|
Ghana ARMED FORCES' MISSION, ORGANIZATION, AND STRENGTH
Since independence, the armed forces' mission has been twofold:
to protect Ghana's territorial integrity from foreign aggression,
and to maintain internal security. In the mid-1990s, ground forces
held the dominant role in the defense establishment. In terms of
organization, the military is composed of the army and its
subordinate air and naval elements, numbering in all 6,850 active
duty personnel in 1994. The military command structure extends from
the minister of defense in the national government to commanders in
the field. Military units are deployed in the capital, Accra, and
in Ghana's border regions. The 5,000-member Ghanaian army, which
has an eastern and a western command, is organized into two
brigades, with six infantry battalions; one reconnaissance
regiment, with two reconnaissance squadrons; one airborne force,
with one paratroop company; one artillery regiment; and one field
engineer regiment.
Military equipment consists predominantly of older weapons of
British, Brazilian, Swiss, Swedish, Israeli, and Finnish origin.
Servicing of all types of equipment has been extremely poor,
largely because of inadequate maintenance capabilities. As a
result, foreign military advisers or technicians perform all major
maintenance tasks. Included in the Ghanaian inventory are FV-601
Saladin and EE-9 Cascavel reconnaissance vehicles; MOWAG Piranha
armored personnel carriers; 81mm and 120mm mortars; 84mm recoilless
launchers; and 14.5mm ZPU-4 and 23mm ZU-23-2 air defense guns.
The 1,000-member Ghanaian Air Force consists of one
counterinsurgency squadron equipped with MB-326K and MB-339
aircraft; three transport squadrons equipped with F-27 and F-28
Fokkers, a C-212 Aviocar, and Skyvan aircraft; and one training
squadron equipped with MB-326F, Bulldog, and L-29 Delfin aircraft.
The air force also has Bell, Mi-2 Hoplite, and SA-319 helicopters.
It operates from bases in Accra (headquarters and main transport
base), Tamale (combat and training base), Takoradi (training base),
and Kumasi (support base). The air force's mission is to perform
counterinsurgency operations and to provide logistical support to
the army. Since independence, performance has been hindered by a
lack of spare parts and by poor maintenance capabilities. On
September 18, 1987, Air Force Commander J.E.A. Kotei announced
plans to begin internal passenger service to supplement the efforts
of Ghana Airways. Under this program, the government authorized the
transformation of Tamale airport into a civil-military airport.
Ghana's navy, which lacks marines or naval aviation assets,
provides coastal defense, fisheries protection, and security on
Lake Volta. During World War II, the Gold Coast Volunteer Naval
Force, which had been established in 1936, provided sea patrols and
conducted mine-detection and neutralization operations along the
coast. In 1959 the Ghanaian government established a true navy and
assigned a former Royal Navy officer the duties of chief of staff
with the rank of commodore. In 1961 a Ghanaian army brigadier
replaced the British commodore. On July 14, 1989, the navy
recommissioned two ships, GNS Yogag and GNS Dzat, at
the western naval base in Sekondi. The vessels had been refurbished
by a British shipyard, Swan Hunter. In 1994 the navy was organized
into an eastern command, with headquarters at Tema, and a western
command, with headquarters at Sekondi. The naval inventory includes
two Kromantse-class corvettes and two Achimote-class and two
Dazata-class fast attack craft.
The Ghanaian navy has experienced low readiness rates because
of spare parts shortages. In the late 1980s and early 1990s,
budgetary constraints and a lack of serviceable equipment forced
the navy to shrink its manpower from about 1,200 to approximately
850 personnel. Nevertheless, in 1990 Ghana's navy deployed some of
its ships to support the Economic Community of West African States
Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) mission in Liberia. In late 1992, two of
the navy's ships were in France for refitting.
Paramilitary forces consist of the 5,000-member People's
Militia, which serves as a home guard force and is responsible for
preventing and controlling civil disturbances and insurrection. A
small, elite Presidential Guard consisting of one infantry
battalion provides security for the president. The Ghanaian
government also has created a National Civil Defence Force (also
known as the Committees for the Defence of the Revolution), which
includes all citizens able to perform military service. According
to the country's defense plans, the National Civil Defence Force
would be required to guard important installations in times of
crisis to relieve pressure on the regular armed forces.
Data as of November 1994
|
