Everyone who lived in SFRY knows that December 22 was the day of the JNA, when decorations and general ranks in the army were awarded, as well as retirement. How was it created and how long did the army exist, whose weapons are still used today by the armies of all the countries of former Yugoslavia.
JNA Day or just Army Day was a holiday of the Armed Forces of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRJ) and was established by order of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and Minister of National Defense of the FNRJ, Marshal Josip. Broz Tito on October 20, 1947. It was celebrated on December 22 in honor of 1941 and the establishment of the First Proletarian Strike Brigade, the first operational and regular unit of the People's Liberation Army.
In honor of Army Day, the Federal Secretariat for National Defense awarded the "Twenty-second December" award every year, and on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the JNA (JNA), the Federal Secretariat awarded jubilee commemorative medals.
At the end of the 1980s, the JNA had more than 220,000 permanent members under arms, and in case of war, through mobilization, it could grow to over one and a half million people. According to many, the JNA was the third military force in Europe, and some estimated it as the fifth or seventh in the world. After the end of the Second World War, with more than 800,000 hardened fighters and overall logistics, it was at the very top of the European armies on the victorious and anti-fascist side.
The JNA consisted of types, families and services. The types were: Army, Air Force and Air Defense and Navy. The branches were: infantry, artillery, artillery-missile units for air defense (in all three types of JNA), armored units, engineering, ABH defense, communications and border units. The services in the JNA were: technical service, construction service, master's service, traffic service, aviation-technical service, security authorities and military police, medical service, veterinary service, financial service, administrative service, legal service, geodetic service, music service. and Informatics in OS. In the late 1980s, WARRIOR (Air Surveillance, Reporting and Guidance) became a branch of the military.
Military service in the JNA was general. It consisted of a military service obligation, an obligation to serve in the army for one year, and to serve in the reserve.
In the JNA, diplomas were awarded to 'exemplary soldiers', i.e. to those who, during military service, significantly excelled in developing camaraderie, brotherhood and unity and mastering military training.
Repeal
The Yugoslav People's Army officially disappeared on May 20, 1992, with the declaration of the JNA as the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The Army of the Republika Srpska was formed from the JNA units that remained in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Army of the Republika Srpska Krajina from the units in Croatia, the countries of former Yugoslavia.
