Bosnia and Herzegovina Celebrates Armed Forces Day Today

Bosnia and Herzegovina is celebrating the Day of the Armed Forces of BiH today, writes the BiH news agency Patria (NAP).

Around 10,000 professional military personnel, 5,000 reservists, and about 1,000 civilian employees make up the Armed Forces of our country.

The Armed Forces of BiH consist of three components (three brigades), which are the successors of the three armed forces active during the aggression against BiH from 1992 to 1995: the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Croatian Defence Council, and the Army of Republika Srpska.

The first formal and official armed force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the Territorial Defence of Bosnia and Herzegovina (TO BiH), formed on April 8, 1992, following the armed attack by the JNA on BiH. Soon after, the TO was transformed into the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose first commander was General Sefer Halilović.

After the Dayton Agreement in 1995, the Army was defined as the Bosniak component of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and after the defence reform, it was transformed into the Bosnian Rangers, as the 2nd Infantry Regiment within the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Croatian Defence Council was the armed force of the self-proclaimed Herceg-Bosna. The HVO was formed on April 8, 1992, and existed until the Dayton Agreement, after which it was defined as the Croat component of the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Following the defence reform in 2006, it was transformed into the 1st Guards Infantry Regiment of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Army of Republika Srpska was formed as an armed force on May 12, 1992, of the then unrecognized Republika Srpska. This armed formation became recognized as the official armed force of the Republika Srpska entity and one of the two armed forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina until the defence reform in 2006, after which it was transformed into the 3rd Infantry Regiment of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The Supreme Commander of the AF BiH is the Presidency of BiH, followed by the Ministry of Defence of BiH and the Joint Staff of BiH in the chain of command, writes NAP.