Military of Albania
Encyclopedia
{infobox national military
|country = Albania
|name = Albanian Armed Forces
|native_name = Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë
|image =
|caption = Emblem of Armed Forces
|founded = 1912
|current_form = 1992
|branches = Joint Support Command
Joint Forces Command
Training and Doctrine Command
|headquarters = Tirana
|flying_hours =
|commander-in-chief = Bamir Topi
|commander-in-chief_title= President
|minister = Arben Imami
|minister_title = Minister of Defense
|commander = Xhemal Gjunkshi
|commander_title =
|age = 19
|conscription =
|manpower_data =
|manpower_age =
|available = 1,857,591 (2010 est.)
After World War II, Albania became part of the Eastern Bloc
and a satellite country of the Soviet Union. The ranks and the structure of the Albanian Armed Forces were organized based on the Soviet concepts, thus increasing the political control of the State-Party over the Armed Forces.
Like all other branches of the state, the military was subjugated to Communist Party
control. All high-ranking military officers and most of the lower and middle ranks were members of the Communist Party—and had loyalties to it. The system was re-enforced by the establishment of Party cells within the military and extensive communist political education alongside soldiers’ military training, by the Commissars. To further increase its political control, the Albanian Communist Party enlarged the conscription system, thus enlisting in the Armed Forces personnel dedicated to the military career from the Albanian rural areas, a category of people easily manipulated and subjected to political brainwashing.
The State and Party went even further, starting from the 1st of May 1966, military ranks were abolished following the example of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
, heavily influenced by Maoism
during the years of the Cultural Revolution
, and thus adopting strategic concepts related to forms of guerilla war (Vietnam War
doctrine). The military were still organized during this period into their basic structure forms, but the role of the military commander was insignificant with respect to the commanding role of the political commissars. In 1991 the rank system was reestablished under President Ramiz Alia
.
During all these years, the Sigurimi
which was the Albanian secret service during that period and was formed upon the KGB
structure, was responsible for the execution, the imprisonment and deportation of more than 600 Officers from the Armed Forces, by completely neutralizing the Armed Forces ability to start a coup d'état. Initially the communist purge concentrated on the military personnel graduated by the Western Military Academies (mainly from Italy 1927–1939), extended later on to the officers graduated in Soviet Union (after the Albanian abandon of the Warsaw Pact
in 1961). As the communist regime collapsed in Albania during 1990, there was a real fear that the armed forces might intervene to halt the collapse of communism by force. In the event, the armed forces stood by as the regime of which they had been a part disintegrated. Further, during the civilian riots in 1997, the political attempts by the government to use the Armed Forces to crush the rebellion were soon demonstrated to be a failure, following a total disintegration of the Armed Forces and the looting of the military facilities by the civilian population.
The long communist purge, the elimination of the professional military leadership in years, and the dominion of a rural mentality in the Armed Forces were the corrosive factors which leaded to the disintegration of the Albanian Armed Forces in 1997.
) serving in Bosnia
(then EU mission ALTHEA), and Albanian peacekeepers are part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
, ISAF
and the international stabilization force in Iraq
. Albania has been a steadfast supporter of U.S. policy in Iraq, and one of only four nations to contribute troops to the combat phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2002, the Albanian armed forces, launched a 10-year reform program sponsored and supervised by the U.S. Defense Department in order to trim down and thoroughly modernize the standing force of the time of more than 30,000 troops. The same radical reform is being implemented on surplus equipment, including airplanes, tanks, helicopters, artillery
equipment, navy vessels, SALW and ammunition
. Albania started an ambitious destruction program. However, Albania is still dealing with a huge amount of surplus and obsolete ammunition, a direct result of the country's long isolation and ethnic tensions in the area. The Albanian Ministry of Defense estimates such quantity up to 85,000 tons, but it is expected to increase up to 104,000 tons due to the on-going downsizing process of the AAF. In March 2008 the problem of massive amounts of excess ammunition stockpiled in Albania became known to the public through the tragic consequences of the explosion of an ammunition depot (the 2008 Tirana explosions). It is worth noting that Albania's notoriously fractious politics have not obstructed any of the reforms undertaken by the Armed Forces.
