US Army Donates 1,269 M4 Riffles to ARM
US Ambassador Kate Marie Byrnes handed over on Monday 1,269 M4 riffles, a donation from the US, to the Macedonian Army (ARM). The handover ceremony took place at the Gjorce Petrov barracks of ARM, in presence of Defence Minister Radmila Sekerinska.
“This is another example of the good cooperation between our army and the army of the US, as allies within NATO. We recognise the pledges of the Army of North Macedonia invested in their contributions to NATO as the Alliance’s newest member, and we shall continue with the support for the processes of modernisation,” Ambassador Byrnes said. DM Sekerinska thanked Byrnes for the donation, and said that it is a part of a greater project which represents support by the US Army to ARM.
President and Commander-in-Chief Pendarovski Briefed on Combat Readiness
On Wednesday, President and Commander-in-Chief Stevo Pendarovski was briefed by the Chief of the Army’s General Staff, Lieutenant General Vasko Gjurcinovski, on the situation and combat readiness of the Army. Army generals, representatives of both the Defence Ministry and Pendarovski’s Cabinet were part of the first combat readiness briefing since Macedonia’s NATO integration, as was and Defence Minister Radmila Sekerinska. Pendarovski was informed of several functional areas concerning the Army, including operations, training, exercises, budgeting, liaisons, and communications. In that regard, the Army’s assistance in the efforts to deal with the COVID-19 crisis and the transformation processes taking place in line with NATO standards were mentioned. According to Gjurcinovski, the pace of implementation of all planned tasks related to full NATO integration will continue at an unreduced pace.