JAPAN SELF-DEFENSE FORCE  JAPANSKE OBRAMBENE SNAGE

     The Japan Self-Defense Forces or JSDF, are the military forces in Japan that were established after the end of the post-World War II American occupation of Japan. The result has been a unique military system. All SDF personnel are technically civilians: those in uniform are classified as special civil servants and are subordinate to the ordinary civil servants who run the Ministry of Defense. There are no military secrets, military laws, or offenses committed by military personnel; whether on-base or off-base, on-duty or off-duty, of a military or non-military nature, are all adjudicated under normal procedures by civil courts in appropriate jurisdictions. For most of the post-war period the forces were confined to the islands of Japan and not permitted to be deployed abroad. In recent years, they have been engaged in international peacekeeping operations. Recent tensions, particularly with North Korea and China have reignited the debate over the status of the SDF and its relation to society. JSDF have five armies, five maritime districts and three air defense forces.

GROUND SELF-DEFENSE FORCE  KOPNENE OBRAMBENE SNAGE

      znaka za šapku japanske kopnene vojske koju nose i oficiri i podoficiri. Službeni je naziv kopnene vojske Kopnene obrambene snage. Centralni dio znaka zauzima stilizirani cvijet sakura trešnje, oko koje se na obadvije strane nalaze vijenci bršljana povezani malom trakom u dnu.

      A cap badge of the Army (formal name: Ground Self-Defense Force). The officers and other ranks shaer this badge for the peak cap. The cap badge insignia the GSDF is a sakura cherry blossom bordered with two ivy branches underneath, and a single chevron centered on the bottom between the bases of the branches.

     The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force, or JGSDF, is the military ground force (army) of Japan. The largest of the three services of the JSDF, the JGSDF operates under the command of the chief of the ground staff, based in the city of Ichigaya Tokyo. The GSDF consists of the following tactical units: one (the 7th) armored division, nine infantry divisions, reduced from 12, each with three or four battalion sized infantry regiments, one airborne brigade, two (1st and 2nd) combined brigades, four training brigades, one artillery brigade with two groups, two air defense brigades with three groups, one helicopter brigade with twenty-four squadrons and two anti-tank helicopter platoons. There are two sizes of JGSDF divisions: 9,000 men and 7,000 men. A JGSDF brigade is a combined arms unit with infantry, armored, and artillery units, combat support units and logistical support units. It is a regionally independent and permanent entity. Though its function is similar to a division in that it possesses the capability to engage in operations on one front, it is smaller with only 3,000 to 4,000 personnel.

AIR SELF-DEFENSE FORCE  ZRAČNE OBRAMBENE SNAGE

      Japanske zračne obrambene snage (JASDF) su sastavni dio Japanskih obrambenih snaga zadužen za obranu japanskog zračnog prostora i druge zadaće. Zračne snage izvode borbene zračne patrole iznad Japana te održavaju i mrežu radarskih sustava na cijelom državnom teritoriju. Osim toga su uključeni i u razne mirovne misije kao transportne jedinice. U svojem sastavu imaju i akrobatski avio tim zvani Plavi impuls. Prvu borbenu crtu čine dvanaest borbenih, jedna izviđačka te pet transportni eskadrila.

      The Japan Air Self-Defense Force or JASDF, is the aviation branch of the JSDF  responsible for the defense of Japanese airspace and other aerospace operations. The JASDF carries out combat air patrols around Japan, while also maintaining an extensive network of ground and air early warning radar systems. The branch also has an aerobatic team known as Blue impulse and has recently been involved in providing air transport in several UN peacekeeping missions. Front-line formations include twelve fighter squadrons, one reconnaissance squadron and five transport squadrons.

      Oznaka 203. borbenog skvadrona 2. zračne grupe zrakoplovstva (službeno: Zračne obrambene snage). Druga zračna grupa je borbena grupa i za nju se kaže da je najelitnija jedinica Zračnih obrambenih snaga. Oni prvi uzlijeću u slučajevima neuobičajenih letova borbenih aviona Ruske Federacije usmjerenih prema japanskom zračnom prostoru.

      A patch is an insignia of the 203^rd flight squadron of the 2^nd air wing of Air Force (Air Self-Defense Force). The Second air wing is a combat air wing and is said to be the most elite in the Air Self-Defense Force. They are the flight group who takeoffs first at scramble to the Russian Federation air force planes which unusually approach country’s territorial sky.

PEACEEEPING MISSIONS  UČEŠĆE U MIROVNIM MISIJAMA

      1992. Japan Donosi odluku o učešću u UN-ovim misijama (medicinskim, nadzorima izbora, povratka izbjeglica, obnove i izgradnje, popravaka infrastrukture i strogo ograničenim policijskim misijama). Tako pripadnici JOS-a učestvuju, među ostalima u Misijama u Kambodži, Mozambiku, Nepalu itd. Najviše kontroverzi i rasprava u Japanu je izazvalo slanje vojnika u Irak (na nagovor Američke vlade), budući da u parlamentu postoje opozicijske stranke koje se protive čak i slanju vojnika u misije oslobađanja zarobljenih japanskih državljana. Koizumijeva vlada je ipak odlučila poslati svoje trupe u obnovu Iraka, a kako članak 9 Japanskog ustava zabranjuje upotrebu vojne sile, osim u samoobrani, to su Japanske vojnike u Iraku čuvali pripadnici australske vojske!

SLEEVE PATCH USED IN

BREAST PATCH USED IN

 PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS

 PEACEKEEPING MISSIONS

      In June 1992, the National Diet passed a UN Peacekeeping Cooperation Law which permitted the SDF to participate in UN medical, refugee repatriation, logistical support, infrastructural reconstruction, election-monitoring, and policing operations under strictly limited conditions. Japan had non-combatant participation of the SDF in the few UN missions (Cambodia, Mozambique, Nepal and other). In 2005 they briefly assisted the people of Indonesia following the Tsunami. Nevertheless, the dispatching of SDF personnel outside Japan's borders remained a controversial issue, and members of  opposition parties in the Diet continue to oppose the foreign mobilization of SDF personnel, even to rescue endangered Japanese citizens. In 2004, the Japanese government ordered a deployment of troops to Iraq at the behest of the United States: A contingent of the Japan Self-Defense Forces was sent in order to assist the U.S.-led Reconstruction of Iraq. This controversial deployment marked a significant turning point in Japan's history as it is the first time since the end of World War II that Japan sent troops abroad except for a few minor UN peacekeeping deployments. As article 9 of the Constitution of Japan prohibits Japan from using military force except in self-defence, this intervention is considered by some people to be illegal. Public opinion regarding this deployment was sharply divided, especially given that Japan's military is constitutionally structured as solely a self-defense force, and operating in Iraq seemed at best tenuously connected to that mission. The Koizumi administration, however, decided to send troops to respond to a request from the US. Even though they deployed with their weapons, because of constitutional restraints, the troops were protected by Australian forces.

Yoji thank you for the insignias