Albanian Armed Forces serviceman is awarded with the highest NATO medal

Published: Wednesday, 27 May 2020 16:35

 

NATO Secretary General Mr. Jens Stoltenberg has awarded Colonel Roland Shuli, on duty at NATO Supreme Allied Command in Europe (SHAPE), with the medal "NATO Meritorious Service Medal" with motivation "For outstanding service while serving in NATO".

On this occasion, a ceremony was held at SHAPE, where Major General Barre Seguin, Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations at SHAPE, on behalf of the Supreme Alliance Command (SACEUR) introduced the medal to Colonel Roland Shuli.

The ceremony was attended by national military representative Colonel Petrit Çuni, colleagues and relatives of Lieutenant Colonel Shuli. In his speech, Major General Seguin praised Lieutenant Colonel Shuli as an "excellent ambassador of Albania and the Armed Forces in the international arena."

The NATO Meritorious Service Medal is the highest NATO medal awarded by NATO Secretary General to a selected number of military and civilian personnel serving under NATO Command and Control. The medal is awarded to appreciate a distinguished and outstanding service to the Alliance.

The first NATO medal was created by the North Atlantic Council in December 1994, to appreciate the service of military and civilian personnel who was engaged in or was in support of NATO operations in former Yugoslavia.

Two new medals were created for NATO operations in the Balkans within 1998-2001, until the first NATO operation in support of 5-th Article in 2001, which also led to the revision of NATO policy on medals.

The North Atlantic Council decided to estimate the outstanding services to the Alliance, the most distinguished military and civilian personnel, through the "Meritorious Service Medal", awarded for the first time in 2003. Since that year till today, other NATO medals for non-article 5 operations have been created case by case.

Lt. Col. Roland Shuli was appointed as Chief of Staff at Supreme Command of the Alliance in Europe in August 2016, for Operations at the Comprehensive Crisis and Operations Management Center, later served as Chief of Sector for the NATO Assurance Measures and in 2018 headed the NATO Military Posture Review Section.

Lt. Col. Shuli holds a Master's Degree in Human Resources from Gloucestershire University in the United Kingdom in International Human Resource Management and Development.

He is a marathonist and during his service in Belgium, the red and black flag has been waved in several international competitions.