flash 07” is organized and conducted for the evaluation of the Infantry Battalion Battle Group and the Mechanized company of the EU BG forces 2012/2 in April
• exercise “Macedonian Flash 08”, for evaluation of the mechanized company of the EU BG forces 2012/2 in October and
• exercise “Challenge 2011” as a bilateral exercise for training AAD personnel and units of the ARM and the army of Slovenia in September.
• multinational medical exercise “MEDCEUR 11”. The exercise was conducted in the Army Training Area “Krivolak” in the period from 06 to 17.06.2011. The implementation of the exercise allowed improving of the regional preparedness of the medical staff for participation in operations for crisis response, disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, including the MoI, SSO, CMC, Red Cross, Ministry of Health and the armies from U.S., Austria, BiH, Bulgaria, Serbia, Slovenia, Norway and Montenegro.

The Chief of General Staff of ARM was named an honorary member of the National Guard of the State of Vermont. The declaration was made ​​by the Vermont National Guard Major General Michael Dubie on 16.03. in the Army Hall in Skopje

On 8 June in Ohrid the fifth conference of the chiefs of staff of the armies of the Balkan countries was held.

On June 22 a ceremony was held to award the medal “Legion of Merit” to the Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Miroslav Stojanovski by the U.S. Ambassador in Macedonia HE Philip Reeker.

On 18 August, at the central celebration marking the Day of ARM in the Centre for training on water in Ohrid, in the presence of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Macedonia, there was transfer of the duty acting Chief of Staff of ARM. The duty of the Chief of General Staff was received by Major General Goranco Koteski from Lt. Gen. Miroslav Stojanovski.

On September 21^st, an International demonstration exercise “Search and rescue of injured persons in inaccessible mountainous terrain and space” was organized by the SOR of ARM

On December 21st the official opening ceremony of the Military Medical Center was held.

By the President of the Republic of Macedonia 6 people were honored with a medal for bravery for extracting people from the Buchim mine.

Joint Operational Command transformed into a new organizational – formational structure according to NATO standards organized into sections from J-1 to J-9 and reduced number of subordinate units.

By the Memorandum of understanding between the Republic of Macedonia and NATO operations command in 2011, the connection of national capacities for aerial surveillance and notification with the NATO Integrated system for Air Defense was established.

ARM participates in missions “ISAF” in Afghanistan, the mission ALTHEA in BiH and UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

In the period from 19 to 23 April the exercise “Macedonian Flash 06” was organized and conducted. The purpose of the exercise was the assessment by OCC concept. The exercise was conducted in the range Penush in Shtip.

In the period from 17 to 31 May at the Army Training Area Krivolak the international exercise “Light-10” was conducted. The purpose of this exercise is dealing in post-conflict situations and operations. On the exercise were representatives of State College “Indiana River”, “Ford Pierce” Florida and Military Academy “West Point” of the United States, as well as representatives of the University “St. Cyril and Methodius” in Skopje, the Macedonian MoD and MoI, SSO , CMC, Red Cross, ARM and other charities and institutions in Macedonia.

In the period from 24.10 to 03.11. the exercise “Balkan Flash 2010” was organized and conducted. The purpose of the exercise was to complete the assessment by OCC concept of medium infantry battalion and the declared units (ATA Krivolak).

The country hosted the fourth coordination meeting of countries – participants in EUBG 11/2012. At the meeting, a letter was signed with intention for ARM to participate in this combat group with troop contribution up to 150 soldiers.

On 4 November in Skopje, the thirteenth meeting of chiefs of staff of the armies of the Adriatic Charter A5 was held.

On September 30th SOR in the area of Matka conducted a demonstration exercise “Search and rescue of injured persons in inaccessible mountainous terrain and space”.

On 23 December the captain Hristijan Gjeorgov is awarded with the medal for special service to Lebanese Army for achieved excellent results and promotion of staff work within the Joint Operational Centre (UNIFIL) in Nagura, Libya.

This year the Military Hospital in Skopje transformed into City General Hospital “September 8” and Military Medical Center of ARM.

Since our contribution to ISAF forces, which started in 2002, 2010 was marked as the year in which it achieved the highest level of engagement with 250 troops in one rotation.

Ministry of Defense, in accordance with the Law on Equal Opportunities for Women and Men from 2006, as part of its strategy for human resources adopted the Program on equal opportunities for women and men. The aim was to achieve gender incorporation in the ministry and to remove barriers in providing equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women.

The Military Academy was restarted.

