Military of Slovenia

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Armed forces of Slovenia

Military manpower
Military age	17 years of age for voluntary military service; conscription abolished in 2003 (2004)
Availability	males age 17-49: 496,929; females age 17-49: 483,959 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	males age 17-49: 405,593; females age 17-49: 397,167 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	males: 12,816; females age 17-49: 12,178 (2005 est.)
Expenditure
Euro figure	€300 million (FY00)
US Dollar figure	$370 million (FY00)
Percent of GDP (2005)	1.7%

The Military of Slovenia consists of the Slovenian Armed Forces (also Slovenian Army; officially Slovene Slovenska vojska; SAF/SV). The SAF are the armed forces of Slovenia. As of 2003 it is organized as a fully professional standing army. The Commander-in-Chief of the SAF is the President of the Republic of Slovenia (Janez Drnovšek), while operational command is in the domain of the Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces (Albin Gutman).

[edit] History

The current Slovenian Armed Forces are descended from the Territorial Defense of the Republic Slovenia (Teritorialna obramba Republike Slovenije; TORS), which was formed in 1968 as a paramilitary organization in the former Yugoslav republic of Slovenia. The main objectives of this organisation were to support the Yugoslav National Army (JLA) and to conduct guerilla operations in the event of an invasion.

When Slovenia declared its independence in the midst of the Yugoslav Civil Wars in 1991, the TORS and the Slovenian police formed the majority of forces engaging the Yugoslav People's Army during the Ten-Day War. And the Slovenian Armed Forces were formally established in 1993 as part of the reorganisation of the TORS.

[edit] Current Status

Generalmajor Ladislav Lipič
Former Chief of the General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces

A major reorganization of the Slovenian Armed Forces is currently underway, with the goal of changing it from a territorial defense force into a deployable force primarily aimed at peacekeeping. After 1993, the Slovenian Armed Forces had relied on mandatory military service, with conscripts receiving 6-7 months of training. In 2003, the Slovenian Government abolished conscription and as of July 2004, the Slovenian Armed Forces had been almost completely reorganised into a professional army now based on volunteers. Currently there are approximately 7,500 officers and approximately 33,000 enlisted personnel, reduced from 55,000 personnel during conscription. Slovenian Army now consists of two brigades, the 1st and 72nd. The Slovenian Army consists primarily of infantry, but it also contains a small air force and naval unit which are subordinate to it.

[edit] NATO Membership

As part of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Slovenia was never a member of the Warsaw Pact. Today, the foreign policy priority of NATO membership drives Slovenia's defense reorganization. Once many countries lifted the arms embargo on Slovenia in 1996, the country embarked on a military procurement program to bolster its status as a NATO candidate and to aid its transformation into a mobile force. Active in the SFOR deployment in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia is also a charter member of Partnership for Peace and a regular participant in PfP exercises. The United States provides bilateral military assistance to Slovenia, including through the International Military Education and Training (IMET) program, the State Partnership Program (aligned with Colorado), and the EUCOM Joint Contact Team Program.

Slovenia formally joined NATO in March 2004.[1] The transition of her armed forces from a primarily conscript-based territorial defense organization to a professional force structure have the ultimate goal of creating NATO-interoperable combat units able to operate on an even par with units from other NATO armies. Implementation of interoperability objectives as determined by the Planning and Review Process (PARP) and the Individual Partnership Program (IPP) as part of Slovenia's PfP participation proceeds. Slovenia's elite units already train with and are integrated into international units including NATO members--for example as part of SFOR and on Cyprus. Its elite mountain troops will be assigned to the Multinational Land Force peacekeeping battalion with Italy, Hungary, and Croatia. Slovenia hosted its first PfP exercise in 1998--"Cooperative Adventure Exchange"--a multinational disaster-preparedness command post exercise involving almost 6,000 troops from 19 NATO and PfP member nations.

Slovenian soldiers are a part of international forces serving in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq. They have also served in Cyprus and the Golan Heights as a part of UNFICYP and UNDOF respectively.

[edit] Organization

The Slovenian Armed Forces are organized as single-branch armed forces with the army as their primary component. The naval force (one detachment) and the air force (one helicopter battalion, school unit and bases) are included as support elements of the army and not as independent branches.

