With a military ceremony, which took place today in the “Strasho Pindzur” barracks in Petrovec, the members of the Air Force WING (AF WING) from the Operations Command (OC) marked June 10 – the Day of the Unit.
The Chief of Staff of the Operations Command, Brigadier General Mirche Gjorgoski and the Commander of the AF WING, Colonel Igorcho Stoimenovski addressed the present at the military ceremony in the “Strasho Pindzur” barracks in Petrovec, in front of the Chief of the General Staff of the Army, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurchinovski.
The Chief of Staff of the Operations Command, Brigadier General Mirche Gjorgoski, emphasized that the airspace defence is a top priority and added that in the past 32 years, concrete contributions have been made to the construction of the unit’s capacities and capabilities. The General pointed out that the planned modernization will enable greater operational capability and better performance of the unit’s mission and tasks. In his speech, General Gjorgoski recalled with particular reverence the 11 members who lost their lives in the helicopter accident near Blace, telling the AF WING members that the memory of their sacrifice should be a motive for achieving even greater successes and professionalism.
The Commander of the unit, Colonel Igorcho Stoimenovski, gave the historical review of the unit to the audience, emphasizing that thanks to the efforts of the professional and highly motivated staff, the foundations of the military aviation and anti-aircraft defence were laid. He also referred to the three-decade process of continuous equipping that began with transport helicopters, airspace surveillance radar and light training airplanes, and in the future, with the planned procurement of multi-purpose helicopters and air defence systems, the unit’s mission performance capabilities will be improved.
Congratulations were read in front of the formation and incentive measures were awarded to members of the unit who excelled in their work, after which those present had the opportunity to watch the flight of two F-16 aircrafts from the Greek Air Force, which are part of the NATO air patrol, and there was an over flight of a part of the aircrafts of the AF WING.
In addition to the Chief of the General Staff, General Gjurchinovski, the ceremony was also attended by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Major General Azim Nuredin, the Director of the General Staff, Brigadier General Simeon Trajkovski, representatives from the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff, commanders of Army commands and units, former commanders and others.
On the occasion of the celebration of the day of the unit, the members of the AF WING carried out a blood donation and humanitarian action in the Municipalities of Petrovec and Ilinden.
Today’s date is the AF WING Day, commemorating the first flight of a military aircraft in the Army in 1992. From the beginning, this unit was composed of an aviation brigade with an aviation, transport and combat helicopter squadron, after which in 2005, it was transformed into a smaller, more compact unit called the Airborne Wing (Airborne Reconnaissance Assault Group) which existed until 2012, when the Aviation Brigade was formed, and after the last transformation, today’s Air Force WING is formed.