Active 1977–present | Website www.gov.bw | |
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Size Active; c. 9,000 regular Part of Ministry of Defence, Justice, and Security | ||
The Botswana Ground Force is the army of the country of Botswana, and the land component of the Botswana Defence Force.
Contents
History
The Botswana Defence Force was raised in April 1977 by an Act of Parliament called the 'BDF Act NO 13 of 1977. At its formation, Lieutenant General Mompati Merafhe (now retired and Vice President of the Republic of Botswana) became its first Commander. The current President of the Republic of Botswana, Lieutenant General Seretse Khama Ian Khama, then Brigadier, was the Deputy Commander. Unusually for an African military force, and chiefly attributable to its being founded after Botswana's independence, the Botswana Ground Force was not formed from colonial units formed by a colonising power, but rather were formed from the remains of the Botswana Mounted Police Unit, previously known as the Bechuanaland Mounted Police, a unit of the British South Africa Police.
The contemporary roles of the Defence Force are broad for a conventional military, suggesting that the government of Botswana and the BDF subscribe to a wide view of ‘security’ and consider the Defence Force an appropriate agency for attaining much of it, an issue that has been discussed even in the BDF’s own internal media. It is expected that the BDF in general is meant to be an apolitical instrument of the state.
The current stated mission of the Botswana Ground Force is:
To defend the country and provide for the security of Botswana, participate in external security cooperation activities, and contribute in domestic support operations, with the aim of:
Structure and organisation
The commander-in-chief of the BGF is Ian Khama, the current President of Botswana. Answering to him are the Minister of Defence, Justice, and Security, Dikgakgamatso Seretse, and the Defence Council, and the Commander of the Botswana Defence Force, Lieutenant General Tebogo Masire.
The various units of the Botswana Ground Force are as follows:
Ranks and insignia
The BGF and the Botswana Air Force maintain the same rank system, which is loosely based on British or Commonwealth rank systems. The ranks are as follows:
Enlisted:
Officers:
Equipment and vehicles
The BDF uses a wide array of modern weapons and vehicles. Its suppliers are Russia and Western nations, including Israel, Switzerland, the United States, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Belgium, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Handguns
Assault rifles
Submachine guns
Machine guns
Anti materiel rifle
Armoured vehicles
Note: 54 Leopard 1A3 tanks were apparently under negotiation for purchase from the Netherlands in 1996, but the deal never went through and no tanks were delivered. Ministry of Defence of Botswana has recently ordered 45 Piranha 8×8 armoured vehicles made by General Dynamics Switzerland.