Macedonians Return to Kabul After 2,338 Years
Alexander the Great, an ancient Greek king of Macedon, was one of the most successful military commanders in history. He conquered Kabul during his conquest of the Persian Empire.
Now his descendants are back. But this time, they come in peace.
Approximately 130 soldiers from the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, 1st Mechanized Infantry Battalion, 1st Mechanized Infantry Company, 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade, have been deployed to ISAF Headquarters since July 10, 2008.
The Macedonians are helping ISAF in assisting the Afghan government in extending and exercising its authority and influence across the country, creating the conditions for stabilization and reconstruction.
The mission of the Macedonian soldiers during their six-month deployment is to provide force protection and security to the ISAF headquarters 24-hours a day, seven days a week.
“The Macedonians are here because we joined the coalition forces and want to make a contribution in building democracy and peace in Afghanistan,” said Capt. Vasil Mitevski, a Macedonian engineer officer.
“We are an infantry unit, but we are here for peace keeping operations and keeping the peace in Afghanistan,” said Mitevski, a native of Valandovo, Macedonia.
The soldiers conduct mechanized and foot patrols around the city of Kabul. They also provide a quick reaction force, a general security platoon, and security to the front and back gates of Camp ISAF.
“This is my first time in Afghanistan,” said Cpl. Ivan Mitrushev, a Macedonian machine gunner. “I like being in Afghanistan. In the beginning, patrols were a little bit scary, but now we are very used to them and they are normal thing. The work is hard here, it is not easy. We work 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s hard work, but it is very responsible. We have to give 100 percent at all times.”
“We have good cooperation with the people of Kabul,” added Mitrushev, a native of St. Nicholas, Macedonia. “Some of the people know us and call us by name when we patrol in their neighborhoods.”
Mitevski said the Macedonian deployment to Afghanistan has been going smooth and has been successful. “We are happy because we are a small army and from a small nation,” said Mitevski. “Every soldier for us is like gold, like a diamond. We have a lot of volunteers from Macedonia who want to come. The morale of the soldiers is very high.”
The Macedonian soldiers of today are just as brave and professional as the soldiers of Alexander the Great who, for generations, had been trained in the hard school of danger and war and had conquered their enemies all around the world.
But this time they are not here for glory, but for peace.
sirs and gentlemen
you should now that every reportage in NATO is under correction, so this article was changed. We should be happy that in down parts of the article we are mention like Macedonians
thanks,
Your article is a very good one, but the world should once and for all learn the truth: Alexander the Great was NOT Hellene, and certainly NOT Greek (this name is 180 yrs old) – he was MAKEDONIAN. Actually, he was the greatest enemy of the Hellene city states, together with his father Philip II, who was the most hated man ever by the Athenians – they called him the Barbarian, and he was the reason the Hellenic city states united to fight him. (Nevertheless, they lost.) They had, as neighbours, similar culture, but different language from Makedonians. Here you can read something about that language and its similarity with the present Makedonian: http://rosetta-stone.etf.ukim.edu.mk/