In the period from 08.03. to 13.03.2020, the Initial Planning Conference (IPC) for the exercise “Decisive Strike 21” was held at the Training Camp “Pepelishte” with the participation of representatives from the Pennsylvania National Guard, the US Army in Europe and representatives from the Armed Forces of the Republic of Greece. The planning of the exercise was based on the 2020 Annual Training and Exercise Plan.
The conference was preceded by the Initial Planning Conference for the exercise “Defender 21” held in Budapest, Hungary, from 02.03. to 06.03.2020, where the planning team of the “Decisive Strike 21” took part.
The Initial Planning Conference was opened by Brigadier General Mirce Gjorgoski, who is designated as Director of the Exercise, giving guidance to the conference participants, highlighting the main priorities for this phase of the planning process.
During the conference the Officer with Primary Responsibility (OPR) of the exercise, Colonel Blazhe Nikolovski presented the purpose of the exercise, its organizational structure and its placement.
During the IPC the following activities were implemented:
- Identification of the personnel for exercise control;
- Determination of the basic lists of main events;
- Determination of necessary requirements for the support army commands and units to the exercise;
- Defining tasks to units at different levels by setting deadlines for training and
- Establishment of the capacities for deployment of the units to the ATA
According to the work plan, a meeting was held with representatives of the Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Transport and Communications and the Customs Administration, where the representatives of the mentioned institutions were introduced with the forthcoming activities for realization of the exercise with emphasis on their involvement.
On the sidelines of the conference, a representative from the US National Guard of Pennsylvania, Lieutenant Colonel Richard Tilitzki, had a meeting with the Commander of Operations Command in Kumanovo.
During the conference, a tour was conducted by the Army Chief of Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski and the Commander of Operations Command (OC), Major General Pavle Arsoski, when the specification of the exercise was signed by the Army Chief of Staff.
