Today, 28 May 2026, at the city stadium in Shtip, the Macedonian Army presented a selection of its military equipment, vehicles, and unit capabilities to the public to mark the successful Combat Readiness Evaluation (CREVAL) of the Light Infantry Battalion Group (LIBG).
The event was attended by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Gordana Siljanovska-Davkova, the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Major General Sashko Lafchiski, Deputy Minister of Defense Admir Shabani, representatives of the local government, and numerous visitors.
In her address, the President emphasized: the exercise “Flash” was the moment when the Light Infantry Battalion Group demonstrated that it is compatible and comparable with all other similar units within NATO. We received recognition for excellence and quality, which is, in fact, proof that the Army’s reputation among you is no coincidence.”
General Lafchiski stated that the purpose of the day was to acknowledge the outstanding achievement of the members of the Light Infantry Battalion Group. He also expressed his gratitude to everyone who contributed to its development and helped establish it as a cornerstone of the modern Macedonian Army.
During the event, numerous visitors had the opportunity to become acquainted with part of the Army’s equipment and weaponry, including the Mi-8/17 helicopter, Stryker and JLTV light armored vehicles, engineering assets and demining equipment, CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) defense equipment, modern infantry weapons, and other military systems.
In addition, several demonstration exercises were conducted, including a mountaineering demonstration, a military working dog demonstration, a martial arts display, and guar dril-egzercir.
As part of the event, the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski” – Skopje also presented its program, providing visitors with information about the educational and professional opportunities offered by this higher education institution.
The evaluation of the Light Infantry Battalion Group (LIBG) in accordance with the NATO capability targets was conducted as part of the exercise “Flash 26”, which took place in April this year. Following the successful evaluation, the LIBG attained the status of “combat ready for mission execution,” thereby confirming the unit’s high level of training, operational readiness, and interoperability with Allied forces.
