Burkina Faso Armed Forces
The National Army was created on August 03, 1960, by Law No. 74-60 / AN. It was formed from the ashes of the French colonial army and was made up of officers, non-commissioned officers and non-commissioned members. At its birth, it was made up of the 1st Battalion of Upper Volta which was made up of 5 infantry companies, 2 in Bobo-Dioulasso and 3 in Ouagadougou. The transfer of command between the French and Voltaic military authorities took place on November 1, 1961. Since then, the anniversary of the National Armed Forces has been celebrated on November 1 each year.
While when the National Army was created, the Gendarmerie was taken into account because it had already existed on the ground since June 1939, the same was not true for the Air Force. Indeed the first embryo of this entity was created on November 25, 1965, five years after the creation of the National Army.
The year 1968 saw the creation of the 2nd Battalion of Upper Volta in Bobo-Dioulasso. As a result of the conflict with Mali in 1974, several garrisons were created.
A major restructuring took place in 1985 with the creation of:
six (06) Military Regions (RM);
six (06) Gendarmerie Groups (GG) (Dori, Ouahigouya, Dédougou, Bobo, Ouaga, Fada);
02 Air Regions (Ouagadougou and Bobo.
In 1994, it was decided to reduce the number of military soldiers (03). Thus, the creation of three (03) gendarmerie regions (RG) That the Military Regions namely:
Kaya for the 1st RM and RG;
Bobo-Dioulasso for the 2nd RM and RG;
Ouagadougou for the 3rd RM and RG.
Fondation 1961;
Branches Groupement central des armées, Armée de terre, Force aérienne du Burkina Faso, Gendarmerie
Brigade nationale des sapeurs pompiers;
Active 11,200 (Army 6,400, Air Force 600, Gendarmerie 4,200);
Budget 1,2 % BDP (2006);
Ref: defense.gov
Burkina Faso
Air Force
Burkina Faso
Army
Burkina Faso
National Gendarmerie
Burkina Faso
People Militia
Forces armées du Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso Air Force
Force Aérienne de Burkina Faso
The Air Force was founded in 1964 as the Escadrille de la République de Haute-Volta (EHV) or the Republic of Upper Volta Air Squadron, a subordinate unit of the Army. That year, a transient air support base was created with the assistance of the French Air Force. After acquiring an initial fleet of utility and transport aircraft, the squadron was attached to an inter-army support regiment. In 1970, the Escadrille was renamed the Force Aérienne de Haute-Volta, or FAHV, and in 1977 became an autonomous force. In October 1985, the Force Aérienne de Burkina Faso, or FABF, was officially inaugurated.
The EHV was initially formed with two Douglas C-47 Skytrain and three MH.1521M Broussard aircraft. These were later followed by two Alouette III SA.316 B helicopters, used mostly for liaison purposes, one twin-engined Aero Commander 500 light utility aircraft, two Hawker-Siddeley HS.748-2A twin turboprop transport aircraft, and two Nord 262 twin turboprop transport aircraft. Two escadrilles (squadrons) or sub-formations were created: the Escadrille de Transport (Transport Unit), and the Escadrille d'Hélicoptères (Helicopter Unit). Later, the Escadrille d'Entraînement (Training Unit) was added. All squadrons were initially based at Ouagadougou.
The national airspace is divided into 2 air regions
1st air region
Its capital is Ouagadougou. It operates the following sites on behalf of the transport squadron
Ouagadougou Air Base 511 (main) where the Burkina Faso Air Force (FABF) transport squadron is located
Ouahigouya aerodrome
Dori Airfield
Fada N'Gourma aerodrome
Koudougou aerodrome
2nd air region
Its capital is Bobo Dioulasso and it has under its supervision the following sites on behalf of the fighter squadron
Bobo Dioulasso Air Base 210 where the Burkina Faso Air Force (FABF) fighter squadron is located
Dédougou aerodrome
Ref. Wikipedia.
Equipment
missing link
L'Armée de Terre (LAT)
Burkina Faso Ground Force
The Army of Burkina Faso is a skeletonised force structure of some 5,800–6,000 officers and men, augmented by a conscript force or People's Militia of some 45,000 men and women. Unlike the police and security forces, the Army and the People's Militia are organised along Soviet/Chinese models and precepts. The Army is equipped with light wheeled armoured cars, some mounting cannon.
The International Institute for Strategic Studies estimated in 2011–12 that Burkina Faso had 6,400 personnel in L'Armée de Terre in three military regions, one tank battalion (two tank platoons), five infantry regiments that may be under-strength, and an airborne regiment. Artillery and engineer battalions are also listed.
In recent years, the United States has begun providing military assistance and training to Burkina Faso's ground forces. It has trained three 750-man battalions for peace support operations in Darfur. During a recent UN inspection, a U.S. Department of Defense evaluation team found Burkina's Laafi battalion fit to deploy to Sudan. Using a small Department of Defense International Military Education and Training (IMET) budget, the U.S. Embassy has established English-language courses at an LAT military base, and has brought LAT officers to attend officer basic training courses in the U.S. The government of Burkina Faso has also accepted additional U.S. training assistance in counter-terrorism tactics and humanitarian assistance. Burkina Faso has recently become a member of the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP).
Three years of increasingly frequent and deadly attacks, by various jihadist groups, prompted the replacement of the Army Chief of Staff, Sadou Oumarou, appointed three years ago with the same mandate, with General Moise Minoungou on 6 January 2019.
