Armed Forces of Ghana

Military of Ghana
Troop strength
Minimum seniority	18 years (2002)
Availability	Men between 15 and 49: 5,045,355 (2002)
Annual entry into seniority	Men: 213,237 (2002)
Active staff	11,637 ( Rank 120 )
Military issues
Total expenditure	$ 84.3 million ( Rank 114 )
Percent of government spending	Five percent

The armed forces of Ghana ( English Ghana Armed Forces ) are the armed forces of the Republic of Ghana with a total strength of 11,637 military members. According to another source, however, the total strength of the Ghanaian armed forces has been reduced to a total of 7,000 members since the mid-1990s, which would also reflect today's personnel strength. The armed forces of Ghana consist of the Army , Navy , Air Force , National Police Force , Presidential Guard and Civil Defense. The Ministry of Defense and Central Headquarters are based in Accra .

history

During the five decades of Ghana's independence, the Ghanaian military has repeatedly seized power through military coups. By the end of Jerry Rawlings' presidency , the military played a far more important role than other law enforcement agencies, such as the police. Today the military is hardly of any importance and the police force has grown significantly.

The weapons of the Ghanaian troops are older models, mainly of British origin. The government spending on the military are very low, which is noticeable even to the equipment.

The military leadership

Ghana's military leadership
time	Armed forces, total strength of commander in chief	Chief of Staff (Chief of Defense Staff )	Land strength commander	Sea strength commander	Air strength commander	paramilit. Units of strength
December 1972	18,600 Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong	Brigadier NYR Ashley-Larsen	16,500 Colonel Emmanuel O. Erskine	1,000 Navy Commodore PF Quaye	1,100 Brigadier C. Beausoleil	3,000
April 1976	15,450 General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong	Major General LA Okai	13,000 Brigadier Fred Akuffo	1,200 Commodore CK Djan	1,250 Brigadier C. Beausoleil	2,250
1976/ 1977	17,700 General Ignatius Kutu Acheampong	Lieutenant General Fred Akuffo	15,000 Major General Robert Kotei	1,300 Rear Admiral CK Dzang (Djan?)	1,400 Major General GY Boakye	3,000
July 1980	17,450 Hilla Limann	Major General E. Sam	14,700 Brigadiers IM Amoh	1,200 Navy Commodore S. Obimpeh	1,550 Air Commodore JE Barnoh	4,000
July 1982	14,600 Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	12,000 Brigadier Arnold Quainoo	1,200 ?	1,400 ?	5,000
July 1986	11,200 Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	9,000 Major General Arnold Quainoo	1,200 ?	1,000 ?	5,000
June 1991	11,900 Air Vice-Marshal Achilles HK Dumashie	Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	10,000 ?	1,100 Captain Tom Annan	800 Air Commodore JA Bruce	5,000
June 1993	6,850 flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	Air Marshal Achilles HK Dumashie	5,000 ?	850 Navy Commodore Tom K. Annan	1,000 Air Vice-Marshal JA Bruce	5,000
August 1998	7,000 Flight Lieutenant Jerry John Rawlings	Lieutenant General BK Akafia	5,000 Major General JH Smith	1,000 Rear Admiral Osei Owuso-Ansah	1,000 Air Vice-Marshal JA Bruce	?
August 2003	7,000 John Agyekum Kufuor	Lieutenant General Seth Kofi Obeng	5,000 Major General Clayton Naa Buanusah Yaache	1,000 Rear Adm. John Kodzo Gbenah	1,000 Air Commodore Eduard Apau Mantey	?
August 2004	7,000 John Agyekum Kufuor	Brigade General JB Danquah	5,000 Major General SA Odotei	1,000 Rear Admiral ARS Nunoo	1,000 Air Vice-Marshal JO Boateng	?

Land Forces

Structure of the land forces

In March 2000 the command of the Ghana's land forces was reorganized and divided into a north and a south command . The army of Ghana currently comprises 5,000 men and is divided into the following units:

• Headquarters ( Accra )
  • Northern Command ( Kumasi )
    • 3rd light infantry battalion
    • 4th light infantry battalion
    • 6th light infantry battalion
    • Paratrooper Battalion
    • 2nd armored reconnaissance company
    • Support units
  • Southern Command (Accra)
    • 1st light infantry battalion
    • 2nd light infantry battalion
    • 5th light infantry battalion
    • 64th Infantry Battalion ( Rapid Reaction Force )
    • armored reconnaissance regiment
    • 66th Artillery Regiment
    • 48th Engineer Regiment
    • Support units

The forces are equipped with 50 armored type mowag piranha , mortars of caliber 81 mm to 120 mm and antitank hand weapons of type Carl Gustav recoilless rifle and RPG-7 .

Air Force

Ghanaian Air Force Ghana Air Force (GAF)
Flag of the Ghanaian Air Force
Lineup	July 24, 1959
Country	Ghana
Type	Armed forces ( air force )
Strength	1,000
headquarters	Accara
insignia
Aircraft cockade

Ghana Air Force Hondu aircraft over Accra on March 6, 2011

A special command of the Ghana Air Force in front of a Mil Mi-17 helicopter in Accra on August 21, 2013

The Ghanaian Air Force ( English : Ghana Air Force , abbreviated GAF ) has its headquarters and a main supply base in Accara. This unit has a strength of approx. 1,000 men. There is a training and combat base in Tamale , a training base in Takoradi and a supply base in Kumasi .