In May 2003, Albania, Croatia
, and the Republic of Macedonia
with the direct support of the United States, created the Adriatic Charter
, modeled on the Baltic
Charter, as a mechanism for promoting regional cooperation to advance each country's NATO candidacy. In spite of strong European Union (EU) objections, Albania also signed in May 2003 a bilateral agreement with the U.S. on non-extradition of US citizens to the EU, based on Article 98 of the statute of International Criminal Court
. In 2004 US President George W. Bush
authorized the use of Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
program funds for projects in Albania, marking the first time such funds are used outside the former Soviet Union. With this funding the US assisted the Government of Albania with the destruction of a stockpile chemical warfare agents left over from the communist regime (Category 1, Total amount 16.7 tons). The final cost of the project was US$48 million and was officially completed on 10 July 2007.
On April 3, 2006, the final contract for the delivery of 12 Bölkow-Blom MBB BO-105 lightweight twin-engine multi-role helicopters to the Republic of Albania was signed in Tirana
between the Albanian Ministry of Defense and Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH. According to the Albanian Government, six of the BO-105 helicopters are designated for the Albanian Air Brigade, four for the Ministry of Interior and the remaining two for the Albanian Ministry of Health.
On 14 November 2006, the new structure of the Albanian Armed Forces was officially introduced with the sign of the President of the Republic. The new structure, based on the "Joint" concept, has three main Commands. The AL JFC (Albanian Joint Forces Command) includes the RRB Rapid Reaction Brigade (the RRB is basically a Mechanized Infantry Brigade), the Commando Regiment, the Albanian Navy Brigade, the Albanian Air Brigade and the Albanian Area Support Brigade. The Support Command provides support and logistical functions for the all army units and the Albanian Training and Doctrine Command which is the main educational and training provider for the Albanian Armed Forces. The final number of personnel will be 13,800 (including 2,000 civilians).
The Albanian Navy Brigade performs mainly Coast Guard duties, and recently the Albanian parliament has approved some amendments to the articles of the actual Law on the Coast Guard in Albania, in order to improve the necessary legal framework due to efforts at European Union-NATO integration.
Since February 2008, Albania participates officially in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean and received a NATO membership invitation on 3 April 2008.
Note The AAF has no reserve units, although it does maintain a reserve personnel roster of up to 10,000 personnel that can be called in if required to augment or fill active units.
|country = Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
|name = Albanian Armed Forces
|native_name = Forcat e Armatosura të Republikës së Shqipërisë
|image =
|caption = Emblem of Armed Forces
|founded = 1912
|current_form = 1992
|branches = Joint Support Command
Albanian Support Command
The Albanian Joint Support Command of the Albanian Military provides operational,logistical and support functions for the Albanian Land Forces, the Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Defense Forces.The Logistic Support Command is based in Tirana....
Joint Forces Command
Albanian Joint Forces Command
The Albanian Joint Forces Command, consists in the branch of the Albanian Armed Forces charged with protecting the territorial integrity of Albania...
Training and Doctrine Command
Albanian Training and Doctrine Command
The Albanian Training and Doctrine Command consists of the Albanian Defence Academy, the Skanderbeg Military University, the NCO "Tomson" Academy, the Basic Training Brigade, a consolidated Troops School, a Defence Analysis Center, and a Training Support Center.TRADOC focuses in:* Individual basic...
|headquarters = Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
|flying_hours =
|commander-in-chief = Bamir Topi
Bamir Topi
Bamir Myrteza Topi is the fifth and current President of Albania since 24 July 2007. He was also Honorary President of Albanian football club KF Tirana from 2005 to 2007.-Early life and public activities:...
|commander-in-chief_title= President
|minister = Arben Imami
Arben Imami
Arben Fahri Imami is an Albanian politician, the Minister of Defence.Imami was born in Tirana, and attended the High Institute of Arts of Tirana between 1977 and 1981. Later he was a professor at the Academy of Arts of Tirana...
|minister_title = Minister of Defense
|commander = Xhemal Gjunkshi
Xhemal Gjunkshi
-Sources:...
|commander_title =
|age = 19
|conscription =
|manpower_data =
|manpower_age =
|available = 1,857,591 (2010 est.)
Missions and duties
According to the Albanian Constitution, the Albanian Armed Forces are charged to:- Protect the territorial integrity of the country.
- Always be present in areas incurring menace.