1st military region
10th Command, Support and Support Regiment (10th RCAS) based in Kaya
11th Commando Infantry Regiment (11th RIC) based in Dori
12th Commando Infantry Regiment (12th RIC) based in Ouahigouya
Artillery Regiment (RA) stationed in Kaya
2nd military region
20th Command, Support and Support Regiment (20th RCAS) based in Bobo Dioulasso
22nd Commando Infantry Regiment (22nd RIC) based in Gaoua
23rd Commando Infantry Regiment (23rd RIC) based in Dédougou
24e Régiment Interarmes (24e RIA) stationed at Bobo Dioulasso
25th Commando Parachute Regiment (25th RPC) based in Bobo Dioulasso
3rd military region
30th Command and Support Regiment (30th RCS) based at Camp 11-78 in Ouagadougou
31st Commando Infantry Regiment (31st RIC) based in Tenkodogo
34th Interarme Regiment (34th RIA) stationed at Fada N'gourma
Old units
Presidential Security Regiment (RSP) based at Camp Naaba Koom II in Ouagadougou: dissolved on September 25, 2015 following a coup attempt.
Armored regiment (RB) based in Fada N'Gourma: dissolved in 2011 following mutinies
Parachute-commando regiment (RPC) of Dédougou: dissolved in 2011 following mutinies
21st Commando Infantry Regiment (21st RIC) of Bobo-Dioulasso: dissolved in 2011 following mutinies
32nd Commando Infantry Regiment (32nd RIC) of Fada N’Gourma: dissolved in 2011 following mutinies
Training Center for Airborne Troops (CITAP) based in Bobo Dioulasso: dissolved in 2011 following mutinies
Airborne Intervention Battalion (BIA) based in Koudougou dissolved in 1987 after Blaise Compaoré took power
Rapid Transport and Intervention Squadron (ETIR) based in Kamboinsé dissolved in 1987 after Blaise Compaoré took power
Central Armies Group
The elements of the central group of armies (GCA) are stationed in the military camps Guillaume Ouedraogo and Sangoulé Lamizana of Ouagadougou. However, there are detachments from other military regions. Within the GCA we find the following units:
Stewardship battalion
Equipment and train battalion
Battalion of strategic communications of the armies
Military Engineer Battalion
Health battalion
Command and Support Battalion
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National Gendarmerie
The National Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie Nationale) is the national gendarmerie force of Burkina Faso. It is one of the two national police forces, alongside the civilian National Police force.
The service is a branch of the Burkina Faso military acting under the authority of the Minister of Defence.
The National Gendarmerie is responsible for:
ensure the safety of people and property;
ensure the execution of laws and regulations;
maintain order, including abroad as part of the United Nations peacekeeping force.
In the event of a state of siege or war, it participates in the operational defense of the territory under the authority of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armies
The National Gendarmerie includes:
a staff which is the central organ of command and administration. It is headed by a chief of staff of the national gendarmerie (CEMGN). Various directorates are attached to it, as well as the operational center of the gendarmerie (COG) and the special intervention unit of the national gendarmerie.
3 Gendarmerie regions. Each gendarmerie region has authority over the departmental and mobile gendarmerie forces located on its territory:
1st Gendarmerie region with Kaya as command post and departmental groups located in Kaya, Ouahigouya and Dori;
2nd Gendarmerie region, which has its command post in Bobo-Dioulasso, its departmental groups in Bobo-Dioulasso, Dédougou and Gaoua and in which the gendarmerie training schools are based;
3rd Gendarmerie region, Ouagadougou command post and departmental groups in Ouagadougou, Fada N'Gourma and Tenkodogoe.
Like the French departmental gendarmerie, the Burkinabé departmental gendarmerie performs judicial police, administrative police and rural area surveillance missions. Each departmental group is divided into companies, which supervise the brigades, in direct contact with the population.
Like the French gendarmerie mobile, the gendarmerie mobile is responsible for maintaining order and complex operations. In 2019, it was made up of eight mobile gendarmerie squadrons (EGM) responsible for maintaining order, the security and intervention squadron (ESI) responsible for the security of personalities and interventions and the squadron of escort and honors (EEH), in charge of ceremonial receptions and with a brass band. EGMs are distributed in Ouagadougou (2 EGM, the 31st and 33rd EGM), in Bobo-Dioulasso (1 EGM), in Koudougou (1 EGM), in Ouahigouya (1 EGM), in Kaya (1 EGM), in Tenkodogo ( 1 EGM) and Fada N'Gourma (1 EGM).
Ref: Wikipedia; Wikiwand.
Gendarmerie Nationale
Equipment
People's Militia
Milice du Peuple
The People's Militia is a branch of the armed forces of Burkina Faso. It is a paramilitary militia, a part-time force of conscripted men and women between the age of 20 and 35, trained in both military and civil tasks[citation needed] and serving two years each. It numbers about 45,000 fighters, about 2.25% of the total population in the 20-35 age group.
The militia was formed by Captain Thomas Sankara, a radical left-wing revolutionary who came to power in a 1983 military coup, possibly with inspiration from the People’s Militia of Muammar Gaddafi's Libya and the Militia of Mao Zedong's China. The concept was to make the people itself the line of defence, rather than a professional army. The People's Militia was possibly connected to the Committees for the Defense of the Revolution.
Equipment