BRIEFING ON REORGANISATION OF CRO ARMED FORCES HELD IN ZAGREB

( Editorial: --> 4110 ) ZAGREB, 27 Nov (Hina) - Croatia wants to have a small but well- equipped and strong army. According to a reorganisation program, the number of Croatian armed forces personnel will not exceed 18% of the overall number of military age men, which is some 5% of Croatia's population, the head of the administration for the organisation of the Croatian armed forces headquarters, Brigadier Mate Ostovic, said Thursday in Zagreb. Ostovic's report, entitled "The process of re-organisation of the Croatian armed forces", was presented at a briefing attended by 20 foreign military attaches. Ostovic delivered his report after an introductory speech by Staff Brigadier Miro Andric, head of the VIP Office. Croatia wants to improve the structure of combat units and support units and make them similar to the structure of modern western armies, as much as possible, Ostovic said. That also referred to the command structure. After the reorganisation, the Croatian armed forces headquarters would have eight sectors (personnel, intelligence, operational and logistical sectors, training and education, military strategy and defence planning, computer-aided command systems sector and resources sector), Ostovic said, adding that all lower command levels would be changed as well. The reorganisation would also include the introduction of a non- commissioned officer corps as a support channel for the command system, Ostovic said. During the planning of reorganisation, Croatia's international obligations were taken into account (Dayton agreement and Agreement on Subregional Cooperation), which impose some limits concerning military equipment. The process of reorganisation of the Croatian armed forces should start during the first three months of 1998 and be completed in five to ten years, said Ostovic. The briefing is also to include reports "Education at Croatian Military Academies and Education Models", "The Process of Reorganisation of the Defence Ministry" and "Civil Control of the Military Part of the Budget". (hina) rm 271256 MET nov 97