Serbian Armed Forces Transformation and the Role of Human Capital Strategy (CSL Issue Paper, Volume 2-10, April 2010)

Abstract

With the peaceful breakup of the Montenegro-Serbia confederation in 2006, Yugoslavia disappeared from the maps of Europe. Over the 15-year period that encompassed the breakup of the former Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia, each newly independent entity had to deal with its identity as a separate nation and the incumbent national requirements for security, economic stability, and political maturity. Complicating the security issue was forming multiple armies from one. Once a unified military force, the conscript-based Yugoslavian National Army (JNA) is now distributed across six independent Balkan states. This distribution was not based on military requirements, capabilities, or expertise, but on geography and ethnicity. Within the Balkan region there is a shared desire for integration into the European Community. A prerequisite for such integration is the modernization of the national security apparatus. For this reason, Serbia has a certain urgency to transform its national military organization. This transformation includes the modernization of equipment and increasing the professionalism of its armed forces, including the elimination of conscription. To assist in this transformation to a professional, all-voluntary military, the Serbian Armed Forces (SAF) are tapping into both European and U.S. expertise for ideas on creating an effective and efficient Serbian Human Resource Management (HRM) system that supports its national security goals, achieves modern standards, and exhibits real capabilities. The multi-service U.S. Army War College (USAWC) Traveling Contact Team (TCT) (the authors) journeyed to Belgrade, Serbia 21-26 March 2010, and exchanged insights on human resource management processes with SAF and Serbian Ministry of Defense personnel who are dealing with difficult force transformation challenges on a daily basis. This Issue Paper is a summary of that exchange.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Apr 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA520886

Entities

People

  • B. F. Griffard
  • Traci Keegan
  • Vincent R. Lindenmeyer

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Education
  • European Communities
  • Geography
  • Human Resources
  • Management Personnel
  • Military Education
  • Military Organizations
  • Military Requirements
  • National Security
  • Organizational Structure
  • Personnel Management
  • Quality Of Life
  • Resource Management
  • Security
  • United States European Command
  • War Colleges
  • Yugoslavia

Readers

  • International Relations and European Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Strategic Security Studies