The central ceremony on the occasion of 18 August – the Army Day was held today in the Water Training Center – Ohrid. Today’s ceremony was attended by the highest state leadership, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Gordana Siljanovska Davkova, Prime Minister Hristijan Mickoski, Ministers in the Government, members of Parliament, guests from the military diplomatic corps, the Commander of the Vermont National Guard, General Gregory Knight, former Ministers of Defense and Chiefs of the General Staff and other guests. Major General Sashko Lafchiski assumed the position Chief of the General Staff of the Army from the previous Chief Vasko Gjurchinovski.
On the occasion of today’s Army Day, the Minister of Defense Vlado Misajlovski address the attendees, emphasizing that he is especially proud of the Army and all its members, military and civilian, because the Army is an inspiration for success, an institution that serves as an example for achieving great endevors, for unity, an institution that has the greatest trust among citizens.
In his address, Minister Misajlovski referred to the importance of promoting bilateral, regional and neighborly cooperation with one goal, a safe state, a stable and safe region and peace in regional and global frameworks.
Below is the integral address of the Minister of Defense Vlado Misajlovski:
Dear President and Commander-in-Chief of the Army,
Dear Prime Minister,
Dear Ministers and Deputy Ministers in the Government,
Dear Chief of the General Staff,
Dear generals, members of the Army and employees of the Ministry of Defense,
Dear former Ministers of Defense and Chiefs of General Staff,
Dear representatives of the military-diplomatic corps,
Dear members of Parliament,
Dear General Knight,
Dear representatives of the media,
Dear Macedonian pulbic,
Dear guests,
May the Day of the Macedonian Army be happy, may the memory of it be eternal!
Today, we are celebrating 32 years since the formation of the Macedonian Army, an institution that I am especially proud of, because it is an institution that, with its members, is an inspiration for success, an inspiration for achieving great endevors, an inspiration for unity, an institution that has the greatest trust among the citizens, a role model institution.
When we hear the word Army, our first associations are:
Heroism, sacrifice, courage, security, organization, discipline, peacekeepers, or in one word, protectors!
Throughout all these years of development of the Army, we have all witnessed the sacrifice of these people who have always been and are on the frontline in protecting their fellow citizens, in fires, floods, pandemics and crisis situations. These are the people around us who took an oath, and not just any oath, but an oath on which they swore to defend the freedom, sovereignty and territorial integrity of our homeland. Well, is there anything more sacred than this! And that is exactly why, I express, from the bottom of my heart, recognition and immense gratitude for their determination.
But let us not forget the defenders who responded to the call of their country and who unfortunately paid the highest price, laid down their lives for their Macedonia. We eternally bow down to our heroes, for their sacrifice and bravery.
Eternal glory to them !
Dear attendants,
On this occasion, I welcome and thank all our members for their professionalism in contributing to regional and global security. In protecting the Alliance, deployed in Latvia, Romania, Bulgaria, in ensuring a stable Balkans, in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo and in the UN led mission in Lebanon, but I also express my gratitude to all the officers and non-commissioned officers who are part of the NATO command structures, defense attachés and our representatives at NATO headquarters, who promote our country in a worthy way.
In these fragile times, bilateral and regional cooperation and the cooperation with the EU is espacially significant, but the cooperation with our neighbors is of paramount importance. In that context, and in view of strengthening the defense of the Alliance at the recent NATO summit, together with the Defense Ministers of Italy, Albania and Bulgaria, we signed a Letter of Intent in order to facilitate the movement of the military forces of the allied countries in Corridor 8 with the purpose of protecting the Alliance’s eastern flank.
What is ahead of us in our work to maintain a stable and safe state, but also to preserve peace in a global framework, is drafting new strategic documents, a new Defense Strategy, updating the Long-Term Defense Capabilities Development Plan and the Equipping and Modernization Plan.
The defense relies on these documents, which must keep up with the ever-increasing changes in the field of security, and it is therefore necessary to update them, i.e. adapt them according to the new challenges..
On tjis note, I would like to thank personally the Prime Minister for his full support and I would really like, on behalf of the Ministry of Defense and the Army, to say a huge thank-you in the segment of finances, as well and in the segment of you daily interest in the Army. Thank you.
Dear guests,
It is the commitment of this Government to have a Defense Budget that will meet the requirements, a Budget that will continue to grow and exceed the minimum 2% of GDP, according to the “Commitment to Defense Investment” which was adopted at last year’s Summit of the Alliance in Vilnius.
We will continue to invest in defense, because our primary obligation is the protection and security of our citizens, and of Macedonia.
We will continue to invest primarily in human capacities and in new modern sophisticated equipment compatible with NATO standards, which will contribute to strengthening regional security and beyond.
But here I want to emphasize and at the same time thank all allied countries who, thanks to their support in equipment, education, training and advise, have contributed to the development of the Macedonian Army, which is a NATO Army today.
We remain committed to fulfilling our promises, we remain committed to upgrading and expanding the Army’s capabilities.
Dear guests,
From this place, I would like to express my gratitude to the other security institutions and we must not forget the institutions that are crucial in the development of defense capabilities, which produce the staff required to advance the defense, the future leaders, starting from the Military Academy “General Mihailo Apostolski”, the Institute for Security, Defense and Peace and the Faculty of Peace and Security.
In the context of protection, in the coming period we must seriously make changes in the area of protection of citizens and the environment. The desolation left by the previous government is reflected in thousands of hectares of burnt land, damage that costs enormously, both for Macedonia and the Macedonian citizens.
And as far as having prepared personnel, regardless of whether they are firefighters, Army members, volunteers, to whom I am sincerely grateful for their fight, they are powerless because they do not have the proper equipment and, unfortunately, they do not have the necessary air support. From a modern center that was created to produce pilots not only for the Army, but also for the Police, for the Protection and Rescue Directorate, and as importantly, for allied and partner countries, all we have today is a hangar with equipment that is currently unusable. But, I promise from this stand that I will make the maximum effort to reactivate this Center.
Dear attendees,
Before I close my address, I want to thank General Vasko Gjurchinovski, the previous Chief of the General Staff, for his contribution to the development of the Army. I congratulate the new Chief, General Sashko Lafchiski, first and foremost, on his appointment and I wish that we have a successful and fruitful cooperation, which will be evident in our Army. I am sure that your years-long experience and acquired education will contribute to even greater development of the Macedonian Army.
Once again, HAPPY 18 AUGUST – THE ARMY DAY!
LONG LIVE MACEDONIA!
LONG LIVE THE ARMY!
