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North Macedonia and Romania Special Operations

North Macedonian and Romanian SpecOps on COMBINED RESOLVE XV [©NATO Multimedia]

Special Operations Forces from North Macedonia and Romania recently participated in the US-led Exercise COMBINED RESOLVE XV.

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Special Operations Forces from NATO Allies North Macedonia and Romania practised integrating with conventional forces during US-led Exercise COMBINED RESOLVE XV, held in Germany between 1 February and 5 March 2021.

The SOF operators from the North Macedonia Special Operations Battalion, nicknamed the ‘Wolves’, worked with their Allied counterparts from the Romanian Army’s 51st Special Operations Battalion and US Army Special Forces to support conventional units from different Allied and partner nations. To safeguard against COVID-19 infection, all participating nations tested their soldiers prior to and after deploying, and quarantined prior to the start of the exercise. Social distancing is practised wherever training conditions allow.

© NATO Multimedia

This NATO Multimedia footage includes shots of SOF operators training on air assault procedures, Romanian troops conducting a helicopter infiltration, missions in the field and interviews with a US Army Special Forces officer and an officer from North Macedonia.

Shot list:-

  • (00:00) US Army UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters landing in snowy field
  • (00:17) North Macedonia Special Operations Forces operators walking through snow
  • (00:41) Romanian Special Operations Forces operators walking in column
  • (00:45) Backpack of Romanian operator showing flag and unit patch
  • (00:48) US Army crew chiefs briefing operators on how to board and disembark a Black Hawk
  • (01:06) Romanian operators boarding a UH-60 Black Hawk
  • (01:11) North Macedonia operators boarding a UH-60 Black Hawk
  • (01:37) Romanian operators boarding and disembarking a Black Hawk while the rotors are spinning
  • (02:05) North Macedonia operators boarding and disembarking a Black Hawk while the rotors are spinning
  • (02:42) Romanian operators arriving at landing zone in Hum-vee
  • (02:48) Romanian operators loading weapons near landing zone
  • (02:52) Romanian operators putting on and adjusting rucksacks
  • (02:59) Romanian operators walking to US Army Black Hawk helicopters
  • (03:03) US Army Black Hawk pilot seen through helicopter windshield
  • (03:05) US Army Apache attack helicopters lifting off from landing zone with Romanian operators in foreground
  • (03:15) Romanian operator boarding Black Hawk
  • (03:19) Romanian operator inside Black Hawk
  • (03:29) Black Hawks starting up and flying to landing zone
  • (03:45) Romanian troops disembarking Black Hawk
  • (04:00) Romanian troops patrolling through woods
  • (04:24) Romanian troops approaching village at dusk
  • (04:37) Romanian troops entering safehouse
  • (04:45) US Army Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) inside North Macedonia safe house
  • (04:49) North Macedonia troops preparing for reconnaissance mission
  • (05:10) North Macedonia Hum-vees leaving safe house
  • (05:16) North Macedonia Hum-vee convoy moving down dirt road
  • (05:21) North Macedonia operator pulling security
  • (05:26) North Macedonia JTAC setting up radio with US Army JTAC in foreground
  • (05:30) North Macedonia JTAC setting up radio
  • (05:44) Romanian reconnaissance team returning from mission
  • (05:59) Romanian SOF operators planning mission
  • (06:03) Romanian SOF operators preparing for mission and departing safe house
  • (06:33) Romanian SOF operators carry out direct action raid in darkness
  • (06:59) Romanian SOF operators search safe house for intelligence
  • (07:22) Officer (name and rank withheld for operational security purposes), US Army Special Forces: “so the benefit of training with and integrating Special Operations Forces from multinational countries into exercises like this is because it brings together a scenario where we can practise a collective defence. In the event that we have to band different Allied nations together, it’s not the first time that we’re running through all the systems and processes that we’re going to have to figure out to conduct operations in a multinational environment.”
  • (05:10) Officer, US Army Special Forces: “it’s a tremendous opportunity for us to not only tie in multinationals with the US partners, but also to tie multinationals in with adjacent and partnering countries, and see how they solve problems and work together.”
  • (08:03) Officer (name and rank withheld for operational security purposes), Special Operations Battalion, North Macedonia: “we are members of special forces battalion, we came from North Macedonia and we are here several times, several rotations on this exercise combined resolve.”
  • (08:17) Officer, Special Operations Battalion, North Macedonia: “on this exercise, our value is to integrate interoperability with the other NATO members. We are proud to be a NATO member.”

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