Kostadinka Trajkovska, born in Strumica, is 32 years old. She is employed in the Republic of Macedonia’s army as First Sergeant in the Infantry unit . She is currently stationed in Ohrid and lives in Bitola, which causes her daily commute to be over 120km. Sergeant Trajkovska is married to Captain Marijan Trajkovski and has two children, Vangel (11 years old) and Martin (10 years old).
The First Sergeant eagerly explained that she had dreamed of becoming a soldier since she was a child and has worked toward that dream her entire life.
She knows that her children are happy with their mother’s accomplishments and professional status in the army. I had the opportunity to speak with Vangel, an intelligent young man, who is proud to see his mother in uniform.
Upon arriving at her home, I realized that I had walked into a state of transition. She explained that her family was moving from one apartment to another. She kindly offered me coffee and cake, and it was evident that not only was she a first class soldier but a first class homemaker as well. I asked her if her employment in the army impeded her home life? She explained that her arrangement in the army is her career and has no effect on her home life as a wife, mother and homemaker.
Sergeant Trajkovska says that at times it is unpleasant when she has to give men orders, however, it is part of the job. No one has undermined her authority yet, but she understands that some of the male soldiers may feel uneasy about taking orders from a woman. For the record, any refusal to take orders from a higher authority will result in action from the Republic of Macedonia.
Mayor Boro Latkoski says that Kostadinka is a true professional and does her job extremely well. He further explained that it is a pleasure to work with a soldier/officer such as First Sergeant Kostadinka Trajkovska. While traveling from Ohrid to Bitola, I spoke with the chauffeur from the base in Ohrid, Ljupco Iloski. He explained that he has no problem taking orders from a woman, he views Kostadinka not as a woman but as a First Sergeant!
In the army of the Republic of Macedonia, 10% of the soldiers are women. The highest ranking female soldier is a lieutenant colonel.
Kostadinka’s service in the army is an interesting tale, as her career included a special military mission in Afghanistan. She was stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2009 as part of ISAF mission. It was a long flight from Skopje to Kabul, as she traveled from Skopje to London to Kandahar to finally arriving in Kabul. Female soldiers were not allowed to go out on patrols so she worked security at the checkpoint in the military base. Her mission was solely in the confines of the base where she remained for 6 months.
I asked First Sergeant Trajkovska “Can you tell me about an interesting event that occurred to you during your service in Afghanistan?” She kindly smiled and replied, “One of the more interesting events that occurred to me during my mission was that I survived an explosion on the base only 1 month upon arriving in Kabul. A lone suicide bomber wandered into the main port of the base. It was remarkable, smoke everywhere, panic. All of the soldiers came running, those that were on duty as well as those that were not. At first, no one knew what had happened. One of the soldiers mentioned that a fellow Macedonian soldier was on guard at the port. I shuttered at the thought of what had happened. Luckily the Macedonian soldier survived this near death experience, but is now deaf. He was miraculously guarded by a nearby vehicle. The entrance to the base was completely destroyed, a huge cement block blasted 100 meters into the base, the homes where we were living were all destroyed as well! Thankfully there were no casualties and everything quickly returned to normal.”
Along with this horrific event that occurred to Kostadinka, she recalls many favorable events as well. She recalls that for every Macedonian holiday, a special celebration was held on the base that all of the soldiers attended. On August 2 (day of the Macedonian Republic), all of the soldiers on base gathered in celebration. They even made a cake in the shape of the Macedonian flag!
