Transfer of command between Commander of the Split Naval Base and Chief of Staff – Deputy Commander of the Croatian Navy

With a ceremonial transfer of command held at Croatian Navy Command, in presence of the Commander of the Croatian Navy, Commodore Damir Dojkić, the duty of the Chief of Staff-Deputy Commander of the Croatian Navy was assumed on 1 February 2024 by Navy Captain Željko Jakus.

After signing the minutes on the transfer of command between former Commader Navy Captain Jakus and newly appointed Commander of the Split Naval Base Navy Captain Vlade Zoko, the Croatian Navy Commander Commodore Dojkić thanked both of them for their honourable and dedicated work and expressed his belief that they will carry out their tasks with the same dedication on new duties as well.

Navy Captain Željko Jakus was born on 26 August 1966 in Trogir. On 15 September 1991, he voluntarily joined the defence of the sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia as a member of the crisis headquarters unit of the Marina Local Community. On 19 January 1992 he joined the CAF active duty component.

During and after the end of the Homeland War, he held a number of positions in the CAF, from Assistant Commander for Logistics at the Centre for Education and Training of Soldiers and Sailors in Pula, Commander of the ship’s power unit on board Šibenik RTOP-21, maintenance officer at the Command of the Fleet Attack Division of the Croatian Navy, ship’s systems maintenance officer in the Fleet Surface Action Division of the Croatian Navy, ship’s systems maintenance officer in the Maintenance Section of the Croatian Navy Command, Head of Section for ship’s maintenance and of other technical material resources in N-4 Department of the Croatian Navy Command, to Head of the N-4 Department of the Croatian Navy Command. Since July 2022 he has held the position of Commander of the Split Naval Base.

The Navy Captain Jakus graduated from the Naval Military Academy in Split in 1991 gaining a degree in Marine Engineering. In Zagreb, he graduated from the Blago Zadro Command and Staff School (2011) and the Ban Josip Jelačić War College (2016). He was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant in 1992, to the rank of 1st Lieutenant in 1995, to the rank of Navy LT in 2001, to the rank of LT Commander in 2004, to the rank of Commander in 2007, to the rank of Navy Captain in 2014.

For his work, Navy Captain Jakus received a number of commendations and awards from Commander-in-Chief of the CAF, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Croatia, Chief of the CAF General Staff, Deputy Chief of the CAF General Staff and Commander of the Croatian Navy. He was awarded the Homeland War Commemorative Decoration, the Homeland Gratitude Commemorative Decoration, the Order of the Croatian Trefoil and the Order of Ban Josip Jelačić.
Navy Captain Vlade Zoko was born on 19 June 1966 at Dugobabe, municipality of Klis. He joined the Armed Forces in October 1991, as a participant in the Homeland War. In the Croatian Navy, he held a number of commanding and leadership positions: Deputy Commander and Commander of the PT-71 boat, Commander of the Multi-Role Detachment, Deputy Commander and Acting Commander of the DBM-82 Krka ship, Commander of the Andrija Mohorovičić ŠB-72 ship, Deputy Commander of the1st Division of the Croatian Coast Guard, Head of the Coordination Department in Croatian Coast Guard Command, Commander of the Support Division of the Croatian Navy Flotilla, Commander of the 2nd Division of the Croatian Coast Guard, Commander of Vargarola Barracks in Pula and Deputy Commander of the Split Naval Base. He was promoted to the rank of Navy Captain in 2019.

Navy Captain Zoko graduated from the Maritime Faculty in Split gaining a master’s degree in Maritime Management. He completed the Advanced Officer Course in 2007 in the United States (USCG IMOC), and Inter-service Command and Staff School in 2010 at the Dr. Franjo Tuđman CDA in Zagreb. He also contributed to peace support operations. He participated in the UN mission “Western Sahara – MINURSO” in 2012/2013 and was appointed Commander of the 1st Croatian contingent (1st HRVCON) in the EU operation “TRITON 2015” in the Mediterranean.

He was awarded the Homeland War Commemorative Decoration, the Order of Croatian Braid, the Order of the Croatian Trefoil and the Croatian Army Gold Medal, and was repeatedly commended by Commander of the Croatian Navy, Chief of the CAF GS and the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Croatia.