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Madagascar Training and Morale
Prior to independence, the French conducted all
military
training. In 1966 the Malagasy government, with French
assistance, established the Military Academy (Académie
Militaire)
at Antsirabe. This school trains officers for the armed
forces,
the National Gendarmerie, and the Civil Service. In 1967
the
first students enrolled in a three-year program that
included
courses in military and civic affairs. Students specialize
in
letters or sciences. A few foreign officers, usually from
francophone African countries, also study at the Military
Academy.
The May 1972 student strikes affected the Military
Academy,
which temporarily suspended examinations after students
complained about the curriculum. Over the next several
weeks,
academy officials agreed to appoint a committee to review
the
possibility of modernizing course material, examinations,
entry
requirements, and general educational policies.
In addition to training officers at the Military
Academy, the
Malagasy government annually selects a small number of
officer
candidates to attend the French Military Academy at St.
Cyr.
Also, until military relations were severed in the
mid-1970s,
Malagasy and French units participated in joint annual
exercises.
During the Cold War, hundreds, if not thousands, of FAP
personnel received military training from several East
European
countries, including the former Soviet Union, the former
GDR,
Cuba, and the Korean Democratic Republic (North Korea).
Beginning
in the mid-1980s, France resumed training limited numbers
of
Malagasy military personnel. Additionally, the United
States
started an International Military Education and Training
(IMET)
program that sought to enhance the FAP's professional
skills and
reduce dependency on East European countries. By the early
1990s,
the United States had expanded the IMET program to include
management and technical training with emphasis on
construction
engineering skills and medical courses.
Historically, morale in the armed forces has been
generally
good, if for no other reason than the military provides
job
security in a country plagued by high unemployment.
However, many
côtiers who have been conscripted to serve in the
ranks
resent the lack of opportunity and the Merina domination
of the
officer corps. Also, with the decline of foreign military
assistance since the end of the Cold War, poor morale has
become
a problem in many FAP units.
Data as of August 1994
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