Botswana Defense Force

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Botswana Defense Force
guide
Commander in Chief : President of Botswana
( Mokgweetsi Masisi , since 2018)
Defense Minister: Shaw Kgathi
Military Commander: Placid Segokgo
Headquarters: Gaborone
Military strength
Active soldiers: 12,500 (2013)
Conscription: No
Eligibility for military service: 18th
Share of soldiers in the total population: 0.6%
household
Military budget: US $ 344 million (2011)
Share of gross domestic product : 2.0% (2013)
history
Founding: 1977
Highest manpower: 12,500

The Botswana Defense Force (BDF; German  Defense Force Botswana ) are the armed forces of Botswana . They took part in numerous missions abroad for peacekeeping .

history

prehistory

When Botswana gained independence in 1966, the new government decided not to set up an army; instead, a small unit of the military police , the Botswana Police Mobile Unit (PMU), was set up.

In December 1976 insurgents killed several clergymen in the Rhodesian Civil War . When units of the Rhodesian Security Forces led by Ian Smith attacked the headquarters of the “ Nkomo faction” of the South African ANC in Francistown in the same month , they also destroyed facilities belonging to Botswana residents living near the border. This military operation with border crossing was denied by a regional commander of Rhodesia. However, Botswana complained about this to the UN Security Council . The then Foreign Minister Archie Mogwe reported to the UN in January about the actual state of war in this border area and asked for international help. In the further course of 1977 there were further border crossings by refugees from Rhodesia, including over 1000 children and many young black Rhodesians who had previously supported Joshua Nkomo in their homeland . The latter mainly turned to the north of Botswana and went to military training camps of the ANC, to be later transported from there to Zambia . The government of Botswana had not given permission for such foreign activities and in early 1977 stationed a PMU unit to better control the Botswana-Rhodesian border. During this time there were numerous acts of sabotage and bomb explosions in Rhodesia, for which Rhodesian authorities blamed the intrusion of insurgents from Botswana. A special status under police control was established for the Botswana zone parallel to the border.

Foundation and expansion

In April 1977, based on the BDF Act No. 13 of 1977 the Botswana Defense Force . However, the conflicts continued. In May, according to the Rhodesian Combined Operations Command, alleged guerrilla fighters were persecuted as far as Botswana territory, whereby contact with the neighboring armed forces was made, but without being involved in combat operations. In 1978 there was the Lesoma Ambush, in which 15 Botswana soldiers were killed by fighters of the Rhodesian Security Forces , and in 1985 a commando of the South African Defense Force attacked Gaborone with twelve dead. In 1986 the BDF had a manpower of 3,000 and a small air force . In 1992 the manpower had risen to 7,000. The BDF received around 16 percent of the state budget, mainly to expand the air force, which cost around 250 million US dollars . In the mid-1990s, Botswana claimed the Sedudu river island in the Chobe , which is a few square kilometers when the water level is low and which was also claimed by Namibia. As a result, Namibia also increased its arms spending. In 1999, three soldiers died in a helicopter crash, including the brother of the then president. In 2004 the BDF had grown to 12,000 people.

The BDF participated in numerous peacekeeping and peacekeeping measures in Africa.

Article on the training of Botswana soldiers by soldiers of the US Army Special Forces Command (Airborne)

The USA, but also the United Kingdom, India, Canada and other states trained the Botswana officers.

organization

BDF Presidential Guard (2007)

The BDF has the following tasks:

  • Ensure national security and stability
  • Protection of people and their property
  • Protect the Constitution of Botswana to ensure the rule of law
  • Defending the territorial integrity of Botswana on land and in the air
  • Preservation of Botswana as a free, independent and sovereign state
  • Support of civil authorities in domestic relief operations
  • Strengthening Botswana's international relations by participating in regional and international security support measures

The BDF consists of the following units:

  • Ground Forces ( " ground forces "), with headquarters in Glen Valley at Gaborone
  • Air Arm (" Luftwaffe "), Headquarters Thebephatswe Air Base near Molepolole
  • Defense Logistics ( " Defense Logistics "), headquarters of Sir Seretse Khama Barracks in Gaborone

Minister of Defense, Justice and Security has been Shaw Kgathi ( Botswana Democratic Party ) since 2014 . There are also female officers in the BDF. There is no conscription .

The BDF has patrol boats to control the Okavango and Chobe rivers .