ARM participates in missions “ISAF” in Afghanistan, the mission ALTHEA in BiH and UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

In the period from 06-08 February the first Regional Biathlon was held it’s in Mavrovo

There was a ceremony awarding the recognition “Wall of impeccability” to Master Sergeant Boban Stojanovic of the ARM by the U.S. Army.

On August 15th the Chief of PAO gave a statement to the media on the occasion of an explosion before the entrance of the ISAF command in Kabul, where four of our soldiers suffered injuries.

The exercise Macedonian Flash 05 was held in the period from 19 to 27 October. As part of the exercise there was also self-evaluation LEVEL -2 CREVAL of the Medium Infantry Battalion and the Military Police Company.

Within the bilateral exercise “Challenge 09” by ADbt there was a shooting exercise “IGLA” at ATA Krivolak. The shooting exercise was conducted with representatives of the Army of the Republic of Slovenia.

For the first time in the Republic of Macedonia there was NCO Corps Forum of Central and Southeastern Europe.

On December 14th a ceremony was held to award honors members of the Special Operations Regiment for the participation in the mission “Iraqi Freedom”.

In the period from 12 to 23.10 in the Coordination center for support of the host country in Skopje there was a logistical command staff exercise “LOGEX 09”. The exercise was attended by representatives from the Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Croatia, Republic of Albania USJFCOM and USEUCOM. As observers of the exercise were representatives from Montenegro, Denmark, Ukraine and Georgia. As part of the exercise there was also a visit to the military attaches accredited in the Republic of Macedonia.

ARM participated in missions “Iraqi Freedom” in Iraq, to Afghanistan, the mission ALTHEA in BiH and UNIFIL mission in Lebanon.

2008 was the last year for the ARM in the “Iraqi Freedom” mission in Iraq. ARM, led by the U.S. participated in 2003 with a total of 11 rotations performed, or a total number of 490 military personnel. Initial contribution by a platoon of special purpose in 2008 was further strengthened by another platoon.

On 12 January at 12:00 am at the return from the mission ALTHEA in BiH, near Blace, R. Macedonia, there was a helicopter crash that killed 11 members of the ARM.

In the Army Hall on February 15, a ceremony was held to posthumously declare honor veterans for the eleven tragically killed members of the ARM in the helicopter crash in Blace.

On 26 and 27 March, a joint staff simulation exercises called “Flood – 08” was held involving the Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Interior, Center for Crisis Management, Directorate for Protection and Rescue, and representatives of other ministries of the Government of Macedonia.

The exercise “Macedonian Flash 03” was organized where they made self-evaluation LEVEL-I by OCC to the declared the JOC units (Medium Infantry Battalion of the 1st MIB and the declared company bVP).

The exercise “Macedonian Flash 04” was organized and conducted, an exercise of the special units of the Member States of the Group A – 3, with the participation of teams of special operations of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Macedonia and Albania, and Croatia as observers. As observers of the exercise there were also representatives of the Armed Forces of Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. NATO assessment LEVEL-1 was conducted on this exercise, according to OCC of the declared units of the JOC (Medium Infantry Battalion of the 1st MIB, helicopter detachment from air WING and the declared company from bVP).

In the period from 26 to 30 May on the territory of the Republic of Macedonia was conducted training mission under international agreements “Open Skies” in cooperation with Germany and Hungary.

On 17 July in the barracks “NH Strasho Pindzur” in Petrovec a ceremony was held marking the completion of the participation of the helicopter detachment of ARM in the ALTHEA mission in BiH.

On the occasion of the Independence Day of the Republic of Macedonia, 8th September, as part of the Ohrid athletic marathon which is held every year in Ohrid, the first military athletic marathon was held.

In Ilinden barracks in Skopje on 19 September a ceremonial opening was held for the military exercise “Adriatic Eagle 08” including the participation of members of special units of the Armed Forces of the Adriatic Charter.
On 07 November at the Army Hall in Skopje a ceremony was held to posthumously award the “Medal for Service to the European Security Defence Policy” that was allocated to the families of the dead ARM peacekeepers in mission “ALTHEA”.
Greece veto Macedonia’s membership invitation in NATO at the Bucharest Summit in April. Macedonia was left out of the progress of the so-called Adriatic Charter as Croatia and Albania were invited to join NATO.

In 2008 a strategic partnership was established with the United States. This created the conditions for even stronger support in Macedonia’s preparations for NATO membership, especially in the education of officers, training, equipping ARM and the joint participation in international operations.

