JSO (Special Operations Unit) - History

History

The origins of the unit can be traced back to April 1991, on the eve of Croatian War of Independence, when a group of armed men, the predecessors to the JSO; led by Franko Simatović and Dragan Vasiljković set off from Belgrade to Knin. Several days earlier, on March 16, Milošević promised "preparations of appropriate units capable of defending interests of Serbia and Serb people outside Serbia" in a closed session with Serbian municipal presidents. The order of creating such a unit was given to Jovica Stanišić, Milošević's strongman and head of RDB, which committed the task to Stanišić. The unit had not have any formal connections with Belgrade, so the operation was taken solely within RDB, without involvement of Serbian Ministry of the Interior. In Knin, Simatović and Vasiljković contacted Milan Martić, minister of the interior of Republic of Serbian Krajina, who subordinated a group of fighters under Vasiljković's command, who gave them thorough training and imposed the discipline; the unit would later became known under the name Knindže (a pun on "Knin" and "ninja"), and Vasiljković under the war name "Kapetan Dragan". The name "Red Berets" came after the battle for Glina, when Vasiljković distributed the berets to his men.

The other wing of the unit was apparently formed in May 1991, in Eastern Slavonia. According to the hints given by Simatović, the unit seems to have been involved in Borovo Selo killings on 1–2 May, when 12 Croatian policemen were killed and several tens wounded. May 4 will later be taken as the unit's anniversary. According to several witness accounts, Radovan Stojičić "Badža", an official of Serbian ministry of interior, was in charge for operations in Eastern Slavonia. Upon the arrival in the Eastern Slavonia theater, Željko Ražnatović "Arkan" took over the paramilitary unit under the name of "Serbian Volunteer Guard", better known as "Arkan's Tigers".