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Military Personnel

The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina have the Joint Staff, commands and units, which are manned with professional military personnel, civilian personnel and members of active reserve. Conscription and mandatory military service were abolished on 1 January 2006, in accordance with the law.

On the basis of decisions by the BiH Presidency of 24 March 2004 and 28 July 2004, BiH officially received appointment for 12 new generals in compliance with the NATO standard stipulating one general per one thousand professional soldiers. Earlier generals of the VF and VRS, who had acquired their ranks through participation in the war, were retired or do not hold state-level positions. This avoided any possibility for the rank of general to be held by someone who may have gained it by having been loyal to a particular political party during the war. Each of the three constituent peoples were assigned four posts in the rank of general. Another general, the thirteenth, was appointed as Inspector General of the BiH Ministry of Defense. He is of Bosniak ethnicity. All the candidates for the rank of general (holding the rank of brigadier in the VF or colonel in VRS) were first verified by the Office of Inspector General of SFOR and a parliamentary procedure, to be appointed by the BiH Presidency. They all received the rank of brigadier general, though to wear and be addressed in compliance with the rank they would hold in compliance with the relevant formation.

Upon joining the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina for the first time, all members take the following oath: "I solemnly pledge to defend the sovereignty, territorial integrity, constitutional order, and political independence of Bosnia and Herzegovina and to carry out, responsibly and conscientiously, all duties necessary for its defence." A serious incident took place on 16 May 2005, when conscripts were giving their solemn oath at VRS barracks in Manja~a and Bile}a. In Manjaca, a vast majority of some 500 conscripts, while repeating the text of the oath, instead of pledging allegiance to BiH, said "to Republika Srpska", and the attending family and friends booed the national flag and anthem. The fact that the "to Republika Srpska" phrase was uttered in unison suggested that this was a "performance" prepared in advance, since the ceremony had been rehearsed. In Bile}a, the text of the oath was delivered accurately, but the BiH flag and anthem were booed.

According to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Law on Defence, the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are apolitical and "... cannot be used for political purposes of party-related activities." "Members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including General officers, shall remain neutral in political matters, shall not engage in partisan political activities of any kind and shall not hold elected or appointed public office."

The ethno-national parties are still trying to fortify their influence over the military by frequent contacts between the veterans' organizations and the army. Namely, in his address at one of the two cited events, representative of the RS Veterans' Organization addressed the gathering in an inappropriate manner (in language of war and instigation), which also influenced the atmosphere to heat up. Moreover, the practice of playing the Croatian anthem (the official national anthem of the Republic of Croatia) along with the BiH anthem when soldiers of the Croat component of VF give their oath, led some media outlets to question the readiness of this component to defend the integrity and sovereignty of BiH, although the procedure itself was not in breach of the law.

Additionally, officers cannot "hold a financial interest that conflicts with the conscientious performance of their duty or engage in outside employment or any other activities that conflict with official duties and responsibilities." They also are duty-bound to protect and conserve government property, to use government property only for authorized purposes, and to report possible irregularities and corruption through their chains of command. These and other provisions of the law ensure that the peoples and citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina can place their highest degree of confidence in the officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers of their armed forces.

The officer corps of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina is trained and experienced, able to perform duties in their military areas of specialisation from professional, tactical and technical aspects. A significant number of officers are receiving training in accordance with NATO programs and standards, ranging from developing military strategy documents to planning and implementing policies and procedures to achieve interoperability with NATO forces. The officer corps represents the command structure of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and it is extremely important for the successful implementation of the Armed Forces' missions.

A trained and professional Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) corps is the backbone of most modern armies, including the armed forces of NATO nations. In the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina great consideration is given to the process of developing a non-commissioned officer corps.

In peacetime, soldiers of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are volunteers - professional soldiers - or conscripts serving their conscription service in the entity armies and members of reserves mobilised in the military service. Many of the persons serving in the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina in peacetime and wartime are persons subject to compulsory military service, mobilised in the Armed Forces or serving their conscription service. According to the law, the Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Defence is responsible to develop a common conscription policy. The duration of conscription is regulated by entity law and it is currently four months long.

The reserves of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are comprised of soldiers, non-commissioned officers and officers who have completed their conscription service and who are called up or mobilised for training, depending on training requirements and programmes. Equipping and training programs for reserves, based on common standards at the State level, are organised and conducted by the entity authorities.

The Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are designing and implementing a common personnel management system as set forth in the Bosnia and Herzegovina Law on Defence of 2003. Additionally, various administrative policies and programs support this system. A "Uniforms, Ranks & Insignia Policy" will ensure a professional, uniform appearance within all elements of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And, even more critically, a new "Pay and Benefits Policy" will harmonise the status of all Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina members.

Although there are no legal obstacles to employment of women, their percentage in OS BiH is less than the NATO standard of approximately 10 percent. For example, in the Croat component of the VF there are 117 women, making up 5%, and in the Bosniak component there are 241, making up 4.32%.51 The fact that there are so few women in the army may be interpreted by, among other things, the traditional heritage in BiH, where there was, for a very long time, a widely accepted opinion that the army is just "a man's job" and that women are not motivated to work in the military.

Demobilization was one of the basic requirements of the Dayton Agreement. But there was widespread concern that a large injection of former soldiers into the economy could threaten peace and recovery unless ways are found to expedite their reintegration. Contacts with officials of the Federation Ministry of Defense indicate that there will be approximately 245,000 military personnel demobilized, 65,000 from the Bosnia Croat Army (HVO) and 180 from the Bosnian Army of the Republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina (ARHB). The average age is 20-35 and the population is almost entirely male; 18% are officers and 85% are married. About 25% have some higher education, while the majority of the remainder have completed secondary education. In the Republika Srpska (RS), a total of 180,000 soldiers will be demobilized; 85% of these are married, 20% have a university degree, and the remainder have secondary school or less. The age range is between 25 and 40 years.

Demobilization was carried out in phases according to the Dayton Agreement. The initial phase emphasizes (i) demobilization of soldiers who had the opportunity to return to their initial place of residence and employment, and (ii) those who were returning to complete their education which was disrupted by the conflict. By April 30, 1996, 100,000 ARHB and 45,000 HVO soldiers were demobilized, with the remainder expected by June 30. By April 14, 1996, a total of 150,000 RS soldiers were demobilized, with the remainder expected by June 15.