Yugoslav People's Army Југословенска народна армија Jugoslovenska narodna armija Jugoslavenska narodna armija Југословенската народна армија Jugoslovanska ljudska armada |
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Founded | 1945 |
Disbanded | 1992 |
Service branches |
Yugoslav Ground Forces (KoV) Yugoslav Navy (JRM) Yugoslav Air Force (JRV) Territorial Defense (TO) |
Headquarters | Belgrade |
Leadership | |
Commander-in-Chief |
Josip Broz Tito (1945–1980) Presidency of SFR Yugoslavia (1980–1992) |
Minister | Federal Secretary of People's Defence |
Commander |
Marshal of Yugoslavia (1945–1980) General of the Army or Admiral of the Fleet (1980–1992) |
Manpower | |
Military age | 15–65 |
Conscription | 18 |
Available for military service |
circa 8,000,000 (1978), age 15–65 |
Active personnel | 200,000 |
Reserve personnel | >3,200,000 |
Related articles | |
History | History of the JNA |
Ranks | Yugoslav People's Army Ranks |
The Yugoslav People's Army (YPA), also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army (YNA; Serbo-Croatian: Југословенска народна армија (ЈНА) / Jugoslovenska narodna armija (JNA), Jugoslavenska narodna armija (JNA); Macedonian: Југословенската народна армија (ЈНА); Slovene: Jugoslovanska ljudska armada (JLA)) or simply by the initialism JNA (Cyrillic: ЈНА), was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
The origins of the JNA can be found in the Yugoslav Partisan units of World War II. As part of the antifascist People's Liberation War of Yugoslavia, the People's Liberation Army of Yugoslavia (NOVJ), a predecessor of the JNA, was formed in the town of Rudo in Bosnia and Herzegovina on 22 December 1941. After the Yugoslav Partisans liberated the country from the Axis Powers, that date was officially celebrated as the "Day of the Army" in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFR Yugoslavia).
In March 1945, the NOVJ was renamed the "Yugoslav Army" ("Jugoslovenska Armija") and, on its 10th anniversary, on 22 December 1951, received the adjective "people's" ("narodna").
The JNA consisted of the ground forces, air force and navy. It was organized into four military regions which were further divided into districts that were responsible for administrative tasks such as draft registration, mobilization, and construction and maintenance of military facilities. The regions were: Belgrade (responsible for eastern Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina), Zagreb (Slovenia and northern Croatia), Skopje (Republic of Macedonia, Southern Serbia and Montenegro) and Split Naval Region. Of the JNA's 180,000 soldiers, more than 100,000 were conscripts.