• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

Training

The quality of a professional military force is reflected in its level of training. The citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina expect that the officers, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are trained for all tasks neceessary to accomplish Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina missions. According to the Bosnia and Herzegovina Law on Defence of 2003, the ministries of defence of the two entities, Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, are responsible for training and education of members of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, that training is organised and conducted in accordance with a common training doctrine, tasks and standards established by the Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Defence.

All conscripts undergo basic, individual and specialised training during their four months' period of conscription. In Republika Srpska, this training is conducted in two conscript training centres, Banja Luka (Manjaca) and Bileca. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, individual conscript training is conducted in six centres: Capljina, Bugojno, Bihac, Zenica, Gorazde and Tuzla. Through the process of individual training, members of the Armed Forces gain basic military knowledge and skills, which are preconditions for collective training. No matter how trained and skilled individual soldiers may be, the essence of an effective military unit is the ability to operate as a team to accomplish a mission.

In the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the majority of collective training is carried out to train basic combat and tactical units at the company or battery level. There is also special collective training: simulation training, conducted in training centres or in the field, to train unit commanders and staffs to carry out joint actions. In Republika Srpska, collective training is conducted in the training centres noted above and at the Centre for Officer Advanced Training in Banja Luka (Zaluzani). It is planned to equip the Centre with equipment for combat simulation at the battalion and brigade level, or for simulation of military actions in natural and man-made disasters and accidents. In the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, collective training is also conducted in the training centres noted above, and at the Combat Simulation Centre in Pazaric near Sarajevo, which is currently the only equipped centre for combat simulation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Joint collective training involving military units from both the Army of Republika Srpska and the Army of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina was conducted for the first time in the spring of 2004, when engineering elements from both armies successfully collaborated in construction of a bridge as part of a wider exercise based on a natural disaster scenario. As Bosnia and Herzegovina becomes a member of NATO's Partnership for Peace programme, it was anticipated that there would be an increasing number of opportunities for joint collective training between elements of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina and forces from NATO and partner nations.

Professionalisation of the officer and NCO corps is a key objective for the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The size of the Armed Forces and the limited resources available in Bosnia and Herzegovina require the most rational approach to the education and advanced training of NCO and officer personnel. In that context, only limited internal training and advanced training capacities are being developed, while the specialised and advanced training of officers and NCOs is conducted at military schools and other institutions abroad. Training centres for officers in the entity armies are designed to meet requirements for ongoing military training and simulation training. Reserve officers of the Armed Forces of Bosnia and Herzegovina are also trained in these centers. Advanced and specialised training for officers and NCOs of different services and branches in Republika Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is normally conducted abroad.