Macedonian Army strengthens relationships during Combined Endeavor 2011

Photo By Staff Sgt. Ryan Whitney | Members of the Army of the republic of Macedonia publish certificates to the intranet during Combined Endeavor 2011, Sept. 13, at Grafenwoehr, Germany. Combined Endeavor 2011 is a multi-nation exercise designed to increase interoperability and communication between more than 40 participating countries.  

BW, GERMANY

09.13.2011

Story by Staff Sgt. Ryan Whitney 

Combined Endeavor

GRAFENWOEHR, Germany -- Service members of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia are expanding their communications and strengthening relationships with more than 35 other nations from around the world during Combined Endeavor 2011, which began Sept. 8, in Grafenwoehr, Germany.

Combined Endeavor is a multi-nation exercise involving nearly 40 NATO, Partnership for Peace and strategic security partners, and is designed to increase interoperability and communications processes between the participating nations.

Macedonia has participated in the Combined Endeavor exercise since the late 1990s, but many things have changed since that time.

“There are obvious differences in the way this exercise was once conducted and the way we are operating today,” Said Capt. Majran Zafirovski, Macedonian Communications officer and three year CE veteran. “We have become more focused on real-world uses, and the things that we are learning here are used everywhere our troops are when they interact with other militaries, whether that’s in Afghanistan or during a crisis.”

2011 marks a change in how the exercise was conducted over the past years. Initially, Combined Endeavor focused primarily on the ways different technologies work together, but this year, the command element of the exercise has refocused on the way the countries themselves work together in ways that can carry over to current operations.

According to Zafirovski, this level of human interoperability that all the participants develop while working side-by-side is equally important to success in future operations.

“There is a lot of experience in the [Combined Endeavor participants], and we need to learn and cooperate with each other to better ourselves,” said Zafirovski. “This experience is good not only because we are exposed to other technology and ways of operating, but we also get to work alongside other cultures and learn different ways of thinking.”

• Date Taken: 09.13.2011
• Date Posted: 09.13.2011 10:32
• Story ID: 76947
• Location: BW, DE