Special Operations Battalion (Bojna za specijalna djelovanja – BSD)

INTRODUCTION
The Special Operations Battalion is Croatia’s premier SOF unit. It is tasked with standard NATO SOF tasks: special reconnaissance and surveillance (SR), military assistance (MA), and direct action (DA), along with additional tasks such as counterterrorism and providing specialized aid to the civilian population in times of crisis. It also provides specialized training to other units and individuals within the Croatian Armed Forces.

HISTORY
The Special Operations Battalion was established on September 8, 2000 by merging the 1st Croatian Guard Corps and the Special Combat Skills Training Center into a new unit, thus ensuring that the new unit was full of hardened combat veterans and expert instructors in all forms of special warfare. This date is celebrated annually. The unit’s patron saint is St. Martin of Tours.

ORGANIZATION
The unit is composed of a headquarters, HQ company, four operational companies, a Combat Support company, and a training wing. The battalion’s commanding officer is a colonel. The operational element in the companies is the 12-man team which consists of a team commander, first sergeant, operations sergeant, intelligence sergeant, two weapons specialists, two engineering specialists, two communications specialists, and two medics.