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Angola Conditions of Service, Ranks, and Military Justice
![[PDF]](http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/pdf.gif)
Figure 15. Military Ranks and Insignia, 1988
It was difficult to gauge the conditions of service and
morale
among FAPLA troops. Little public information was
available in the
late 1980s, and much of what existed was propagandistic.
Nonetheless, service did seem difficult. Conscription was
intensive
in government-controlled areas, and the spread of the
insurgency
undermined security everywhere. The constant infusion of
raw
recruits, the rapid growth of FAPLA, the increasing scope
and
intensity of military operations, and escalating
casualties imposed
substantial personal and institutional hardships. The
continued
dependence on foreign technicians and advisers, many of
whom were
not deployed in combat zones, had adverse consequences for
operations and morale.
Pay and living conditions in garrison were probably
adequate
but not particularly attractive; in the field, amenities
were
either sparse or lacking altogether. The expansion of
quarters and
facilities for troops did not keep pace with the rapid
growth of
FAPLA, especially in the late 1980s. There were periodic
reports of
ill-equipped and poorly trained soldiers, as well as
breakdowns in
administration and services. But given the lack of
alternative
employment in the war-torn economy, military service at
least
provided many Angolans with short-term opportunities.
UNITA
frequently reported incidents of flight to avoid
government
conscription; demoralization among FAPLA troops from high
casualties and deteriorating conditions of service; and
battlefield
desertions, mutinies, and revolts among FAPLA units. These
reports
became more frequent during annual FAPLA offensives
against UNITA
strongholds after 1985.
In early December 1986, the People's Assembly approved
new
military ranks for the three military services,
differentiating
those of the army and air force from the navy. FAPLA and
FAPA/DAA
were authorized to establish the ranks (in descending
order) of
general, colonel general, major general, and lieutenant
general.
The MGPA was to have the ranks of admiral, vice admiral,
and rear
admiral; the ranks of colonel, lieutenant colonel, and
major were
replaced by captain, commander, and lieutenant commander,
respectively. Future navy second lieutenants would be
given rank
equivalent to that of their counterparts in the army and
air force.
Later that month, President dos Santos received the rank
of general
as commander in chief of the armed forces, the minister of
defense
was appointed colonel general, and ten other senior
military
officers were promoted to newly established higher ranks
(see
fig. 15).
Little information was available on the military
justice
system. Military tribunals were created in each military
region,
and a higher court, the Armed Forces Military Tribunal,
served as
a military court of appeal. Some observers inferred from
the
criminal justice system and the prevalent wartime
conditions,
however, that Angolan military justice was harsh, if not
arbitrary
(see Crime and Punishment
, this ch.).
Data as of February 1989
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