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Despite the adoption of defence reform legislation throughout the year 2003, which definitely represented an improvement on previous arrangements, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) failed to meet the requirements for membership in NATO's Partnership for Peace (PfP) programme by the end of the year. Therefore, the Defence Reform Commission, established in May 2003, set a broader framework for the period 2004-2005 in the hope of BiH's receiving a green light for PfP membership at NATO's Istanbul meeting in June 2004. The major focus of the reform shifted to building up the state-level Defence Ministry, Joint Staff, and Operational Command.

Further, NATO endorsed 14 implementation benchmarks to measure BiH's progress towards PfP membership. The main purpose of those was to evaluate the degree of implementation during the first half of 2004 of the defence legislation adopted at the end of 2003 as a result of the work of the Defence Reform Commission in the period May-September 2003.

Further still, the Defence Reform Commission set up 9 teams in areas such as personnel, education and training, budget, finance and audit, to help senior Bosnian officials from the new Defence Ministry meet NATO requirements and proceed with the implementation of the 2004-2005 strategic agenda.

Yet, insurmountable challenges remained as it became evident at NATO's Istanbul meeting in mid-2004 when BiH was once again banned from PfP membership, namely the introduction of a state-level civilian-led command and control structure, including a state level Defence Ministry, democratic parliamentary control and oversight of the armed forces, transparency in defence plans and budgets, and development of a national security policy and doctrine. Those were to be focal points in the defence reform debate in the year 2005.

However, the implementation of the above mentioned reforms required political will at an entity level, as it entailed adjustments to the entities' constitutions, especially in connection with the replacement of their respective ethnically divided forces by a single Bosnian army, and the constitution of a national defence establishment. To complicate matters further, on May 30st 2005 Republika Srpska's (RS) parliament rejected an important NATO-sponsored police reform.

In the meantime, the new independent Defence Reform Commission, set up under international pressure in December 2004, signed two crucial bills on July 18th 2005, which were to close down entity defence ministries, create a professioinal and multiethnic army, put an end to universal conscription, and downsize the army, thus fulfilling to a large extent BiH's obligations for PfP membership.

The new defence system envisaged a new chain of command, starting from the Bosnian tripartite presidency and going through the state Defence Ministry and the head of the joint command down to the subordinate operational and support commands. Command and control would pass from the Presidency of BiH, the Minister of Defence, and the Chief of the Joint Staff to the Operational Command, down to the brigade headquarters and their subordinate battalions. As the brigade is the basic formation of NATO armies, so shall it be for the Armed Forces of BiH.

The defence bills, if endorsed both on an entity and on a national level, will finalise the second phase of defence reforms. They will result in strengthening of democratic control over the country's defence system by increasing the role of the parliament in the decision-making process in the military sphere.

The RS parliament on August 30th dropped its previous insistence on maintaining a separate army, general staff and defence ministry, and decided on transferring all defence powers from the entity to the state level. The Bosnian state parliament is expected to back the decision by creating the legal framework for the first-ever joint armed force in independent BiH’s history.



TOTAL ARMED FORCES

In accordance with the Dayton Peace Accords, Bosnia-Herzegovina is composed of two entities:
-the (Muslim-Croat) "Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina", and
-the (Serbian) "Republika Srpska".
The predominent view until 2003 was that the constitution would have precluded State command and control over armed forces, and attributed most competenceies regarding defence and military matters to the two entities. There have thus been no armed forces (except for Border Guards and the Brcko-district police) at the State level. The two entities have kept the armed forces they had established throughout the armed conflict until the 1995 Dayton Peace Accord.
The armed forces of the entities are subject to an arms-limitation regime established under the Dayton Peace Accord. An agreement signed by BiH, its two entities, Cr and FRY on 14 June 1996, established arms ceilings for the armed forces of the parties.
In May 2003 the High Representative established a Defence Reform Commission which should elaborate structures for Command and Control on the State level, including a joint General Staff. Work should be completed by the end of 2003.
In May 2003 the High Representative established a Defence Reform Commission which recommended in September 2003 the establishing of State level command and control, including a State Ministry of Defence and a State Joint Staff, and a further reduction of the Entities' armed forces.
In December 2003, the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH adopted a law on defence, which established the recommended State structures. The chain of command now goes from the State Presidency via the State Ministry of Defence and the Joint Staff and a joint Operational Command to the respective forces within the Entities.
A Presidential Decree in March 2004 established new ceilings for the armed forces of BiH. There will be a total of 12,000 professional soldiers (8,000 for the Federation and 4,000 for the RS), 12,600 conscripts (8,400 for the Federation and 4,200 for the RS), and 60,000 reserves (40,000 for the Federation and 20,000 for the RS).

