The officer was received upon arrival by Lieutenant General Fernando De la Cruz, Commander of the Unit, with whom he then had a brief working meeting. Over the next three years, Commander Mitrovski will perform the role of Fighter Controller at the Static Air Defence Centre, contributing his knowledge and experience to the surveillance of the airspace under the responsibility of the Combined Air Operations Centre.
To commemorate this milestone, a military ceremony was held at the CAOCT Headquarters, with the corresponding raising of the country's flag.
LtGen De la Cruz welcoming Maj Mitrovski at CAOC Torrejon. Photo courtesy of CAOCT.
During the military ceremony, General De la Cruz addressed a few words to the CAOCT staff, thanking the Republic of North Macedonia for the contribution of troops to the Alliance's permanent aerial surveillance mission of the southern flank carried out from the CAOC. The general also highlighted North Macedonia's commitment to the Alliance, to which it adds value through cooperation and whose structure it has been supporting since its incorporation in 2020.
With the addition of Major Mitrovski, CAOCT completes the representation of all the countries within its Area of Responsibility.
North Macedonia is the 30th member of NATO. Its incorporation into the Alliance took place on Mar. 27, 2020. On Dec. 9, 2021, at the Skopje airport, a military ceremony inaugurated the inclusion of the Republic of North Macedonia in the NATO air surveillance system. The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Defense of the Republic of North Macedonia, Radmila SHEKERINSKA JANKOVSKA, the Commander of the NATO Combined Air Operations Center in Torrejón, Lieutenant General De la Cruz, and the Chief of the Hellenic Tactical Air Force, Lieutenant General Themistokles Bourolias, among other civil and military authorities.