insisted that his family remain in Sarajevo, in the hopes that he might be reassigned there. Upon completion of his education in 1983, however, he was assigned to Negotin, a small town positioned on the borders of Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Romania. In mid-1986, Krstić was reassigned to Priština, in Kosovo, where he was placed in charge of training officers and units in the Priština corps. Due to the unrest that had begun brewing in that region, he was posted to Kosovska Mitrovica in early 1987 as Chief of Staff of the Motorised Brigade. He remained at that post until 1990 when he took over as the brigade commander of that garrison. Role in the Yugoslav wars Joining the VRS In mid-1992, after Bosnia proclaimed independence, Krstić decided that, rather than trying to find a place in this new Yugoslavia, he would return to Bosnia as he was born in Bosnia and considered himself to be a citizen of Bosnia. He stayed with his family in Han Pijesak for a short time, and in June 1992, with the Bosnian War already in full swing, he reported to the Han Pijesak garrison and joined the Army of Republika Srpska. He was immediately assigned with the rank of lieutenant colonel to the post of the Commander of the 2nd Romanija Motorized Brigade, which was located in the Sokolac garrison. This brigade was a new experience for Krstić, as it was ethnically homogenous; composed only of ethnic Serbs from the Sokolac municipality, Olovo and Kladanj municipalities, and of the refugees from the Zenica, Kakanj, Breza, and Vareš municipalities. Early engagements Krstić initially faced problems with command and control due to the inexperience of the officers in the brigade command and their subordinate units. However, the situation rapidly improved, and in October of the same year, he was promoted to the rank of colonel. On the Serbian Orthodox holiday of St. Ilija's Day in August 1993, behind the positions of Krstić's units that were engaged in the front line in the area of Kladanj, there was a synchronised infiltration of Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the villages in the territory of the Han Pijesak municipality, such as Žerovice, Rijeka, and Potkosovaca were destroyed and most of their inhabitants killed. In late April of the following year there was a significant effort by the Eastern Bosnia Corps to break through the Kladanj