ARM participated in missions “Iraqi Freedom” in Iraq, ISAF mission in Afghanistan and ALTHEA in BiH.

On 16 May this year a staff officer from ARM took part in the mission UNIFIL in Lebanon.

On 31 May SEEBRIG command was moved from Constanta, Romania to Istanbul, Turkey.

The “Seven Stars” exercise was held within MPFSEE in November 2007 in Constanta, Romania.

The exercise “Macedonian Flash – 1” was carried out. The exercise was conducted along with the members of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. On the exercise the ARM was engaged with staff of about 500 people.

The exercise “Macedonian Flash – 2” was organized and conducted. This was an exercise of the special units of the Member States of the A-3, with the participation of special operations teams from the Armed Forces of the Republic of Macedonia and Albania. Croatia took part as observers.

As national exercises and in accordance with the “Guidelines for operational and other procedures of the Army in support of the police in the event of a crisis situation” there were two exercises realized with MOI:
­ The exercise “LINK – 07” was a communication-operative exercise which included staff officers of the General Staff of the ARM and MOI, various suppositions were practiced, exchange of data and procedures of both institutions in different situations, signals operability and the flow of information between the two institutions.
­ The exercise “Vodno 07” which took place in the period from 29 to 30.05.2007, was a joint exercise of the Army and MOI, which was attended by small units of special operations teams from the ARM and MOI, and staff officers of GS and MOI.

Activities in the field of public relations and communications have started for the first time in JOC and the subordinate units of JOC.

This year the Training Command started receiving and training of the civilian voluntary military service.

For achieved outstanding merits in the field of defense, by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Macedonia on 18.08.2007, the 1st MIB is honored with the “Order of Military Merit”.

In the years 2006-2007, the military was fully professionalized.

In May, the Parliament approved the ban on compulsory recruitment. ARM in line with its commitment was moving towards full professionalism. This was done through the organization of courses and education at the Military Academy, which was one of the requirements for NATO membership.

ARM participates in missions “Iraqi Freedom” in Iraq and ISAF in Afghanistan.

On 24 March in Cede Filipovski Dame barracks a ceremony was held, marking the launch of the Second Mechanized Infantry Brigade. It took place in the presence of the President Branko Crvenkovski.

On 5 and 6 April the joint exercise “06 NASET” was realized between GS and NATO headquarters in Skopje.

On 12April, there was a promotion of the signals battalion, logb, 1.logb, 2.logb and 3.logb as part of the LSC, and during the same month there was also promotion of the armored battalion and the self-propelled howitzer battalion within the JOC.

From 10 August to 23 September a military exercise “surge of the modern army” was organized in the Training Centre in Pepelishte in which Military Police units and the Army National Guard of Vermont, USA took part.

In September the Military Police Battalion was promoted.

From 2 to 8 October, there was a joint exercise of the special units of the armed forces of the Republic of Macedonia and Bulgaria “Balkan wolf”.

On October 28 was staged one of the greatest tactical exercises under the name “Amplified mechanized company in attack.” The exercise was carried out by the Leopards of the 2mib.

Under the initiative of the Multinational Peace Force of SEE for the first time since its formation, the SEEBRIG headquarters was sent in a peacekeeping mission. Macedonia participated with 10 members of ARM and the mission took place in the period from February to August 2006 as part of the ISAF contingent in Afghanistan.

On 23.11.2006 there was the promotion of SOR.

This year SPHBtn was dislocated from Prilep in garrison Veles.

On 14.07.2006 in the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with one contingent in the operation “Bucephalus” for the first time in the history of the ARM, the Army Air Force (under the umbrella of JOC) also took part. The objectives of this operation were transportation of troops and VIP personnel, observation of airspace, particularly the border regions and providing assistance to the civilian structures in natural and other disasters.

On 20 November, the first rotation of the medical team (9 persons) took part within the ALTHEA mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

There was closing down of TCRB and RBS – subordinate units of TC this same year.

The Ministry of Defence formed a unit to prepare men for return to civilian life, which was designed to prepare members of the Army to return to civilian life after their career in the Army. Members of the Army again went through training to acquire skills that are considered useful for the transition to civilian life.

In 2005, the Army fully surrendered the border security to MOI:
– 01.05.2005 the handover of the northern border and
– 01.09.2005 the handover of the western border.

ARM participates in missions “Iraqi Freedom” in Iraq and ISAF in Afghanistan.

