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Macedonia: Land Forces

Last modified: 2013-12-30 by ivan sache
Keywords: land forces | infantry | military police | air defence | armour battalion | nbc defence | scorpion (black) | st. george (black) | shield | rocket | radar |
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Rapid Reaction Forces

1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade (1st MIB)

Flag of 1st MIB

Colour of the 1st MIB - Image by Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010

The 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade is part of the Rapid Reaction Forces of the Land Forces Command.
Quoting an announcement by the Ministry of Defence, 17 September 2009:

The 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, [stationed at Štip] continues the traditions of the 14th People's Liberation Assault Brigade, which was formed on 17 September 1944 in close vicinity of the village of Mitrašinci, [Municipality of] Berovo. With the forming of the ARM, the formational title of this unit was 11th Infantry Brigade, and from 2000 with its transformation according to NATO standards it is renamed into 1st Infantry Brigade, until the final transformation, when it turned into an infantry mechanical brigade [19 December 2005].

The colour of the 1st MIB, as shown graphically on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, is in proportions 1:2, red with a golden fringe. The national coat of arms is placed in the upper left corner, while the unit's badge is placed in the upper right corner. In the lower half of the flag the unit's name, ПРВА МЕХАНИЗИРАНА ПЕШАДИСКА БРИГАДА, is written in yellow capital Cyrillic letters.
The unit's badge is a green shield outlined in yellow and charged with a black scorpion outlined in yellow, surmonted by a yellow scroll bearing the unit's motto, ЧЕСТ И СИДА ("Honour and Power") written in black capital Cyrillic letters. The brigade's soldiers are nicknamed "Scorpions".
On the image of the badge, the third letter of СИДА is erroneously rendered as a Greek Δ; photos of the colour show the correct writing.
As shown on the photos, the colour has a red sash with a golden fringe and charged with the unit's badge. An other photo shows the other side of the sash as charged with the national flag.
The colour will have to be modified due to the removal of the star from the national coat of arms.

Valentin Poposki & Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010


Armour Battalion T-72B

Flag of Armour Battalion

Colour of the Armour Battalion - Image by Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010

The Armour Battalion T-72B is part of the Rapid Reaction Forces of the Land Forces Command.
The first tank unit of the Army was established on 2 June 1993, equipped with five T-34 tanks. The Armour Battalion was created on 6 September 1999, equipped with T-55s funded by Bulgaria and Greece. On 19 December 2001, the battalion was equipped with T-72A of Ukrainian design. Finally, the modernized battalion was renamed T-72B on 14 April 2006.
All the T-s tanks are of original Soviet design. Produced in 1979, the T-72A was superseded in 1985 by the T72B.

The colour of the Armour Battalion, as shown graphically on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, is in proportions 1:2, yellow with the unit's badge in the middle, surmonting the name of the unit, ОКЛОПЕН БАТАЛЈОН, in black capital Cyrillic letters.
The unit's badge is a green shield outlined in black and charged with the black silhouette of St. George piercing a black dragon with a gray spear, surmonting a gray tank, surmonted by a gray scroll bearing the unit's motto, МОЌТА Е СО НАС ("The Force is With Us"), written in black capital Cyrillic letters.

Valentin Poposki & Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010


Support Forces

Military Police Battalion

Military Police flag

Colour of the Military Police Battalion - Image by Jovan Jonovski, 14 March 2007

The Military Police Battalion was established by Presidential Decree on 15 April 1992. Placed under the Special Forces Command in 2002-2003, it was transferred to the Army Headquarters in November 2003 and eventually placed under the Support Forces Command on 7 September 2006.

The colour of the Military Police Battalion, as shown on a photo published in a Macedonian newspaper, is a green flag in proportions 1:2 with the unit's badge in the middle.
The badge of the Military Police Battalion is a gray shield outlined in yellow, charged with a "Macedonian" shield placed over two swords crossed per saltire. The cartouche placed above that shield bears the unit's name, ВОЕНА ПОЛИЦИЈА, in black capital Cyrillic letters. A yellow scroll placed above that shield bears the unit's motto, СЕКОГАШ ПОДГОТВЕНИ ("Always Ready"), in black capital Cyrillic letters.

Valentin Poposki & Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010


Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Defence Company

Flag of AVNO

Colour of the NBC-Defence Company - Image by Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010

The NBC-Defence Company is part of the Support Forces of the Land Forces Command.