ACTIVE see individual entries below
State Joint Staff: 44
State Joint Operational command: 28

FORCES OF THE FEDERATION OF BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

The Armed Forces of the Federation (Federation Army (VF)) consist of Muslim and Croat components. The federation's defence law indicates that the forces are to have joint institutions at the level of Ministry of Defence, General Staff and some formations directly subordinated to the General Staff including the air force, air defence command and Rapid Reaction brigade. Integration on lower echelons has been limited. Forces are separated from the corps level downwards. The Federation Army (VF) is currently reducing to only 2 active mechanised infantry brigades.

ARMY (VF) 16,400 with some 8,000 professionals,(VF-B 5,576; VF-H 2,424), 8,400 conscripts (6,416 VF-B, 1,984 VF-H)
1 joint HQ; 4 divisions (res); 1 mechanised infantry brigades, 1 air force command
RESERVES
VF-B: 28,750
VF-H: 11,250
EQUIPMENT (mostly held under SFOR control in weapon storage sites)
MBT 188: 5 T-34, 13 T-54, 69 T-55, 6 M-84, 50 AMX-30, 45 M-60A3
LT TK 1 PT-76
AIFV 25 AMX-10P, 10 M-80
APC 80 M-113A2, 37 OT-60, 2 BTR-50, 3 BTR-70, 3 BOV and 4 "look-a-likes"
TOTAL ARTILLERY 914 (including ATK guns)
-TOWED105mm: 36 L-118, 27 M-2A1, 22 M-56, 4 M-18/26; 122mm: 118 D-30, 3 M-38; 130mm: 23 M-46, 13 M-82; 152mm: 18 D-20, M-84; 155mm: 119 M-114 A2, 4 M-1
-SP 122mm 3 2S1
-MRL 107mm: 28 Type 63; 122mm: 36 APR-40, 5 BM-21; 128mm: 37 M-91, M-63
-MOR 120mm: 350 M-75, 28 UBM-52, 13 M-74, M-38; 82 mm 62 M-69
ATGW 260 including AT-3 Sagger, 52 AT-4 Fagot, 51 Red Arrow (TF-8), Milan
ATK GUNS 100mm: 30 T-12 / MT-12
AD GUNS 20mm: M-55, Bov-3; 23mm 19 ZU-23; 30mm: M-53; 57mm: S-60
SAM SA-7/ -9/-14/ -16
HEL 3 Mi-8/ -17, 15 UH-1H
AC 3 UTVA-75

REPUBLIKA SRPSKA ARMED FORCES (VRS)

ARMY 8,200 with some 4,000 professionals, 4,200 conscripts
The RS Army (VRS) is currently reducing to only 2 active brigades
2 infantry div HQ(res), 1 mechanised infantry, 1 infantry brigade plus support; 1 Air force command
RESERVES 20,000
EQUIPMENT (mostly held under SFOR control in weapon storage sites)
MBT 72 T-55, 65 M-84
AIFV 74 M-80
APC 15 M-60, 15 BOV-M, 9 BTR-50PK and 35 "look-a-likes"
TOTAL ARTILLERY 628 (including ATK guns)
-TOWED 105mm: 74 M-56; 122mm: 150 D-30; 130mm: 38 M-46; 152mm: 9 D-20, 3 M-84; 155mm: 74 M-1
-SP 122mm: 24 2S1
-MRL 122mm: 1 BM-21, 128mm: 36 M-63, 20 M-77; 262mm: 1 M-87 Orkan
-MOR 120mm: 70 including M-75, M-52, M-74
SSM 8 FROG-7
ATGW about 650 including AT-3 Sagger
ATK GUNS 100mm: 128 T-12
AD GUNS 975: including 20mm, 23mm including ZSU 23-4; 30mm: M53/59SP; 57mm: ZSU-57-2; 90mm
SAM SA-2, some SA-6/ -7B/ -9
AIR FORCE
AC 7 Orao J-22, 6 J-21 (attack), 2 IJ-21 (recce), 3 NJ-21 (attack/trg), 1 Super Galeb (attack / trg)
HEL 7 HN-45M, 15 HO-42/-45 (SA-341), 11 Mi-8
TRG 2 UTVA75

FORCES ABROAD
UN AND PEACEKEEPING
DROC (MONUC): 5 observations, ETHIOPIA / ERITREA (UNMEE): 9 observations

FOREIGN FORCES
NATO (SFOR II to be replaced by EU-force in 2005): about 7,000: Bulgaria, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States of America
Non-NATO: Albania, Austria, Argentina, Chile, Morocco, Sweden


Source: The Military Balance 2004 - 2005, published by the Institute of International and Strategic Studies