In the period from 22.02 to 23.02.2005 the combined exercise “NASET 05” was held – element of staff training between GS of ARM and NATO headquarters in Skopje. With this exercise part of the staff of GS was trained in the rapid response in case of emergency events and response to requests by the ChS.

Republic of Macedonia was accepted as a member of the International Military Sports Council.

Organization and participation in NATO/PfP command staff exercise “Cooperative association 05” held at the Military Academy in Skopje.

This year with the transformation of the army was formed CES, NBC company, Land Forces Command was transformed in JOC, LC in LSC, Engineer Regiment into Engineers Battalion, AirWING and GS of ARM, Guard Battalion in BHS, 1.ibr into 1.MIBr, BASN in ASOK and bObLS

This year for the first time from the military hospital a medical team was sent in 3-A joint medical team in the ISAF mission in Kabul, Afghanistan.

On 06 July, in front of the General Staff of ARM there was a ceremony marking the handover of the duty of the Chief of Staff. The duty of the Chief of General Staff was received by Major General Miroslav Stojanovski from Major General Gjeorgji Bojadziev.

ARM participates in missions “Iraqi Freedom” in Iraq and ISAF in Afghanistan.

The process of professionalization of the ARM has begun.

The Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and President of the Republic of Macedonia, Boris Trajkovski, was killed in a plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 27 February. The president was buried with the highest military honors.

On 12 March, there was handing over of the duty Chief of Staff of ARM. The duty of the Chief of General Staff of ARM was received by Major General Gjeorgji Bojadziev from General Methodi Stamboliski.

In 2004, ARM began a gradual handover of border security to MOI:

– 05.07.2004 the handover of the southern border between 2.bbr and border police and

– 01.09.2004 the handover of the eastern border between 2. bbr and border police.

This same year exercise Chebren was performed. The exercise was carried out together with the members of MOI.

The actor Mile Grozdanov visited 18 separate facilities – watchtowers, where he performed the melodrama “Chronology of a group of authors.”

The bilateral exercise “Common Corridor 2004” was organized and conducted. The exercise was carried out by the command and the units of Land Forces.

The process of modernization of aviation devices for night flying has begun.

For the first time in the history of the ARM it was organized and carried out shooting targets in the air (paratroopers) with AA gun 20/3 mm.

This year TCBSU – Skopje was closed down – part of the units were relocated to TCRB and RBP – Bitola and LTC – Skopje – part of the units were relocated in garrison in Veles.

The Barracks “Gorce Petrov” in Skopje was handed over to the Ministry of Interior.

Several centers for the study of foreign languages were fully equipped by the United States FMF funds. The project facilitated the learning, primarily of the English language, for the staff from ARM.

ARM continued its participation in the ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

In June, ARM began to participate in the mission in Iraq – “Iraqi Freedom.”

In May, the government of the Republic of Macedonia has made “Strategic Defence Review”, which led to the adoption of a new national strategy for Security (National Concept for security and defense), as well as the “political framework”. This legal framework was designed to reform the territorial defense of the military in terms of usability and sustainability.

In December 2003, the Special Units Command developed into Special Operations Regiment Command, the Special Purposes Forces transformed into Battalion for special operations, the Ranger Battalion was formed (from the reconnaissance battalion and the Parachute unit from Petrovec) and MPbtn was taken out of SUC and the RBtn and was transformed into an independent unit.

Macedonian Parliament adopted the National concept for Security and Defence, an important strategic document for the security sector that defines threats, strategic interests and values ​​of the Macedonian security.

On the occasion of the Day of ARM – 18 August, by 1.ibr was conducted exercise “Joint land – air operations in support of peace.” The exercise was led by the Commander of Land Forces.

During this year, the command of the 1. Corps was transformed into a command of Land Forces. As part of the transformation there was termination and dissolution of 25.libr, 41 libr, 1.map and 1.mpoap and there was also a transformation of the center for training border guards and forming of the 8.Ibr.

Logistics Training Center began to work from 01.04.2013 according to the new structure.

The first contribution of the Republic of Macedonia abroad started within the NATO-led ISAF mission in Afghanistan.

With the transformation of the Army on 19 March at the Goce Delchev barracks in Skopje, The Training Command of the Army of Republic of Macedonia was established with three training centers: Center for infantry training (Bitola), Center for border guards (Veles) and the Center for arms and services (Skopje).

 

The Center for Arms Control was included in the new formation of GS of ARM.

A Center for Arms Control was established within the GS of ARM. It was subordinated to the Deputy Chief of Staff.