Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине
Coat of Arms of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Service branches	Ground Forces Air Force and Aircraft Defence
Headquarters	Sarajevo
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Minister of Defence	Selmo Cikotić
Chairman of the Joint Staff and Commander	Lt. Gen. Miladin Milojčić
Manpower
Military age	18 years of age
Conscription	Abolished in 2006
Available for military service	1,034,367, age 18-49 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	829,530, age 18-49 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	31,264 (2005 est.)
Active personnel	13,500 (ranked 127)
Reserve personnel	5,000
Deployed personnel	Iraq - 85 (only a dozen of officers)  Afghanistan - 45  Democratic Republic of the Congo - 5 (all officers/advisers)
Expenditures
Budget	$450 million (2007 est.)[1]
Percent of GDP	4.5% (2005 est.)[1]
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Zrak (Optics) Igman (small arms ammunition) ORAO A.D. (Turbojet engines and parts) Unis Promex (ARMAMENT, AMMUNITION and MILITARY EQUIPMENT) BNT Travnik (small arms ammunition) GINEX Gorazde (small arms parts of ammunition) BINAS (small arms ammunition) FSV - FABRIKA SPECIJALNIH VOZILA A.D (Spare parts for all types of combat vehicles and tank M-84)
Foreign suppliers	United States  Russia Turkey China  Italy  Germany  Romania
Related articles
History	Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina History of the Army of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina War in Bosnia and Herzegovina Patriotic League Territorial Defence Force of the Republic of Bosnia and Hercegovina
Ranks	Military ranks and insignia of Bosnia and Herzegovina

4th Infantry

5th Infantry

6th Infantry

Tactical Support

Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina brigades

The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian: Oružane snage Bosne i Hercegovine, OSBIH Cyrillic script: Оружане снаге Босне и Херцеговине, ОСБИХ) is the official military force of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Bosnian Armed forces were unified in 2005 and are composed of two founding armies: Bosniak-Croat, Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Bosnian Serb, Army of Republika Srpska.

The Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina, founded in 2004, is in charge of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are approximately 13,500 active troops, 5,000 reserve troops, and 500 civilian staff.

Chain of command

The supreme commander of the Bosnian Armed Forces is the current president of Bosnia and Herzegovina thus the Presidency commands the Bosnian Army, then the Bosnian Ministry of Defence with the minister Selmo Cikotić, then the Chiefs of Joint Staff with Sifet Podžić as the head of the chiefs. The BiH Chief of Joint Staff is Lieutenant General Miladin Milojčić. Conscription was completely abolished in Bosnia and Herzegovina effective on and from 1 January 2006.^[2]

Defense law

The Bosnia and Herzegovina Defense Law addresses the following areas: the Military of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Government Institutions, Entity jurisdictions and structure, Budget and Financing, Composition of Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, War declaration, Natural disasters, Conflict of interests and professionalism, Oath to Bosnia-Herzegovina, Flags, Anthem and Military Insignia, and transitional and end orders.

History

The AFBiH was formed from three armies of the Bosnian War period: the Bosnian (dominantly Bosniak with numbers of Serbs and Croats) Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska, and the Croat Defence Council.

The Army of the Republic of Bosnia And Herzegovina was created on 15 April 1992 during the early days of the Bosnian War. Before the ARBiH was formally created, there existed Territorial Defence, an official military force of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a number of paramilitary groups such as the Green Berets, Patriotic League, and civil defense groups, as well as many criminal gangs and collections of police and military professionals. The army was formed under poor circumstances, with a very low number of tanks, APCs and no military aviation assets. The army was divided into Corps, each Corp was stationed in a territory. First commander was Sefer Halilović.

The Army of Republika Srpska was created on 12 May 1992. Before the VRS was formally created, there were a number of paramilitary groups such as the Srpska Dobrovoljačka Garda, Beli Orlovi, as well as some Russian, Greek and other volunteers. The army was equipped with ex-JNA inventory. It had about 200 tanks, mostly T-55s and 85 M-84s, and 150 APCs with several heavy artillery pieces. The Air Defense of VRS has shot down several aircraft, like F-16, Mirage 2000, F-18 and one Croatian Air Force MiG-21. The VRS received support from the Yugoslav Army and FRY until 1994, when Slobodan Milošević stopped military relations with Republika Srpska.

