page_title: Armed forces of Bulgaria
section_title: Personnel and education
hierarchical_section_title: Armed forces of Bulgaria / Organization / Personnel and education
caption_attribution_description: Български: Фасада на сградата на военна академия "Г.С. Раковски"
context_page_description: The Bulgarian Army is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria, who since January 2017 is Rumen Radev. The Ministry of Defense is in charge of political leadership while overall military command remains in the hands of the Defence Staff, headed by the Chief of the Defense. There are three main branches of the Bulgarian military, named literally the Land Forces, the Air Forces and the Naval Forces.
  Throughout history, the Army has played a major role in defending the country's sovereignty. Only several years after its inception in 1878, Bulgaria became a regional military power and was involved in several major wars – Serbo-Bulgarian War, First Balkan War, Second Balkan War, First World War and Second World War, during which the Army gained significant combat experience. During the Cold War the People's Republic of Bulgaria maintained one of the largest militaries in the Warsaw Pact, numbering an estimated 152,000 troops in 1988. Since the Fall of Communism, the political leadership has decided to pursue a pro-NATO policy, thus reducing military personnel and weaponry.
context_section_description: Bulgaria's total military personnel as of 2014 is 37,100, of which 30,400 (80.1%) are active military personnel and 8,100 (11.9%) are civilian personnel. The Land Forces are the largest branch, with at least 18,000 men serving there. In terms of percentage, 53% of all Army personnel are in the Land Forces, 25% are in the Air Force, 13% are in the Navy and 9% are in the Joint Forces Command. Annual spending per soldier amounts to 30,000 leva (~ 15,000 euro) and is scheduled to increase to 43,600 leva by 2014.
  Unlike many former Soviet bloc militaries, discipline and morale problems are not common. During the Communist era, the army members enjoyed extensive social privileges. After the fall of Communism and Bulgaria's transition to a market economy, wages fell severely. For almost a decade social benefits were virtually non-existent, and some of them have been restored but recently. Nikolai Tsonev, defence minister under the 2005–2009 cabinet, undertook steps to provide the members of the military and their families with certain privileges in terms of healthcare and education, and to improve living conditions.
  Military education in Bulgaria is provided in military universities and academies. Due to cuts in spending and manpower some universities have been disbanded and their campuses were included as faculties of other, larger educational entities. The largest institutions of military education in Bulgaria are:
  Vasil Levski National Military University
  Rakovski Defence and Staff College
  Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy
  Military Medical Academy – a mixed military academy/hospital institution
caption: Rakovski Defence and Staff College
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