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 from the Vermont Army National Guard clear a room in a target house at the Krivolak Training Area, Republic of North Macedonia, May 25, 2012. Soldiers participating in Exercise Cooperative Lancer had the opportunity to train from the classroom, to the sand tables and then incorporate that training out into the field. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman Sarah Mattison)

June 27, 2012

Cooperative Lancer 2012

North Macedonia — About 40 members of the Vermont Army National Guard joined a dozen other countries in the former Yugoslav Republic of North Macedonia in May for a two-week long NATO exercise that was designed to enhance interoperability between participating countries. Named Cooperative Lancer and Longbow, the Vermont Army National Guard  members worked with fellow military men and women from more than a dozen NATO countries and NATO-partner countries. Vermont has had a good relationship with North Macedonia via the State Partnership Program since 1993 which has fostered close ties between the two groups.

U.S. Army Spc. Robert Dearden, an infantryman from Georges Mills, N.H., of 4th Platoon, D Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment mans a machine gun during a joint patrol with a platoon of Macedonian Rangers, June 5. The Macedonians are embedded with the D Company Soldiers of the Vermont National Guard as part of their state Partnership for Peace Program. They are the first state partnership involved in the program to embed and run combat operations. (U.S. Army National Guard photo/Staff Sgt. Whitney Hughes)

May 30, 2010

'Always a Step Ahead' - Macedonia Rangers partner with Task Force Avalanche in Paktya

Afghanistan — True to their motto "Always a step ahead," the soldiers of the Ranger Battalion of the Macedonian army are forging new ground with their U.S. partners from the Vermont Army National Guard in the National Guard's State Partnership for Peace Program.

Sept. 18, 2009

Macedonian president visits Vermont to discuss joint deployment

BURLINGTON, Vermont — The president of the Republic of Macedonia arrived here today to further develop the nation's ongoing relationship with the Vermont National Guard that began in 1995 with the National Guard State Partnership Program.

The official logo of the Vermont National Guard.

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