The Croatian Defence Council was the main military formation of the Croatian Republic of Herzeg-Bosnia during the Bosnian War and it was first organized military force to with the aim to control the Croat populated areas. It is not to be confused with the Croatian Defence Forces (HOS) which was a separate Croatian military unit.

In 1995-96, a NATO-led international peacekeeping force (IFOR) of 60,000 troops served in Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning on December 21, 1995 to implement and monitor the military aspects of the Dayton Peace Agreement. IFOR was succeeded by a smaller, NATO-led Stabilization Force or SFOR. The number of SFOR troops was reduced first to 12,000 and then to 7,000. SFOR was in turn succeeded by an even smaller, European Union-led European Union Force, EUFOR Althea. As of 2004, EUFOR Althea numbered around 7,000 troops.

As the joint AFBiH began to develop, troops began to be sent abroad. Bosnia and Herzegovina deployed a unit of 37 men to destroy munitions and clear mines, in addition to 6 command personnel as part of the Multinational force in Iraq. The unit was first deployed to Fallujah, then Talil Air Base, and is now located at Camp Echo. In December 2006, the Bosnian government formerly extended its mandate through June 2007. Bosnia and Herzegovina is planning to send another 49 soldiers from the 6th infantry division to Iraq in August 2008, their mission will be to protect/guard Camp Victory in Baghdad.

Structure

The Military units are commanded by the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina Joint Staff in Sarajevo. There are two major commands under the Joint Staff: Operational Command and Support Command.

There are three regiments that are each formed by soldiers from the three ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina: Bosniaks, Croats and Serbs and trace their roots to the armies that were created during the Bosnian war. These regiments have their distinct ethnic insignias and consist of three active battalions each. Each regiments three battalions divided evenly between the three active brigades of the Army.

• Operational Command (Sarajevo)^[3]
  • 4th Infantry Brigade (Tuzla)
    • (Bosniak) Infantry Battalion (Tuzla)
    • (Serbian) Infantry Battalion (Bijeljina)
    • (Croatian) Infantry Battalion (Orašje)
    • Reconnaissance Company
    • Signals Platoon
  • 5th Infantry Brigade (Banja Luka)
    • (Serbian) Infantry Battalion (Banja Luka)
    • (Croatian) Infantry Battalion (Livno)
    • (Bosniak) Infantry Battalion (Bihać)
    • Reconnaissance Company
    • Signals Platoon

Soldiers of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

• • 6th Infantry Brigade (Čapljina)
    • (Croatian) Infantry Battalion (Čapljina)
    • (Bosniak) Infantry Battalion (Goražde)
    • (Serbian) Infantry Battalion (Bileća)
    • Reconnaissance Company
    • Signals Platoon

Structure of the Operational Command

• • Tactical Support Brigade (Sarajevo)
    • Armored Battalion (Tuzla)
    • Artillery Battalion (Žepče) (one battery detached to each brigade)
    • Engineer Battalion (one company detached to each brigade)
    • Military Intelligence Battalion (Butilama)
    • Military Police Battalion (Butilama) (one platoon detached to each brigade)
    • De-mining Battalion (Bugojno)
    • Signals Company (Sarajevo)
    • NBC Defense Company
  • Air Force & Anti-Air Defense Brigade (Sarajevo, Banja Luka, Tuzla)
    • Helicopter Battalion (Sarajevo) (one squadron detached to each brigade HQ)
    • Air Defense Battalion (Sarajevo) (one company detached to each brigade)
    • Early Warning & Surveillance Battalion (Banja Luka)
    • Flight Support Battalion (Sarajevo, Banja Luka)

Chiefs of Joint Staff structure

• Support Command (Banja Luka)
  • Personnel Command
  • Training and Doctrine Command
    • Combat Training Center
      • Armored Mechanized Battalion
    • Combat Simulation Center
    • Professional Development Center
      • Officers School
      • NCO School
      • Foreign Language Center
  • Logistics Command
    • Center for Movement Control
    • Center for Material Management
    • Main Logistics Base (Doboj and Sarajevo)
    • 1st Logistics Support Battalion
    • 2nd Logistics Support Battalion
    • 3rd Logistics Support Battalion
    • 4th Logistics Support Battalion
    • 5th Logistics Support Battalion

Within the armed forces, there are a number of services. These include a Technical service, Air technology service, Military Police service, Communications service, Sanitary service, a Veterans service, Civilian service, Financial service, Information service, Legal service, Religious service, and a Musical service.

