Krivolak () is an area in east-central

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

, where Krivolak Military Training Center, the largest

military base A military base is a facility directly owned and operated by or for the military or one of its branches that shelters military equipment and personnel, and facilitates training and operations. A military base always provides accommodations for ...

of the Macedonian Army and the largest

military training Military education and training is a process which intends to establish and improve the capabilities of military personnel in their respective roles. Military training may be voluntary or compulsory duty. It begins with recruit training, proceed ...

area in the

Balkans The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

, is located. The area is primarily used for the training of the

Macedonian Armed Forces The Army of the Republic of North Macedonia (, ARSM) is the military of North Macedonia. The army is organized, prepared and trained to conduct armed struggle and combat and other actions to achieve its constitutional function of defending the ...

and its allies. The base has also been used for

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

exercises, and, while North Macedonia was a part of

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

, for testing of

chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...

Overview

Krivolak occupies a large area of mostly barren landscape. Hills, valleys, and a

desert A desert is a landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions create unique biomes and ecosystems. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About one-third of the la ...

are used to test the skills and endurance of soldiers that train there. The

military drills A military parade is a formation of military personnels whose movement is restricted by close-order manoeuvering known as drilling or marching. Large military parades are today held on major holidays and military events around the world. Mass ...

that take place there often are a combination of

heavy artillery The formal definition of large-calibre artillery used by the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (UNROCA) is "guns, howitzers, artillery pieces, combining the characteristics of a gun, howitzer, mortar, or rocket, capable of engaging ...

firing,

aerial bombardment Aerial may refer to: Music * ''Aerial'' (album), by Kate Bush, and that album's title track * "Aerials" (song), from the album ''Toxicity'' by System of a Down Bands * Aerial (Canadian band) * Aerial (Scottish band) * Aerial (Swedish band) ...

, and infantry attack. Many objects are used to simulate real

warfare War is an armed conflict between the armed forces of State (polity), states, or between governmental forces and armed groups that are organized under a certain command structure and have the capacity to sustain military operations, or betwe ...

conditions, including temporary buildings and structures, vehicles, and other impediments. The military training area within the base is sometimes used for training of

United Nations Military Observer A United Nations Military Observer (UNMO) is a military official deployed by the United Nations to provide support to a UN mission or peace operation. Described as the "eyes and ears" of the UN Security Council, observers fulfill a variety of rol ...

s (UNMOs). Krivolak is also the location of an annual

training exercise A military exercise, training exercise, maneuver (manoeuvre), or war game is the employment of military resources in training for military operations. Military exercises are conducted to explore the effects of warfare or test tactics and strat ...

sponsored by the Consortium for Humanitarian Service and Education (CHSE). The Consortium is a collaborative effort of academic, government, and non-governmental organizations in the United States and North Macedonia. The training includes university students from North Macedonia and the United States who are involved in organizing and conducting a

humanitarian Humanitarianism is an ideology centered on the value of human life, whereby humans practice benevolent treatment and provide assistance to other humans to reduce suffering and improve the conditions of humanity for moral, altruistic, and emotiona ...

response to a simulated major earthquake.

References

{{coord, 41.5272, N, 22.1208, E, source:wikidata, display=title Geography of North Macedonia Negotino Municipality