About This Partnership

Vermont established its state partnership partnership with the Republic of North Macedonia on July 14, 1993. Their partnership has included more than 350 military-to-military activities, including collaborative events in Europe and the United States, as well as a shared deployment to Afghanistan in 2010, marking the first time a National Guard unit deployed and served with a state partner. The Vermont National Guard supported their partnership through military assistance and training to help North Macedonia meet NATO standards, leading up to North Macedonia's entry into the alliance in 2020. Vermont and North Macedonia announced in 2021 that they would expand their partnership to include civic and economic opportunities for cooperation.

Recent North Macedonia Partnership News
U.S. Soldiers assigned to 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, operating High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle turrets armed with two M2A1 .50 Cal machine guns and two M240 machine guns fire rounds during a combined arms live-fire night exercise as a part of Immediate Response 25.

June 4, 2025

Vermont Guard Soldiers prove lethality along NATO allies at Immediate Response 25

KRIVOLAK, North Macedonia — U.S. Soldiers assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment (Mountain), 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard participated in a combined arms live-fire exercise, May 29-31, 2025, during Immediate Response 25.

U.S. Soldiers with the 572nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard, and Austrian Land Forces assemble brazier charges used to breach wire barriers as part of Immediate Response 25 during DEFENDER 25

June 1, 2025

Vermont National Guard cross-train U.S. infantrymen and Austrian Land Force personnel on various demolition techniques

KRIVOLAK, North Macedonia — U.S. Soldiers assigned to Bravo Company, 572nd Brigade Engineer Battalion, 86th Infantry Brigade Combat Team (Mountain), Vermont National Guard cross-train U.S. infantrymen and Austrian Land Force personnel on various demolition techniques, June 1-3, 2025, during Immediate Response 25, a large-scale, joint exercise with NATO Allies and Partners at the Krivolak Training Area, Krivolak, North Macedonia, taking place May 26 to June 9, as part of DEFENDER 25, the U.S. Army’s premier large-scale deployment exercise in Europe.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, adjutant general, Vermont National Guard, listens to a speaker during the 26th US-Adriatic Charter Chiefs of Defense Conference (CHOD) in Skopje, North Macedonia, September 27, 2023.

Oct. 5, 2023

North Macedonia hosts US-Adriatic Charter Conference

SKOPJE, North Macedonia — U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Greg Knight, Vermont adjutant general, and leaders from seven other U.S. states joined their partner nation Chiefs of Defense (CHoD) for the 26th US-Adriatic Charter Chiefs of Defense Conference in Skopje, North Macedonia, on September 27.

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

Vermont Partnerships

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