Uniform and Insignia

Main article: Military ranks and insignia of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina were unified in 2005 and at that time they needed a uniform for the newley founded army. MARPAT where the future uniform of AFBIH.

Insignia is found on military hats or berets, on the right and left shoulder on the uniform of all Soldiers of the Armed Forces. All, except for generals, wear badges on their hats or berets with either the land force badge or air force badge. Generals wear badges with the coat of arms of Bosnia surrounded with branches and two swords.All soldiers of the armed forces have on their right shoulder a flag of Bosnia and Herzegovina. All members of the 3 regiments wear their regiment insignia on the left shoulder. There are other insignias, brigades or other institution are worn under the regiment insignia. The name of the soldiers is worn on the left part of the chest while the name "Armed Forces of BiH" is worn on the right part of the chest.

Equipment

Infantry weapons

Assault Rifle	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
M16 rifle	United States	Assault Rifle	A1 and A2	From 2010 OSBiH will scrap the A1 versions, and use A2 and A4 versions. Standard issue rifle of Bosnian and Herzegovina military and delivered from USA's Colt Arsenal in Hartford.
M16 rifle	United States	Assault rifle	A4	Entered service in 2010
AR-15	United States	Assault rifle		1,000 Donated by  United States 1999 and 22,000 purchased by FABiH 2000 - 2004
M4 carbine	United States	Assault rifle	SOPMOD
HK33	Germany	Assault rifle		Donated by Turkey 1997
Heckler & Koch MP5	Germany	Submachine gun		Used by the Military Police and Bosnian Special Forces
AK-47	Soviet Union	Assault rifle
AKM	Soviet Union	Assault Rifle
Zastava M80	Yugoslavia	Assault Rifle
Zastava M70	Yugoslavia	Assault rifle
PP-19	Russia	Submachine gun		250 donated by Russia and 1,000 purchased by the Bosnian government, only used by the Special Forces and the Special Anti-terrorist Unit SIPA
FN FAL	Belgium	Battle rifle
H&K G3	Germany	Battle rifle	A2 and A3	A2 donated by Turkey 1998, A3 was later purchased by the Bosnian government
Skorpion vz. 61	Czech Republic	Submachine gun		M84 Yugoslav Version
M203	United States	Grenade Launcher
Milkor MGL	South Africa	Grenade Launcher

Sniper rifle

Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Iraq.

Sniper rifle	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
Zastava M76	Yugoslavia	Sniper rifle
Dragunov SVD	Soviet Union	Sniper Rifle
M48 Mauser	Yugoslavia	Bolt-Action Rifle		Used with Zrak 4*32 Scope
MACS M3	Croatia	Anti-Material Rifle

Pistol

Pistol	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
Glock 17	Austria	Pistol
CZ-99	Yugoslavia	Pistol
TT-33	Soviet Union	Pistol

Machine gun

Machine gun	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
M60	United States	Machine gun
M2 .50 caliber	United States	Machine gun
M240 machine gun	United States	Machine gun
Zastava M84	Yugoslavia	Machine gun
Zastava M72	Yugoslavia	Machine gun	M72A and M72B	250,000 sold to Iraq
Ultimax 100	Singapore	Machine gun		Few
DShK 1938	Soviet Union	Machine gun
PK machine gun	Soviet Union	machine gun

Rocket Launcher

Rocket Launcher	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
M80 Rocket Launcher	Yugoslavia	Rocket Launcher
M79 Osa	Yugoslavia	Rocket Launcher
AT4	Sweden	Rocket Launcher
RPG-7	Soviet Union	Rocket Launcher

Main battle tanks

Tanks	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
M60A3	United States	Main battle tank (MBT)	A3	45	In service due to NATO compatibility, possible replacements:Leopard 2A6, Leclerc, M1 Abrams or Merkava
AMX-30B2	France	Main battle tank (MBT)	B2	32	In service due to NATO compatibility,possible replacements:Leopard 2A6, Leclerc, M1 Abrams or Merkava
M-84	Yugoslavia	Main battle tank	A1	As of 2010 16 in service	As of 2008, 50 AB variants operational tanks have been withdrawn due to insufficient funds.
T-55	Soviet Union	Main battle tank		150 in reserve	Currently there are 15 T-55s in service.

