The members of the Army who will participate in NATO’s enhanced Vigilance Activities were send-off to their deployment in the operation with a ceremony in barracks “Ilinden”.
The first contingents consisting of two platoons will take part in the activities of the multinational NATO forces deployed in Romania and Bulgaria.
At the ceremony, which was attended by the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski, the Minister of Defence Slavjanka Petrovska and the Chief of Staff of the Operations Command, Brigadier General Mirche Gjorgoski addressed the members of the Army.
The Minister of Defence, Petrovska said that the members of the Army’s participation in this mission would contribute to the collective efforts in strengthening the security and stability of NATO. “We will expect that after your rotation you will return with valuable experience and even greater incentive to contribute to the prosperity of your country” said the Minister.
General Gjorgoski said that these deployments, which are part of the continuous participation of our Army in multinational missions led by NATO, EU and UN lasting for more than 20 years, not only demonstrate our experience and professionalism, but also confirm the value of our contribution to our allies.
Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) was first established in 2017, with the creation of four multinational battalion-size battlegroups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland. They demonstrate the strength of the transatlantic bond and make it clear that an attack on one ally would be considered an attack on the entire Alliance.
Our participation in NATO’s enhanced Forward Presence operation began in June 2022 with the deployment of a CBRN and an artillery detachment in Latvia within the Slovenian contingent.
After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Allies decided to establish four more multinational battlegroups in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. Increasing the total number of multinational battlegroups to eight enabled NATO’s forward presence along its eastern flank – from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Black Sea in the south.
The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia’s participation and given responsibilities in complex multinational peace operations shows that we actively contribute to all Alliance activities on equal footing with other ally armies.
