Special Operations Battalion (SOB)

Infobox Military Unit
unit_name= Special Operations Battalion


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dates= 2003
country= Croatia
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type= special forces
role= Special operations
size= about 300 personnel
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garrison= Dragmalj Delnice
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nickname= "Cobras"
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anniversaries= 8 September
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Bojna za specijalna djelovanja (BSD) or Special Operations Battalion (SOB) is the elite special forces unit of the Croatian Armed Forces. It was founded on the 8th September 2000 from parts of Središte za posebne borbene vještine Šepurineepurine or Center for Special Combat Skills Sepurine and some personnel from the 1st Croatian Guard Brigade (1. Hrvatski Gardijski Zdrug). BSD or SOB is under the direct command of the General Staff. By organization it is a staff unit under direct command of the General Staff of the Croatian Armed Forces. Operators from BSD or SOB are the main participants in the Homeland War from special reconnaissance units of the Guards Brigades. Operators are volunteers from any part of the Croatian Armed Forces with a tough training and selection program.

Personnel are trained for:
*Combat operations on land, air and sea on all types of terrains and all weather conditions
*Deep battlefield infiltration by land, air and sea
*Unconventional warfare behind enemy lines
*Counter-terrorism and hand-to-hand combat
*CSAR missions (Combat Search and Rescue)
*ISTAR missions (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance)
*Humanitarian and peacekeeping operations

The unit is equipped with sophisticated equipment of US, German and Croatian origin like the H&K G-36 assault rifle, M4A1 Carbine SOPMOD assault rifle and the HS 2000 pistol. A new Croatian assault rifle called the VHS is currently being tested.

There was some speculation in the Croatian media and amongst the public that BSD operators are conducting combat missions in Afghanistan side-by-side with US Army Special Forces, in contravention of a Croatian parliament mandate for the ISAF mission, but this was dismissed by the Croatian Ministry of Defense.

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