As part of the celebration of General Staff Day on 28 March and the day when our country officially became a member of the NATO Alliance, a ceremony was held in front of the plateau of the Ministry of Defense, attended by the Minister of Defense Vlado Misajlovski, the Chief of the General Staff, Major General Sashko Lafchiski, Deputy Minister of Defense Admir Shabani, former Chiefs of the General Staff, active and retired generals, representatives of the Ministry of Defense, as well as commanders of the first subordinate commands and units of the General Staff of the Army.
In his address, Minister Misajlovski expressed his gratitude to all current and former members of the General Staff, the highest expert body in the Army that makes strategic decisions about what the Macedonian Army will look like tomorrow, in five years, in ten years. "Your dedication, vision, including the creation of plans for equipping and modernizing the Army, shows us the direction we must set in order to have a strong Army, capable of fulfilling its constitutional obligation, which is a safe and secure state," the Minister said.
He added that the synergy that exists between the Ministry of Defense and the Army is clear and visible and said: "We will continue in the same way. We will continue with the same dedication, with the same love for our homeland, to develop the Macedonian Army with joint and concerted efforts!", Misajlovski underlined.
On the occasion of the sixth anniversary of NATO membership, Minister Misajlovski expressed his respect to the visionaries who led the country in its early days, who had a plan for where we should be, as well as to generations of employees who put their personal stamp on achieving this goal.
"Today, as a NATO member state, together with our 31 allies, we sit at the table where decisions are made about the security of the Alliance. We do so with the utmost responsibility, and we do our utmost to contribute to the common security of every inch of allied territory," the Minister emphasized.
Brigadier General Orce Jordev, Director of the General Staff, said that "the celebration of 27 March - the Army General Staff Day, together with the anniversary of NATO membership, emphasizes our responsibility in fulfilling the Army's mission and obligations within the framework of collective security," pointing to the General Staff as the key authority for planning, organizing and commanding the Army.
The date 27 March has a special significance for the Army, because on this day, 34 years ago, the General Staff was taken over, which represents a key moment in the process of forming the Army, after taking control of the state territory and the departure of the last YNA soldier.
