The Gambia Armed Forces, also known as the Armed Forces of The Gambia, consists of three branches: the Gambia National Army (GNA), the Gambia Navy, and the Republican National Guard (RNG). It formerly included the Gambia National Gendarmerie (GNG) from the 1980s to 1996, when they were moved under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. The commander-in-chief is the president of the Gambia who is currently Adama Barrow, whereas practical control is exercised by the Chief of the Defence Staff who is currently Lieutenant General Yankuba Drammeh.
History and formation
Independence to the coup d'etat (1965–1981) At independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, defence and security in The Gambia was the responsibility of the Field Force. The Field Force was a paramilitary unit of the police, consisting of roughly 140 men at independence and rising to around 500 in 1980. It has been formed in 1958 following the disbandment of the Gambia Regiment, part of the British Army. There was little concern about security in The Gambia due to its small size and the safety provided by being totally surrounded by Senegal, with which it had signed a mutual defence pact in 1965.
This lax attitude to defense changed following the 1981 coup d'etat. Executed by members of the Field Force and led by radical leftist politician Kukoi Samba Sanyang, the rebels took advantage of President Dawda Jawara being out of the country to execute a coup d'etat. Having broken into the Field Force armory, the rebels proceeded to release all the prisoners from Mile Two Prison, distributing weapons to those they felt were on their side. The rebels held Jawara's wife and children hostage, one of several acts that undermined public support for the coup. As the remaining members of the Field Force opted to remain neutral, Jawara asked for Senegal to intervene. They sent hundreds of soldiers into The Gambia, including airborne and sea assault units. The rebels were defeated four days after the coup began, having cost the lives of 33 Senegalese soldiers and an estimated 500 Gambians, many of whom were innocent civilians.
Senegambia Confederation (1981–1989) A few months following the coup, the Kaur Declaration was signed, which created the Senegambia Confederation. A necessary element of this was the formation of a Gambian military, which came into existence following the Gambia Armed Forces Act 1985. Jawara emphasized that the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) should be kept "as small as possible". Initially, it consisted of the Gambia National Army (GNA) and the Gambia National Gendarmerie (GNG). The GNA was composed of new recruits and remnants of the Field Force and was trained by a British Army Training Team (BATT). The GNG was composed of new recruits trained by the Senegalese Gendarmerie, on French lines. The Kaur Agreement also created the Confederal Army, which was two-thirds Senegalese and one-third Gambian, able to deploy anywhere in the Confederation.
Gambian soldiers that formed part of the Confederal Army were paid significantly more than Gambian soldiers in the GAF, which created a feeling of resentment. There were also accusations of widespread corruption and nepotism in the selection process for Gambian Confederal troops from the ranks of the GAF. Gambian soldiers were considered junior to their Senegalese counterparts, and Senegal also contributed far more resources and soldiers to the confederation. Senegalese soldiers were given the key tasks of guarding Banjul airport, the port, and the Gambian president. The confederation collapsed in 1989 over a dispute regarding the rotation of the Confederal presidency. In August, Senegal suddenly removed 300 Senegalese troops from The Gambia without warning, forcing the GAF to make up the difference.
Increasing discontent (1990–1994) In 1990, ECOWAS despatched troops to Liberia as part of the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). In August, 105 Gambian soldiers deployed to Monrovia, alongside Ghanaian, Nigerian, Guinean, and Sierra Leonean troops. Some in The Gambia questioned the goal of the mission and others doubted the military's readiness to participate. During the first deployment, two Gambian soldiers, Corporal Modou Bojang and Private Sama Jawo were killed. This contingent arrived home on 13 April 1991. Two months later, soldiers from the unit mutinied and went on a protest march to the State House, over claims they were owed money from their deployment. Jawara agreed to meet them, paying them the money and promising to look into their other requests. Immediately following the mutiny, the commanding officer (CO) of the GNA, Colonel Momodou Ndow Njie, was dismissed.