Planes

Status: end of 2013 and beginning of 2017

Aircraft	origin	use	version	active	Ordered	Remarks
Hondu K-8 Karakorum	People's Republic of China / Pakistan	Light ground attack aircraft training aircraft		4th	2
Diamond DA42 Twin Star	Austria	Reconnaissance aircraft training aircraft		2 3
CASA C-295 Persuader	Spain	Transport plane		2	2
Fokker F-27 Friendship	Netherlands	Transport plane		1
Embraer EMB 314 Super Tucano	Brazil	Local support aircraft		9

helicopter

Status: end of 2013

Aircraft	origin	use	version	active	Ordered	Remarks
Mil Wed-8	Russia	Multipurpose helicopter	Mil Mi-17 Hip-H	7th	6th
Agusta A109	Italy	Light multipurpose helicopter		2
Bell 412	United States	Light multipurpose helicopter		1
Aérospatiale SA.319 Alouette III	France	Light multipurpose helicopter	SA.316B	4th

Naval forces

Ghanaian patrol boats

The naval units protect the inland waters ( Volta Sea ) as well as the fishing interests and military zones in the Atlantic . The navy currently has a troop strength of approx. 1,000 men in 2003 . In March 2000, the management level of the Ghanaian Navy was reorganized and divided into an East and West command.

List of commanders in the Ghanaian Navy

No.	Surname	Beginning of the term of office	Term expires	Remarks
19th	Rear Admiral Geoffery Mawuli Biekro	April 2013	-	-
18th	Rear Admiral Metthew Quashie	April 3, 2009	March 28, 2013	-
17th	Rear Admiral Arther Riby Sampa Nunoo	May 2005	April 3, 2009	-
16.	Rear Admiral John Kodozo Gbenah	March 2001	May 2004	-
15th	Vice Admiral EO Owusu-Ansah	October 1, 1996	March 2001	Post as commodore
14th	Rear Admiral Tom Annan	4th June 1990	September 30, 1996	Took post as sea captain
13.	Rear Admiral Benjamin Ohene-Kwapong	September 27, 1985	4th June 1990	Took post as sea captain
12.	Commodore JK Oppong	March 29, 1982	July 16, 1985	Took post as sea captain
11.	Sea captain JW Boateng	January 22, 1982	March 29, 1982	-
10.	Commodore Stephen Obimpeh	June 7, 1979	December 31, 1981	Took post as captain at sea
9.	Rear Admiral Joy Kobla Amedume	June 30, 1977	4th June 1979	-
8th.	Rear Admiral CK Dzang	July 31, 1975	June 29, 1977	Took a position as commodore
7th	Frigate Captain G. Bedu-Addo	3rd August 1974	July 30, 1975	-
6th	Sea captain CK Dzang	1st February 1973	3rd August 1974	-
5.	Rear Admiral Joy Kobla Amedume	May 16, 1972	January 31, 1973	-
4th	Commodore Philemon F. Quaye	April 1, 1968	May 15, 1972	-
3.	Air Vice Marshal Michael A. Otu	June 15, 1967	March 31, 1968	-
2.	Rear Admiral David Animle Hansen	September 25, 1962	5th June 1967	-
1.	Commodore DA Foreman	January 1959	June 1961	-

International peace missions

Troops have been requested in a large number of international peace missions. For example, in the following past peace missions and ongoing missions:

• United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) - (United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea )
• United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) - (United Nations Mission in Liberia )
• United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) - (United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone )
• Mission des Nations Unies pour l'organisation d'un référendum au Sahara occidental (MINURSO) - (United Nations mission for the referendum in Western Sahara)
• Mission de l'Organisation des Nations Unies en République Démocratique du Congo (MONUC) - (United Nations Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo )
• United Nations Operation in Burundi (ONUB) - (United Nations Mission in Burundi )
• United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (ONUCI) - (United Nations Mission in Ivory Coast)
• United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)
• United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) - (United Nations Mission in Kosovo)

The Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center (KAIPTC) was established near Accra and serves to train and train personnel for peacekeeping operations. Every year around 1000 people from the military, the police or the judiciary from Ghana and other West African countries are trained in the implementation of peace missions. Experienced forces from all over the world are active as speakers in peace missions. This peace center was opened in 2002 with the participation of the then Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schröder .

Web links

Commons : Ghana's Armed Forces  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (English)
• Armed forces overview of the Ghanaian armed forces. Archived from the original on April 21, 2014 ; accessed on March 23, 2020 . 

Individual evidence

1. ^ The World Defense Almanac 2006 . Mönch Publishing, Bonn 2006
2. ↑ ^{a b} Africa South of the Sahara (London), 3 (1973) 384; 6 (1976/1977) 387; 7 (1977/1978) 404 .; 8 (1978/1979) 428; 9 (1979/1980) 446; 11 (1981/1982) 468 .; 13 (1983/1984) 417; 17 (1988) 519; 22 (1993) 409; 24 (1995) 452f .; 29 (2000) 541; 30 (2001) 570; 34 (2005) 518; 35 (2006) 544
3. ↑ z. B. Border troops
4. ↑ World Air Forces 2014. (PDF; 3.9 MB) In: Flightglobal Insight. 2014, archived from the original on December 25, 2013 ; accessed on March 26, 2014 (English). 
5. ↑ Ghanaian defense spending to hit $ 213.8 million by 2021 , defenseweb.co.za, January 23, 2017
6. ↑ Malian Super Tucano deliveries moving forward , defenseweb.co.za, December 14, 2016
7. ↑ World Air Forces 2014. (PDF; 3.9 MB) In: Flightglobal Insight. 2014, archived from the original on December 25, 2013 ; accessed on March 26, 2014 (English).