Gambia Armed Forces
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Military strength by person | |||
Military age | 18 years of age | ||
available military capable population * | total (men; ages 18–49: 311,025 women: ages 18–49: 316,214 (2005; estimate)) | ||
available population fit for military service * | total (men: ages 18–49: 183,057 women: ages 18–49: 194,551 (2005; estimate)) | ||
active staff | 800 | ||
Defense spending | |||
Budget (2006) | about 1.662 million US dollars | ||
percentage of GNP (2006): | 0.5% |
The Gambia Armed Forces ( GAF , German Gambian Armed Forces ), which have existed in their current form since the constitution was changed in 1996 , are the approximately 800 men (1900 according to other sources) military of the West African state of Gambia . They belong to the Gambian Ministry of Defense ( Ministry of Defense ) that the Office of the President , shall be the order Commander of the Armed Forces ( Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces is). There is no conscription .
support
The Gambian armed forces received training and technical assistance, initially up to the coup of 1994, from British and later from Nigerian military. But the United States , China and Turkey also worked with the Gambian armed forces.
After 1994 the GAF worked with the military in Turkey and Libya .
Structure and equipment
Gambia Armed Forces is divided into:
- The land forces ( Gambia National Army , GNA):
- Two infantry - battalions (infantry battalion)
- A pioneer - Company (engineers' squadron)
-
Gambia National Guard (GNG)
- The Gambia National Guard also includes the Presidential Guard ( bodyguards of the President).
- The Navy ( Gambia Navy , GN):
- This unit consists of 70 men and operates with four patrol boats in coastal waters of the 80 km long coast.
- The Air Force ( Gambia Air Wing , GAW):
- This unit operates a Soviet Sukhoi Su-25 "Frogfoot" , this attack aircraft originally comes from Georgia .
The ranks in the National Army
The ranks in the army:
- Team ranks :
- NCO ranks :
- Officer Corps :
- Generality :
budget
year | Expenditures in US dollars |
Expenditure in% or on GDP |
---|---|---|
1994 | 14 million (FY93 / 94) | |
1997 | 1.2 million (FY96 / 97) | 2% (FY96 / 97) |
2000 | 2.6 million (2001 est.) | |
2001 | 1.2 million | 0.3% |
2002 | 1.2 million | 0.3% |
2003 | 0.9 million | 0.3% |
2004 | 1 million | 0.3% |
2005 | 1.55 million | 0.4% |
2006 | 1.8448 million | 0.5% |
The share of government spending on defense is 0.5 percent of the gross domestic product (2006 estimate). This makes the Gambia one of the countries with the lowest military spending in the world.
history
At first, when independence from the United Kingdom was retained , an expensive professional army was foregone because the Gambian- Senegalese defense agreement of 1965 enabled Senegalese troops to provide assistance. There was only a 750-strong police force and half that number of field force .
The defense agreement was also used in the averted coup on July 30, 1981. Subsequently, the paramilitary field force , which was partly involved in the coup, was disbanded and Gambia and Senegal signed a treaty which, among other things, provided for the unification of the armed forces in the Senegambia Confederation . The Gambia built a small army of initially 200 men, which includes army , navy and air force . There was also a 700-strong military police .
The confederation existed until September 30, 1989, when Gambia left the confederation. Senegalese troops had previously been withdrawn from Gambia.
In Liberia , Gambia is involved in an ECOWAS peacekeeping force led by the West African Economic Community (ECOWAS) . When the Gambian soldiers returned from the Liberian civil war , there were violent protests over outstanding frontline allowances . The army commander resigned because of the protests and a Nigerian was appointed as his successor. A bilateral defense agreement was signed with Nigeria in early 1992.
On July 22, 1994, soldiers returning from service in Nigeria again demanded their frontline allowances. They were disarmed at the airport by their Nigerian officers , who were ready to receive President Dawda Jawaras . In Banjul , protests by the soldiers followed, they occupied the telecommunications center, the airport and other strategically important points. The 29-year-old Lieutenant Yahya Jammeh, head of the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC), dismissed Jawara and the rebels paralyzed all political activities. Jammeh declared himself President of the Republic.
The separate unit of the Gambia National Gendarmerie (GNG), sometimes called the Tactical Support Unit , was merged with the other units following the coup in 1994.
Calls
Parts of the armed forces have participated in numerous peace operations. For example, they were involved in the ECOWAS Monitoring Group and the AU- led African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS).
Further participation in foreign assignments:
- United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE)
- United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)
- United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)
- United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI)
Personalities
Chief of Defense Staff ( Chief of Defense Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces, CDS )
Term of office | Official | annotation |
---|---|---|
1999 to 2004 | Colonel Baboucarr Jatta | |
2004 | Vincent Jatta | |
from 2004 to? | Lieutenant Colonel Assan Sarr | |
from? until 2006 | Lieutenant Colonel Ndure Cham | |
from 2006 to 2009 | Major General Lang Tombong Tamba | |
from 2009 to 2012 | Lieutenant General Masaneh Kinteh | |
from July 2012 to 2017 | Lieutenant General Ousman Badjie | |
from February 2017 to March 2020 | Lieutenant General Masaneh Kinteh | |
from March 2020 | Major General Yankuba Drammeh |
Other personalities of the Gambian armed forces
- Yankuba Drammeh , Deputy Chief of Defense Staff of the Gambia Armed Forces (2017)
- Ramatoulie DK Sanneh , first female officer in the general rank . On May 11, 2011, she was raised from Colonel to Brigadier General .
Sports
The Armed Forces Football Club is also represented in the highest Gambian football class, the GFA League First Division . You won the championship in the 2002/03 season.
literature
- Arnold Hughes, Harry A. Gailey: Historical dictionary of the Gambia (= African historical dictionaries. Vol. 79). Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD et al. a. 1999, ISBN 0-8108-3660-2
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e CIA World Factbook: Military section from the article on Gambia. September 30, 2007
- ^ A b c d e Arnold Hughes, Harry A. Gailey: Historical dictionary of the Gambia (= African historical dictionaries. Vol. 79). 3rd edition. Scarecrow Press, Lanham MD et al. a. 1999, ISBN 0-8108-3660-2
- ↑ Backgrounds: Gambia Defense ( Memento of the original from December 3, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. www.ncbuy.com Accessed September 30, 2007
- ^ Republic of the Gambia: Office of the President . on www.qanet.gm (English), accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ A photo of the Gambian Sukhoi Su-25, accessed September 30, 2007
- ↑ Su-25KM Scorpion Frogfoot A, accessed September 30, 2007
- ^ Gambia National Army / Gambia National Army. In: uniforminsignia.org. Retrieved February 9, 2017 (UK English).
- ↑ Ilona Hupe: Gambia. Small vacation paradise in West Africa. With trips to Senegal. The sophisticated companion for your trip to Gambia. Travel guide with current tips and information. 2nd updated edition. Hupe, Munich 1999, ISBN 3-932084-19-5
- ↑ a b Rosel Jahn: Gambia. Travel guide with regional studies. With a travel atlas (= Mai's Weltführer. Vol. 29). Mai, Dreieich 1997, ISBN 3-87936-239-4
- ↑ The Evolution and Conduct of ECOMOG Operations in West Africa ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Mitikishe Maxwell Khobe
- ^ Jojo Cobbinah: Senegal, Gambia. Practical guide to the western tip of Africa. 3rd, updated, revised edition. Meyer, Frankfurt am Main 2001, ISBN 3-89859-103-4
- ↑ Gambia's FIRST FEMALE ARMY GENERAL DECORATED ( Memento of the original from December 19, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. The Daily Observer (online) May 12, 2011