The colour of the NBC-Defence Company, as shown graphically on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, is a blue flag in proportions 3:4, most probably with a golden fringe rather than the thin yellow border represented on the drawing, charged in the middle with the unit's badge.
The badge of the NBC-Defence Company is a green shield outlined in black, charged with three black symbols, in the upper part, a sign seemingly related to the international chemical weapon symbol, in the lower left part, the international radiation sign (trefoil) and in the lower right part, the international biohazard sign (three crescents over a ring). The unit's motto, ОТКРИЈ И УНИШТИ ("Detect and Destroy"), is written in black capital Cyrillic letters above the symbols. The chief of the shield bears the unit's acronym, АВНО, in black capital Cyrillic letters.

Valentin Poposki & Ivan Sache, 4 January 2010


Air Defence Battalion

Flag of the Air Defence Battalion

Colour of the Air Defence Battalion - Image by Ivan Sache, 5 January 2010

The Air Defence Battalion is part of the Support Forces of the Land Forces Command.
Part of the original Army of the Republic of Macedonia as founded on 1 April 2004, the Air Defence Battalion took its present name on 14 October 2005.

The colour of the Air Defence Battalion, as shown graphically on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, is a light blue flag in proportions 3:4. The badge of the Joint Operations Command is placed in the upper left corner, while the unit's badge is placed in the upper right corner. In the lower half of the flag the unit's name, Баталјон ПВО, is written in black Cyrillic letters.

The badge of the Joint Operations Command is a disk with the upper half in the Macedonian colours (seven sectors in turn red and yellow) and the lower half green with a grey rifle and cannon crossed per saltire. The horizontal division between the two parts is made of a gray winged sword. The emblem is surrounded by a blue ring outlined in yellow, charged with the unit's name written in yellow capital letters, in Cyrillic (top), ЗДРУЖЕНА ОПЕРАТИВНА КОМАНДА, and Latin (bottom), separated by three yellow stars on each side.
The badge is shown on the drawing of the unit's flag as a vertically elongate oval, probably erroneously. The badge actually shows the Macedonian unit's name in Latin letters, which could be an artefact.

The badge of the Air Defence Battalion is blue (darker than the flag's field) with a yellow border, charged with a gray air defence battery and a rocket missile crossed per saltire and surmonted by a combination of a radar grid and a stylized cobra snake - possily by association of the snake "ribs" with the radar grid. In the upper part of the shield is a white scroll outlined in yellow bearing the unit's motto, ЧИСТО НЕБО ("Clear Sky"), written in yellow capital Cyrillic letters. The badge is also shown with the motto in Latin ("CLARE CAELUM"), but the drawing of the flag has the badge with the motto in Macedonian.

Valentin Poposki, Željko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 5 January 2010


Air Defence 1st Battery

Flag of the Air Defence 1st Battery

Colour of the Air Defence 1st Battery - Image by Ivan Sache, 5 January 2010

The colour of the Air Defence 1st Battery, as shown graphically on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, is a swallow-tailed blue flag in proportions 3:4. The badge of the Air Defence Battalion is placed in the upper left corner, while the unit's badge is placed in the upper right corner. In the lower half of the flag the unit's name, 1.батерија ПВО, is written in black Cyrillic letters.

The badge of the Air Defence 1st Battery is blue (darker than the flag's field) with a yellow border, charged with two gray arrows crossed per saltire and two rocket missiles pointing to the sky, surmonted by a white scroll outlined in yellow bearing the unit's motto, СЛОБДНО НЕБО ("Free Skies"), written in yellow capital Cyrillic letters.

Valentin Poposki, Željko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 5 January 2010


Commanding Battery

Flag of the Commanding Battery

Colour of the Commanding Battery - Image by Ivan Sache, 5 January 2010

The colour of the Commanding Battery, as shown graphically on the website of the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Macedonia, is a swallow-tailed blue flag in proportions 3:4. The badge of the Air Defence Battalion is placed in the upper left corner, while the unit's badge is placed in the upper right corner. In the lower half of the flag the unit's name, Командна батерија, is written in black Cyrillic letters.

The badge of the Commanding Battery is blue (darker than the flag's field) with a yellow border, charged with a black radar and wave with two yellow broken arrows superimposed per saltire, surmonted by a white scroll outlined in yellow bearing the unit's motto, ПРО КОНТАКТ ("First Contact") written in yellow capital Cyrillic letters. This motto suggests that the air surveillance is the first to spot any threat from the air.

Valentin Poposki, Željko Heimer & Ivan Sache, 5 January 2010