The personnel is divided into three categories:

professional soldiers (full-time soldiers)
contract reserve soldiers (serve up to 30 days per year)
voluntary recruits (basic training)

[edit] Commands and units

Structure of the Slovenian Armed Forces

General Staff of the Slovenian Armed Forces (Generalštab Slovenske vojske)

Verification Centre of the Slovenian Armed Forces (Verifikacijski center Slovenske vojske)
Forces Command of the Slovenian Armed Forces (Poveljstvo sil Slovenske vojske)

1st Brigade

10th Motorized Battalion
20th Motorized Battalion
17th Military Police Battalion
670th Command-Logistics Battalion

72nd Brigade

132nd Mountain Battalion
45th Armoured Battalion
74th Armoured-Mechanized Battalion
460th Artillery Battalion
18th NBCD Battalion
76th Anti-armoured Company
72nd Command-Logistics Company
14th Engineer Battalion

Support Command

71st Command-Logistics Company
Military Territorial Commands

23rd Military Territorial Command
24th Military Territorial Command
25th Military Territorial Command
32nd Military Territorial Command
37th Military Territorial Command
38th Military Territorial Command

Logistics Battalion
Military Medical Unit
Flight Base

15th Helicopter Battalion
9th Air Defense Battalion
11th Communications Battalion
16th Air Control Battalion
430th Naval Detachment
Intellingence-Reconnaissance Battalion

Command Headquarters
Unit for Special Activities
Unit for Electronical Warfare
Command-Logistics Company

Command for Doctrine, Development, Education and Training of the Slovenian Armed Forces (Poveljstvo za doktrino, razvoj, izobraževanje in usposabljanje Slovenske vojske)

Noncommissioned Officer's School
Sports Unit
Library and Information Centre
Military Museum
Commissioned Officer's School
Command Staff School
Centre for Doctrine and Development
School for Foreign Languages
Centre for Training
Flight School

[edit] Weapons and equipment

[edit] Infantry

[edit] Small Arms

will be replaced with the FN F2000

[edit] Antitank weapons

[edit] Anti-Aircraft Weapons

[edit] Artillery

MN 9 120mm mortar
M2A1 105mm howitzer
TN90 155/45mm howitzer
M48B1 76mm gun (reserve status)
M63 128mm MRLS (reserve status)

[edit] Tanks and IFVs

54x M-84 MBT
52x M-55 S MBT
52x BVP M80A IFV
72x Valuk IFV
Patria AMV 8x8 have been ordered (135)

[edit] Air Force

[edit] Airplanes

9x Pilatus PC-9M Hudournik
2x Pilatus PC-9
2x Pilatus PC-6
1x Turbolet L-410
2x Zlin Z-143
8x Zlin Z-242

[edit] Helicopters

[edit] Naval Force

1x Super Dvora Mk2 patrol boat

[edit] Other Vehicles

30x HMMWV M1114

[edit] Gallery

TN90 155/45 mm Howitzer	Valuk IFV	Pilatus PC-9	Pilatus PC-9
M1114	A Slovenian Army patrol with the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan

[edit] International Cooperation

As Slovenia is part of NATO and the European Union, the Slovenian Armed Forces participate in many (military) aspects of both organizations.

Current Mission	Country	Organization	Nr. of personnel
ALTHEA	EUFOR	Bosnia and Herzegovina	91
Joint Enterprise	NATO	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2
Joint Enterprise	NATO	Kosovo	cca. 600 (since Feb 07)
CENTCOM	NATO	USA	2
UNTSO	United Nations	Syria	2
ISAF	NATO	Afghanistan	49
	NATO	Iraq	4

Former Mission	Operation	Country	Organization	Nr. of personnel	Time
ALBA	Operation Sunrise	Albania	OSCE	21	May-July 1997
UNFICYP	/	Cyprus	United Nations	29	September 1997-June 2001
ALBA	Operation Allied Harbour	Albania	NATO	26	May-July 1999
UNMIK	/	Kosovo	United Nations	1	October 1999-December 2001
OHR	/	Bosnia and Hercegovina	United Nations	1	July 2001-January 2003
?	Operation Concordia	Republic of Macedonia	European Union	1	March 2003
MLF	Operation Joint Guardian	Kosovo	NATO	11	November 2003-May 2004
/	Nato support to Pakistan	Pakistan	NATO	2	November 2005-January 2006

International military exercises	Country	Organization	Time
Cooperative Nugget 1997	Fort Polk, USA	Partnership for Peace/NATO	1997
Cooperative Adventure Exchange '98	Slovenia	NATO	1998
Cooperative Key 2002			2002
Cunning Wassel 2002			2002
Clever Ferret 2003			2003
Elite 2003			2003

[edit] Military rank insignias

Generals/Generali

General	Generalpodpolkovnik	Generalmajor

Commisioned Officers/Častniki

Brigadir	Polkovnik	Podpolkovnik	Major	Stotnik	Nadporočnik	Poročnik

NCO's/Podčastniki

Višji štabni praporščak	Štabni praporščak	Višji praporščak	Praporščak	Višji štabni vodnik	Štabni vodnik	Višji vodnik	Vodnik