Armoured fighting vehicles

APC/AFC	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
M113A2	United States	APC	A2 and A3	90 A2 + 60 A3
BVP M-80	Yugoslavia	IFV/ICV	A and ALT	60 A + 30 ALT	As of 2008 35 operational IFV have been withdrawn due to insufficient funds.
Panhard AML	France	ARV 90mm 4x4		41
BOV (APC)	Yugoslavia	IFV/ICV	BOV-VP and BOV-3 & BOV-1	34 BOV-VP and 39 BOV-3 & 29 BOV-1
WZ-551(Type-92)	China	APC		10
Humvee	United States	APC		25
AMX-10P	France	APC/AFC	P	35

Anti-tank weapons

Machine gun	Origin	Type	Versions	Notes
AT-4 Spigot	Soviet Union	Anti-tank missile
AT-3 Sagger	Soviet Union	Anit-tank missile
Milan ATGM	Germany	Anit-tank missile
HJ-8	China	Anti-tank missile	Baktar-Shikan, HJ-8E	Was supplied to ARBiH in early 1990s, ~50 pieces

Artillery

Artillery	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
M101 howitzer	United States	Howitzer		40-50
M114 howitzer (M-114A-1) 155mm	United States	Towed howitzer		126
M1954	Soviet Union	Field gun		61
D-30	Soviet Union	Howitzer	D-30J	86 + 35 in reserve
BM-21 Grad	Soviet Union	Multiple rocket launcher	BM-21 Grad/RM-70	29
M-63 Plamen	Yugoslavia	Multiple rocket launcher	Plamen	5 M-63
M-77 Oganj	Yugoslavia	Multiple rocket launcher	Oganj	7
M-87 Orkan	Yugoslavia	Multiple Rocket Launcher	Orkan	3
Type 63 multiple rocket launcher	China	Multiple Rocket Launcher		200-250

Logistics

Logistics	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
Mercedes-Benz G-270	Germany	Logistics		33	Donated by Germany, used by Military Police/Officers
Mercedes-Benz Unimog	Germany	Logistics		40	Donated by Germany
TAM	Yugoslavia	Utility trucks		Large number
Chars Transportation	United States	Transportation		700	400 donated by U.S forces
Iveco LMV	Italy			15

Helicopters

Bosnian Soko Gazelle Gama

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service	Notes
UH-1H	United States	Utility helicopter	H	14
Mil Mi-8	Soviet Union	Utility helicopter	Mi-8T, Mi-8MTV-1	9 Mi-8T, 2 Mi-8MTV-2
Mil Mi-17	Soviet Union	Utility helicopter	Mi-17	3 in service
Soko Gazelle Gama	Yugoslavia	Utility helicopter Light Attack Helicopter		4 in service
Mil Mi-34	Russia	Utility helicopter		1 used by air forces for training

Other equipment

Equipment	Origin	Type	In service
Hughes/Magnavox AN/PRC-126	United States	Hand held radios	11,000 ~
NAPCO AN/PRC-77	United States	man pack radios	5,600~
Tactical telephones	United States/ Yugoslavia	Tactical telephones	over thousand units
Binoculars	Bosnia and Herzegovina		~ several thousands
10/20 kW generators	Germany/ United States	Generators	500

References

• [1]

1. ^ ^{a b} CIA - The World Factbook - Bosnia and Herzegovina
2. ^ NATO and the Defence Reform Commission: partners for progress (SETimes.com)
3. ^ As per http://www.mod.gov.ba/en/shema.asp?id=odb

• http://sigsite.co.nr/

Further reading

• Jim Dorschner, 'Endgame in Bosnia,' Jane's Defence Weekly, 18 April 2007, p. 24-29

External links

• Ministry of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• MILITARY INDUSTRY - Bosnia and Herzegovina
• European Union Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina - EUFOR (English)
• OSCE Mission to Bosnia and Herzegovina (English)
• NATO Headquarters Sarajevo Security Sector Reform information