The Special Operations Battalion , or popularly BSD was founded on 8 September 2000 with merging of the Special Combat Skills Center from Šepurine and personnel from the 1st Croatian Guard Corps (1. hrvatski gardijski zdrug). Today, it is one of the most elite units of the Croatian Armed Forces, as well as being one of the best trained and equipped special forces units in the region. It, along other Croatian Special Forces units, has the unique benefit in the region of having a command cadre with victorious combat experience in a full scale war

Croatian War of Independence

The Croatian War of Independence was fought from 1991 to 1995 between forces loyal to the government of Croatia—which had declared independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia —and the Serb-controlled Yugoslav People's Army and local Serb forces, with the JNA ending its combat...

.

The BSD members can be recognized by their green berets with unit badges over the right eye. Their symbol is a snake, so they are sometimes referred as "Cobras" although their insignia shows a Horned viper

Vipera ammodytes

Vipera ammodytes is a venomous viper species found in southern Europe through to the Balkans and parts of the Middle East. It is reputed to be the most dangerous of the European vipers due to its large size, long fangs and high venom toxicity...

 which is the most dangerous snake to be found in Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

 and in mainland Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

.

Main tasks

The Battalion is focused on airborne assault as well as operations behind enemy lines with insertion from land, air or sea. However, unlike most special forces in the world, the Battalion is also trained in non-combat search and rescue of civilians and providing aid as well as dealing with natural disasters. The unit is equipped with the most sophisticated weapons and equipment available, and trained to undertake the full range of special ops missions and even the dangerous mid-air, aircraft-to-aircraft operations.
Personnel are trained for:

• Combat operations on land, air and sea on all types of terrains and all weather conditions
• Deep battlefield infiltration by land, air and sea
• Unconventional warfare behind enemy lines
• Counter-terrorism and hand-to-hand combat
• CSAR
  Combat search and rescue
  Combat search and rescue are search and rescue operations that are carried out during war that are within or near combat zones.A CSAR mission may be carried out by a task force of helicopters, ground-attack aircraft, tankers and an airborne command post...
  
   missions (Combat Search and Rescue)
• ISTAR
  ISTAR
  ISTAR stands for Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance. In its macroscopic sense, ISTAR is a practice that links several battlefield functions together to assist a combat force in employing its sensors and managing the information they gather.Information is collected on...
  
   missions (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance)
• Humanitarian and peacekeeping operations

The Croatian General Staff

Croatian General Staff

General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Croatia is a joint body organised within the Ministry of Defence.It is responsible for development, organisation, and equipping, training and functioning of the first strategic echelon and the other strategic echelon .-Chief of General...

 exercises direct command over the battalion which thus elevated the unit to strategic level for quicker response time and overall better and faster deployment on both tactical and strategic levels. Also, this means that members of all three branches of the Croatian armed forces can apply for selection. In 2008, two women successfully completed selection and training, earning their green berets and making the BSD one of the few special forces units in the world that have women among their ranks as combat qualified operators and not just support staff.

Structure of BSD

The BSD is composed of one command section and five companies, each specialized for a different variety of missions.

• Command Section - responsible for command, control and communications, supplies, medical personnel and transport
• 1st Special Operations Company - specialized for airborne and pathfinder operations
• 2nd Special Operations Company - specialized for alpinism and mountain operations
• 3rd Special Operations Company - specialized for seaborne and amphibious operations
• 4th Special Operations Company - specialized for urban and anti-terrorist operations
• Fire Support Company - specialized for sniper and mortar training, also provides fire support with snipers to other four BSD companies

Weapons

• H&K G36
• M4A1 SOPMOD
  SOPMOD
  The Special Operations Peculiar MODification kit is an accessory system for the M4A1 carbine and FN SCAR Mk 16/17 used by USSOCOM...
  
  
• MP-5
• FN F2000
  FN F2000
  The FN F2000 is a 5.56×45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle, designed by FN Herstal in Belgium. The F2000 made its debut in March 2001 at the IDEX defense exhibition held in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates.-Design details:...
  
  
• FN SCAR-L
• Tar-21
• MP-7
• Accuracy International Arctic Warfare
  Accuracy International Arctic Warfare
  The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a family of bolt-action sniper rifles designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International...
  
  
• Barrett M82
• RBG-6
• VHS assault rifle
  VHS assault rifle
  The VHS is a 5.56x45mm NATO bullpup assault rifle designed and manufactured by HS Produkt of Croatia. The VHS rifle was first introduced at the 2007 iKA exhibition, the annual Croatian innovation display that takes place in the city of Karlovac...
  
  
• H&K UMP

International engagements

BSD members have been deployed on several peacekeeping missions in the world. Currently, BSD is engaged in ISAF

International Security Assistance Force

The International Security Assistance Force is a NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan established by the United Nations Security Council on 20 December 2001 by Resolution 1386 as envisaged by the Bonn Agreement...

 and EUFOR Tchad/RCA

EUFOR Tchad/RCA

European Union Force Chad/CAR, also EUFOR Tchad/RCA after the French, was the European Union mission in Chad and the Central African Republic , authorized in late 2007. EUFOR Chad/CAR was authorized under the same United Nations Security Council resolution that mandated MINURCAT, a UN force tasked...

 missions.

There was some speculation in the Croatian media and amongst the public that BSD members are conducting combat missions in Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

 side-by-side with US Army, in contravention of a Croatian parliament mandate for the United Nations

United Nations

The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...

 mission, but this was dismissed by the Croatian Ministry of Defense

Ministry of Defence (Croatia)

The Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Croatia is the ministry in the Government of Croatia which is in charge of the nation's military. The ministry was established in 1990.-Ministers:-References:...

.