Mission:
The mission of section J-7 of General Staff of Army is to plan, coordinate and control the implementation of the training and the training activities of the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia.
Responsibilities of Section J-7 of General Staff of Army:
- Creates annual directions for Army training and exercises;
- Creates and coordinates Army annual training schedule;
- Creates annual plan for Army exercises in the country;
- Creates annual draft plan for Army exercises of abroad;
- Creates draft financial plan to finance Army training and exercises;
- Creates the draft Program 4 “Training in ARM”;
- Coordinates and creates plans and programs for Army training;
- Creates work plans;
- Creates plans for training control of Army exercises;
- Plans evaluations according to the Concept of operative abilities;
- Recommends and plans training in the domain of coordination in the army with the subordinate commands and units;
- Recommends designing manuals, rules, handbooks, standards and procedures under their authority,
- Prepares six-month and annual analysis of Army training and exercises;
- Plans and implements a physical checkup of the readiness of the personnel of General Staff of Army and the subordinate commands and units;
- Coordinates the remaining activities for training and exercises with the other units in the MoD, General Staff of Army as well as the other structures outside the MoD.
Colonel Igor Atanasov
Colonel Igor Atanasov was born on 30 December 1977, in Radovish, where he finished his elementary and secondary school. He began his military career in 2000 as a graduate infantry officer of the second generation Second Lieutenants at the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” in Skopje.
His first duty was a Team Commander in the Special Forces Battalion, where he remained until 2020, holding various command and staff duties, including: Commander of a Diving-parachute Team, Commander of a Sabotage Company, Special Operations Officer in the Battalion, Operations and Combat Readiness Officer in the Battalion, Acting Chief of S-3 and S-4 Sections in the Battalion and Deputy Commander/Chief of Staff in the Special Forces Battalion.
Since 2020, he has held positions in the J-3 Combat Readiness and Operations Section at the Army General Staff, serving as an Operations Officer in the Operations Department of the Republic of North Macedonia Coordination Center and Acting Chief of the Operations Department in the Republic of North Macedonia Coordination Center. From 2024, he has served as Chief of the J-7 Training and Exercises Section in the General Staff of the Army.
He graduated from the Command and Staff School at the “General Mihailo Apostolski” Military Academy in Skopje in 2013-2014. Throughout his career, he has enhanced his professional education at other schools and has completed courses in country and abroad. The most significant are: Special Forces Course; Amphibious Reconnaissance Course; Parachuting Course; Diving Course; Military Competence in Peace Support Operations Course; Peace Support Operations Staff Course; Civil-Military Cooperation Course; Information Operations Course; Operational Planning Course for Special Operations Command; Joint Operations Planning Course; NATO Standardization Course, and NATO Crisis Management Course.
In 2006, he participated in the “Iraqi Freedom” mission as a Deputy Commander of the Contingent. He has actively participated in numerous Special Forces exercises and crisis management exercises in country and abroad, including: “Jackal Stone 09” in Croatia; “B-9 CJSE Wise Wolf” at Krivolak; “Anaconda” in Poland; “Combined Resolve VII” and “Combined Resolve XII” in Germany and “MILEX 21” in Greece.
For his dedication and achievements in combat training and Army development, he has received numerous decorations and awards from the Minister of Defense, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, and battalion and regiment commanders. He is fluent in English, married, and a father of two children.
Organization structure of J-7
- Department of Training;
- Department of Exercises.