Krivolak is an Army Military Range in the Republic of North Macedonia. It was opened in 1970 as part of the military doctrine of the former Yugoslav People’s Army. It is located in the central part of the country, near the town of Negotino and right next to the main north-south highway “Friendship”.
The surface of the training center is 22.546 hectares and it is one of the biggest military training centers in Europe.
According to the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of North Macedonia, the mission of the training center is to provide support to the conduct of exercises of the units of the army.
The capacities of the very range are convenient for conduct of different types of trainings and shootings such as firing with multiple types of weapons, firing with aircraft, tactical firing exercises to the battalion level, training of engineering units, training of special units, work at the control point, convoy training, training for overcoming water obstacles and other types of training.
Krivolak occupies a large area of mostly barren landscape. Hills, valleys, water and a desert are used to test the skills and endurance of soldiers that train there. The military drills that take place there often are a combination of heavy artillery firing, aerial bombardment, and infantry attack. Many objects are used to simulate real warfare conditions, including temporary buildings and structures, vehicles, and other impediments.
Ever since North Macedonia got independent in 1991, joining the NATO alliance has been determined as a strategic commitment and has been supported by all Governments so far.
In 1995, North Macedonia has become a full member of the NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) and by that the country was granted with opportunity to show that it can and want to be among the equals in the alliance. From 1995, North Macedonia has started to closely cooperate with NATO in terms of reforming and capacity building of its Army and participation in peace keeping international missions.
In the period 12-16 May, 1997, the first multinational exercise “Rescuer ’97“, was held in the Krivolak training center within the frame work the PfP Program.
Up to day, more than 25 multinational exercises have been conducted at the training center Krivolak. These exercises were participated by all NATO members, as well as by non NATO countries like Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Azerbaijan, Ukraine and Georgia.
The huge capacities of the very range can be proved directly by the soldiers and officers who participated in various types of exercises:
“When the Macedonian training site is fully restored, it could accommodate a mechanized brigade of several thousand soldiers”, said Col. Nick Ducich, commander of the Multi-National Battle Group in charge of security in eastern Kosovo.
“The drills, which finish August 20, 2018, aim to demonstrate that the site is suitable for larger exercises, such as one planned next year that will have about 1,000 soldiers from the U.S. and Macedonia”, military officials said during the exercise of the US Army in Krivolak from 13 to 20 August 2018.
“The US Army is always looking for places to train. We’ve been marketing Krivolak as an alternative, if not a solution. Built some 70 years ago, the training site was used by the former Yugoslav military for high-calibre weapons training and aerial assault drills. This makes Krivolak “perfect for large allied exercises”, said Patrick Enriquez, deputy chief for the Office of Defense Cooperation at the US embassy in Skopje.
Republic of North Macedonia was certified by the 7th Army Training Command, which showcases the ARM’s capabilities to officially host U.S. sponsored military training at the site and to demonstrate to U.S. and NATO the leadership the Republic of North Macedonia’s ability to host future training at Krivolak.
Starting from April 2012 the NATO Advisory Team (NAT) has become key part of the NATO mission in North Macedonia. The “Assessment of the potential of Krivolak Training Area as a regional/NATO training facility” is among the large number projects that are conducted by the NAT.
As North Macedonia is about to fully join NATO, the military exercises may pave the way for restoring the country’s landmark Krivolak army training center to its full capacity, offering thousands of NATO soldiers a place to drill.
Elmas Hasanovikj,MIS
Fulbright Alumni
Program Coordinator
Info-Center on Euro-Atlantic integration
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This project was funded in part through a U.S. Embassy grant. The opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed herein are those of the implementers/authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the U.S. Government.
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