Today, 1st April 2015 (Wednesday) at the barracks “Strasho Pindzur” in Petrovec, a ceremony was held on the occasion of the day of the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade (MIB). The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Defence Zoran Jolevski, the Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Goranco Koteski, the Deputy Minister of Defence Arben Labenishta, the Deputy Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Naser Sejdini, the Deputy Commander of the Joint Operations Command Brigadier General Muhamet Racaj, as well as senior representatives of MOD and GS, former brigade commanders, retired generals, commanders of subordinate commands and units of General Staff, representatives of local government and other dignitaries.
The commander of the 1st MIB, Brigadier General Pavle Arsoski, in his address said that the 1st MIB is a pillar of ARM and a nursery of the current and the future members of the branches: Infantry, Artillery, Armour, Engineers and NBC. On the occasion of this first celebration of the brigade, General Arsoski stated that all the members of the brigade will continue with hard work filled with enthusiasm and motivation in order to upgrade the combat readiness and handle future challenges under the motto of the brigade „Strength and Honor. ”
Congratulating the day of the unit to the lined up troops of the 1th MIB General Koteski emphasized the successes of the brigade, as the most powerful combat unit in ARM, saying it is a great responsibility for all members of the unit to remain consistent in meeting the set values, in order to achieve new and greater success at home and internationally. CHOD of ARM told the members of the 1st MIB to remain recognizable in courage, boldness and success, strengthening more the trust among the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, remanding them that their primary mission is to defend the homeland, keeping its territorial integrity and sovereignty. On this occasion, General Koteski indicated that the most sacred duty of all members of ARM is to preserve, defend and build a state, remaining loyal to their organization, proud of what they sacrifice.
At the ceremony, on the occasion of the day of the unit incentives for its members were read and the best company in the brigade was declared.
By decision of the President of RM to determine days of ARM units, 2nd April is set to be the day of the 1th MIB, since on this date the unit was transformed according to the new organizational structure of ARM. By achieving operational readiness, the 1st MIB undertook the tasks and responsibilities of two former brigades, becoming the largest combat unit in ARM, consisting of several branches.
