What the increase in age for professional soldiers brings, will there be a salary increase

Amendments to regulations are planned that would allow soldiers to remain in the Armed Forces of BiH even after the age of 35, which was not the case until now, so a large number of soldiers left service even before that deadline, writes Patria.

Precisely in relation to this topic, a conclusion was reached at the Joint Commission for Defense and Security, and it was stated that the Ministry of Defense of BiH is obliged to inform the members of the Commission about the activities in the preparation of proposals for amendments to legal and sub-legal acts related to the possibility of increasing the age limit for professional soldiers of the BiH Armed Forces from the current 35 to 40 years of age, and about the proposal to increase salaries for soldiers because the current coefficient of 1.12 is not sufficient, as well as other changes to acts that would lead to an improvement in the standard of professional soldiers.

It was also requested that the Ministry of Defense be obliged to inform the Commission quarterly about the fulfillment of the conditions for activating the Membership Action Plan for NATO (MAP) in the segment where the Ministry of Defense of BiH has obligations, because it is known that the entire process of fulfilling conditions is of an inter-agency nature.

Minister Marina Pendeš previously emphasized that moving the age limit for remaining in the BiH Armed Forces would stimulate young people to stay, at a time when young people are leaving both the BiH Armed Forces and the country.

As reasons for the departure of personnel, Pendeš cited the fact that some soldiers are constantly on guard duty without active compensation, and that many leave not wanting to wait until the age of 35, when they would be forced to leave. There are opposing views on this issue, as some believe that it is necessary to move the limit, while others believe that it will then be even more difficult to find jobs for people at the age of 40.

Pendeš explained that the Ministry of Defense is also working on increasing soldiers' income, for which an additional nine million KM should be allocated this year. The Armed Forces previously stated that the basic salary of a soldier is 600 KM without compensation for transportation and living away from home, and the total is slightly more than 900 KM, while at the same time the salary of a soldier in Croatia is 600 euros, in Montenegro 350, and in Serbia 250 euros.