A senior military delegation of the National Guard (NG) of the federal state of Vermont, led by Vermont NG Commander Major General Steven Cray, began its official visit of the Republic of Macedonia with today’s reception at the ARM Chief of General Staff, Major General Vasko Gjurchinovski.
During the reception Generals Gjurchinovski and Cray talked about the exceptional military cooperation between the ARM and the Vermont NG, which enters its jubilee 25th year. They also pointed out the importance of former joint activities not only for reaching the interoperability of the ARM in procedures applied in NATO armies, but also for strengthening the mutual relations in other segments of defence.
After the reception by the ARM CHOD, a working meeting with the operational officers in the ARM General Staff was organized, where the processes of transformation of the ARM, ARM’s activities, and current joint activities related to the opportunities for further joint participation in exercise activities and peace support missions were presented.
Today, the Vermont NG delegation visited the Engineer Battalion at the military barracks ‘Ilinden’, whose members had intensive joint activities with the Vermont NG in the past years.
In the next few days of their official visit, the delegation of the Vermont NG will meet the Minister of Defense, Radmila Shekerinska, will visit the ARM Air Force Brigade, the Water Training Centre, the Ministry of Interior and the Crisis Management Centre.
During the tour of the ARM units – their resources, capacities and activities will be presented.
The objective of this year’s mutual visits with the Vermont NG, at the highest military level, is identifying the needs and possibilities for enhancing the cooperation through the military contact program for cooperation, which enabled the ARM members, who have already participated in military trainings and exercises, to completely apply the NATO standards.
