A delegetion of the National Guard of Vermont led by the National Guard Commander, Major General Steven Cray, arrived today on a three day visit to ARM. The delegation was welcomed by the Chief of the General Staff of ARM, Lieutenant General Gorancho Koteski. The guests from Vermont, during the meeting held at the ARM General Staff, were informed about the transformation of the ARM, the long-term defence development plan, and the participation in international missions. The participation in the ISAF mission and promoting the cooperation with Vermont National Guard in the future were also discussed at the meeting.
Lieutenant General Koteski emphasised the strategic importance of the partnership with the National Guard which have enabled a substantial cooperation with the USA armed forces and it should be taken as an example and an incentive for developing and extending the cooperation into other segments of our society.
General Major Cray, who is visiting ARM as a National Guard Commander for the first time, highlighted that he is a proud of the cooperation with ARM, especially of the ARM achievements resulting from years of undertaken joint projects. The US Ambassador, H.E. Paul Wohlers, who also attended this meeting, said that the partnership between ARM and the Vermont National Guard has been established and proven throughout numerous projects, trainings and exercises and the best example is the co-deployment of both units in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Both generals agreed that the strategic partnership and the cooperation will continue to develop especially in the direction of military education, modernization and improving the combat readiness and the strength of the units for deployment and efficient crisis reaction.
The Vermont National Guard is an important partner to ARM for conducting activities and projects with the USA armed forces, and thus implementing the Partnership Program, which is the foundation of the bilateral cooperation of these two armies. Since 1994 until today, over 3000 ARM service personnel have conducted different types of training and exercises, which enabled ARM to successfully reach the NATO standards.
