Association of Veteran- and present Stoottroepers

At the armistice on the 5^th of May 1945 about 6,000 Stoters had joined the regiment. They were given the choice between:

stay in the army for 3 years, with a possibility of employment as a volunteer 'all over the world': so-called OVW-er.

About 2,000 resigned, 1,000 signed a short contract (1 year) and about 3,000 became OVW-er. From those 4 battalions were formed, of which the first one was sent to the former Dutch East Indies in the autumn of 1945.

The Ministry of Defense (War office at that time) had to be refunded. In any case the Stoters did not have much faith in the Social Service of the Ministry. At the beginning of 1946, some of those, who had resigned, met in Cuijk and decided to do something for their East Indies comrades at their return from the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia).

So the Bond (league) Oud-Stoters (BOS) was born.

The BOS developed very rapidly. Divisions were founded everywhere in the country. The BOS even had it's own fulltime professional office at the Verwerstraat 24 in 's Hertogenbosch, from where all activities were coordinated. This culminated between 1948 and 1951, as the battalions returned from Indonesia in: labor exchange, financial aid, etc. But the peak was the building of 279 'BOS'-houses for the returning 'Stoters'.
Later, when everyone had found his place in society, the activities decreased.

Then, the second "S" was added. The BOS became the Bond (league) of Oud-Stoottroepers and Stoottroepers: the BOSS. The ties with the Regiment turned out to be so firm, that even professional soldiers and conscripts decided to become a member of the BOSS.

One of the (unique) characteristics of the BOSS is that it is an all-ranks league: corporal and general are equal members.

The BOSS is now a Dutch national union with 16 divisions (kringen) and 2,400 members.