Yesterday I accompanied the Ambassador to an event in the historic town of Ohrid to mark ‘18 August, Macedonian Army Day’. The ceremony was held at the Water Training Centre in a beautiful setting next to Lake Ohrid. As Commander-in-Chief the President headed a guest list of senior political, diplomatic and military guests. It was a great opportunity to meet with friends and colleagues from the ARM, some of whom I had the privilege of working with in Afghanistan in 2012 and 13.
Managing a modern defence force requires the effective management and integration of many constituent elements. It requires trained and professional manpower with high morale and motivation, comprehensive equipment which meets modern needs but which requires maintenance, streamlined and efficient command and control with armed forces under civilian control. All this is implicit of a NATO member nation and aspirant, where ‘interoperability’ is key.
As a founding member of NATO the UK has been in the ‘family’ for a long time during which it has undergone a number of transformations to meet ever changing demands. Transformation continues with change a never-ending process. This September the UK will host the NATO Summit in Wales. This is the second time UK has been host, the last being in 1990. The Summit will focus on some core issues of the collective system of security and defence and will include the future transformation of NATO, Afghanistan, changing threats, defence budgeting and many more key issues facing the Alliance.
Our defence section has been operational for over 12 years in Macedonia during which UK has been proud of the defence cooperation between our two countries. British military personnel haveworked closely with Macedonian colleagues since the early days of Macedonia’s NATO reforms. Our relationship in the International Security Force Afghanistan (ISAF) mission has endured since 2006 and we have shared many experiences and lessons. British and Macedonian soldiers have been serving closely together and the UK still provides the strategic airlift for Macedonian contingents. Other bi-lateral defence cooperation ranges from education and training to joint exercises.
UK assistance in education includes places offered at the Royal College of Defence Studies, the Joint Services Command and Staff College part of the Defence Academy , and soon the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS) as well as other training establishments in Great Britain. It facilitates training opportunities at the British Military Advisory Training Team (BMATT) in Vyskov in the Czech Republic.
Our bi-lateral partnership is here to stay. UK has been one of the firmest supporters of Macedonia’s defence reform process, and a strong supporter of its NATO membership. I look forward to the day when Macedonia will sit at the NATO round table. Meanwhile we will continue our close bi-lateral partnership as allies.
Lt Col Richard Parry, Defence Attaché