The Green Berets () was a military organization founded in

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

in early 1991. They were founded by demobilized soldiers and conscripts from the

Yugoslav People's Army The Yugoslav People's Army (JNA/; Macedonian language, Macedonian, Montenegrin language, Montenegrin and sr-Cyrl-Latn, Југословенска народна армија, Jugoslovenska narodna armija; Croatian language, Croatian and ; , J ...

(JNA) who were mostly ethnic

Bosniaks The Bosniaks (, Cyrillic script, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia, today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and who sha ...

and supporters of the elected government of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were integrated into a newly founded

Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (; ; ARBiH), often referred to as Bosnian Army, was the military force of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was established by the government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina i ...

in the second half of 1992. The Green Berets as a gear of choice and the name was selected both as a reference to the

United States Army Special Forces The United States Army Special Forces (SF), colloquially known as the "Green Berets" due to their distinctive service Berets of the United States Army, headgear, is a branch of the United States Army United States Army Special Operations Comm ...

(the "Green Berets", although no actual relation existed) and as a common colour brand of the predominant ethnic group that composed the unit, namely

. Bosnian Green Berets were mostly active during the war in the early part of 1992 in northern and central Bosnia.

References

{{Yugoslav Wars Military units and formations of the Bosnian War Paramilitary organizations in the Yugoslav Wars Military wings of political parties