The Air Wing decreed after its founding 1977 twin-engine propeller aircraft of the type Islander , which were mainly used for border surveillance. Two Skyvan transport aircraft followed in 1979 , which were also replaced by two Aviocar in 1993 (two aircraft were subsequently procured in 2018 and 2019 after a crash in 2017). Two CN.235Ms had already been procured in 1988 and a total of three C-130 Hercules were delivered from the mid-1990s . There were also a few small aircraft and two HS 125 business jets , which were later replaced by Gulfstream IV and supplemented by a Global Express .

In 1990, seven Pilatus PC-7s replaced the six older Bulldogs as training aircraft. The first helicopters joined the fleet in 1985 when AS350BA Ecureuils were procured. Three years later, three Bell 412s were added and with nine to 13 Strikemaster aircraft from Kuwait and Kenya, the first jets made their way to the Air Arm. In 1996/1997 these were replaced by initially 13, later a total of 17 F-5A and F-5B from Canada.

Command structure

The president is the commander-in-chief. He is supported by the Defense Council (" Defense Council ") , which includes ministers, parliamentarians and the Commander ("Kommandeur"), the operational head of the army. He has a deputy commander . The three troops are also headed by a commander each .

Ranks

Soldiers are hired as Recruit / Private or Officer Cadet . The recruits can be promoted to force sergeant major , the officer career can lead to brigadier , major general or the highest rank lieutenant general .

Commanders of the BDF

Surname Beginning of the term of office Term expires
General Mompati Merafhe 1977 1989
General Ian Khama 1989 1998
General Mathswenyego-Louis Fisher 1998 2006
General Tebogo Masire 2006 2012
General Gaolathe Galebotswe 2012 2016
General Placid Segokgo 2016 in service

staff

In 2013 the strength of the BDF was around 12,500, including women.

Others

The BDF is also used in the fight against poaching . Suspects are shot without trial. In May 2015, three suspected Namibian poachers were killed by BDF soldiers.

The army's own sports club, Botswana Defense Force XI, was Botswana football champion seven times in the Botswana Premier League , most recently in 2004.

literature

  • Dan Henk: The Botswana Defense Force. In: African Security Review. Vol 13 No 4, 2004. Digitized

Web links

Commons : Botswana Defense Force  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d The BDF at defenceweb.co.za (English), accessed on July 13, 2015
  2. ↑ CIA Factbook, as of 2013 (English), accessed on July 13, 2015
  3. ^ A b c SAIRR : A Survey of Race Relations in South Africa 1977 . Johannesburg 1978, pp. 590-592
  4. ↑ resume ian Khama at gov.bw (English), accessed on July 13, 2015
  5. ^ A b c Fred Morton, Jeff Ramsay, Part Themba Mgadla: Historical Dictionary of Botswana. Scarecrow Press, Lanham, Maryland / Oxford 2008, ISBN 978-0-8108-6404-7 , p. 53. Excerpts from books.google.de
  6. ↑ Alex Vines: Of arms and islands: the Botswana Namibia cold war. ( Memento of March 3, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) In: Southern Africa Report Archive. Vol 12 No 1, 1996
  7. ↑ a b http://www.air-britain.com/botswana.pdf ( Memento from September 9, 2011 in the web archive archive.today ) BDF aircraft (English, PDF; 8.15 MB)
  8. ^ A b Dan Henk: The Botswana Defense Force. ( Memento from July 21, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) In: African Security Review. Vol 13 No 4, 2004
  9. ↑ Portrait of the brigade at sadc.int (English), accessed on July 13, 2015
  10. ↑ Tasks of the BDF (English), accessed on July 12, 2015
  11. ↑ Botswana acquires another C212 , defenseweb.co.za, April 18, 2019
  12. ↑ According to other information, 2500 Air Force members: http://www.defenceweb.co.za/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29364:botswana&catid=119:african-militaries&Itemid=255
  13. ↑ Command structure of the BDF at gov.bw (English), accessed on July 13, 2015
  14. ^ Ranks and badges ( memento from August 26, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) at gov.bw (English)
  15. ↑ Botswana, Namibia diplomatic row feared as BDF kills Namibian poachers. sundaystandard.info of May 24, 2015, accessed April 2, 2018
  16. ↑ List of Masters at rsssf.com, accessed on July 13, 2015