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CAOC Torrejón commemorates the national day of the Republic of North Macedonia.
Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid
September 13, 2024
- The Macedonian ambassador to Spain attended the flag-raising ceremony.
In commemoration of the independence of the Republic of North Macedonia, an event celebrated by the Macedonian people since 1991, a military ceremony was held at the Combined Air Operations Centre of Torrejón (CAOCT) with the traditional act of raising the national flag of the country.
The Ambassador of North Macedonia in Spain, Mr. Edmond Ademi, accompanied by the first secretary of the embassy, Mrs. Firijalje Alimani, was received this morning at the CAOCT by Lieutenant General Sánchez de Lara, for an interview in the facilities of this NATO unit at the Torrejón Air Base. During the ceremony, the authorities present addressed a few words to the personnel taking part in the military event.
During his speech, Lieutenant General Sánchez de Lara highlighted the full adaptation of North Macedonia to NATO's integrated air and missile defence system (NATINAMDS) from December 2021. An integration that, according to the general, ‘is based on the concept of associating and sharing capabilities, which is what is being done in North Macedonia, providing airspace defence with its own national resources, NATO's own resources and those of nations such as Greece, a country that provides support with its interceptor fighters from its own territory’.
For his part, the ambassador of North Macedonia took the opportunity to thank the NATO contingent in Torrejón for its work in helping to safeguard his country's skies. Full membership of the Alliance structure, according to the ambassador, ‘is of strategic importance for a small country like his own’. He also attached great value to the concept of collective defence and recognised the importance of having a permanent representative in the OSTC.
Finally, it should be noted that this celebration is part of the 30th anniversary of bilateral relations between North Macedonia and Spain.
Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón (NATO)
The main mission of the Torrejón CAOC, under the direct command of a Lieutenant General of the Spanish Air and Space Army, is to plan, direct, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on air defence operations in Southern Europe, following the directives of the NATO Air Component Command on which it depends and with the resources assigned to NATO by the nations in peacetime.
The Spanish Armed Forces make an important contribution to the mission carried out by this centre. Some 120 Spanish military personnel serve in the CAOC itself as well as in the National Support Element (NSE) and the NATO Communications and Information Agency Unit (NCIA).
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