Croatian army sends troops on vacation

The Croatian army, suffering under national budget constraints, has sent almost a half of its troops on a prolonged holiday, Zagreb media reported Friday. "All brigades without operational tasks will be on vacation" until springtime, general Slavko Baric, the Croatian army's chief of staff, told Croatian television HTV.
There are some 16,000 troops in the Croatian army, and 7,000, of them are not operational. The army has also delayed the purchase of fighter jets as it cannot afford the expense, and the number of new army vehicles could also be reduced, media reported. Croatia was hit hard by the global economic crisis, and economic experts expect only a mild recovery in 2010.