A send-off ceremony of a new contingent of the ARM's First Mechanized Infantry Brigade to ISAF peacekeeping mission in Afghanistan was held Friday in "Cede Filipovski-Dame" military barracks in Kicevo.

Defence Minister Talat Xhaferi, Deputy Chief of ARM Staff, Major General Naser Sejdini, Commander of the ARM's Joint Operational Command, Brigadier General Metodija Velickovski, Commander of the ARM's First Mechanised Infantry Brigade, Brigadier General Stojan Dimov, Ministry of Defence and ARM representatives, family members and other guests attended the ceremony.

Today the 25th contingent of the ARM is leaving in a peacekeeping mission as support to the Afghan government. These soldiers are the ambassadors of peace. We are convinced that they will carry out their mission with dignity and will return home safe and sound. We remain committed to peace although we are not a NATO member state, still we work and behave as if we are part of the Alliance, Xhaferi said.

In the course of the fifteenth rotation of the ISAF mission, 156 members of the First Mechanised Infantry Brigade together with a senior national representative, one HQ officer and five ARM members will be deployed as support to the 3rd brigade of the 209th corps of the Afghan National Police.

For their professional conduct and execution of the assignments, demonstrated compatibility and interoperability with the Alliance forces within the ISAF, the ARM members have received the highest grades by the ISAF command staff and other senior command structures in the Alliance and hence enjoy a high rating.