- Assist the population in case of natural and industrial disasters and warn the dangers of military and non military nature.
- Protect the constitutional order as it is determined by law.
- Participate in international operations in composition of multinational forces.
Albanian participation in peacekeeping operations/missions
- Southeast European Brigade SEEBRIG – created in 1998 and consisting of AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
, BulgariaBulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
, CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, the Republic of MacedoniaRepublic of MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
, GreeceGreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, SloveniaSloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
and the United States. NATO has already declared the force fully operational. - EU Mission "ALTHEA" in Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
under German Command. (Completed. Albania maintains its actual presence with an EODEODEOD may refer to:* Explosive Ordnance Disposal, the disposal of bombs* End Of Day, a financial markets term* Evolve Or Die, A Political Party, started in Montana, with the beliefs that humanity must move forward or die out...
team of 12. - NATO/PfP led Mission ISAFISAFISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....
in AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
under Italian and Turkish Command. - Coalition Forces led – Iraqi Freedom under American command (Completed. Albania withdrew all its troops from IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
on 20 December 2008). - EU Mission MINURCAT in ChadChadChad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west...
under EU Command. - NATO Operation in the Mediterranean "Active Endeavour".
Post World War II history
One of the defining characteristics of civilian-military relations during this period was the effort of the civilian leadership to ensure the loyalty of the military to the communist system's values and institutions.After World War II, Albania became part of the Eastern Bloc
Eastern bloc
The term Eastern Bloc or Communist Bloc refers to the former communist states of Eastern and Central Europe, generally the Soviet Union and the countries of the Warsaw Pact...
and a satellite country of the Soviet Union. The ranks and the structure of the Albanian Armed Forces were organized based on the Soviet concepts, thus increasing the political control of the State-Party over the Armed Forces.
Like all other branches of the state, the military was subjugated to Communist Party
Communist party
A political party described as a Communist party includes those that advocate the application of the social principles of communism through a communist form of government...
control. All high-ranking military officers and most of the lower and middle ranks were members of the Communist Party—and had loyalties to it. The system was re-enforced by the establishment of Party cells within the military and extensive communist political education alongside soldiers’ military training, by the Commissars. To further increase its political control, the Albanian Communist Party enlarged the conscription system, thus enlisting in the Armed Forces personnel dedicated to the military career from the Albanian rural areas, a category of people easily manipulated and subjected to political brainwashing.
The State and Party went even further, starting from the 1st of May 1966, military ranks were abolished following the example of the Chinese People's Liberation Army
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army is the unified military organization of all land, sea, strategic missile and air forces of the People's Republic of China. The PLA was established on August 1, 1927 — celebrated annually as "PLA Day" — as the military arm of the Communist Party of China...
, heavily influenced by Maoism
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
during the years of the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, and thus adopting strategic concepts related to forms of guerilla war (Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
doctrine). The military were still organized during this period into their basic structure forms, but the role of the military commander was insignificant with respect to the commanding role of the political commissars. In 1991 the rank system was reestablished under President Ramiz Alia
Ramiz Alia
was the second and last communist leader of Albania from 1985-91, and the President of the People's Socialist Republic of Albania from 1991 to 1992, and also the first President of the post communist Albania elected in 1991-92. He had been designated as successor by Enver Hoxha and took power after...
.
During all these years, the Sigurimi
Sigurimi
The Drejtoria e Sigurimit të Shtetit , commonly called the Sigurimi, was the state security, intelligence and secret police service of the Socialist People's Republic of Albania...
which was the Albanian secret service during that period and was formed upon the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
structure, was responsible for the execution, the imprisonment and deportation of more than 600 Officers from the Armed Forces, by completely neutralizing the Armed Forces ability to start a coup d'état. Initially the communist purge concentrated on the military personnel graduated by the Western Military Academies (mainly from Italy 1927–1939), extended later on to the officers graduated in Soviet Union (after the Albanian abandon of the Warsaw Pact
Warsaw Pact
The Warsaw Treaty Organization of Friendship, Cooperation, and Mutual Assistance , or more commonly referred to as the Warsaw Pact, was a mutual defense treaty subscribed to by eight communist states in Eastern Europe...
in 1961). As the communist regime collapsed in Albania during 1990, there was a real fear that the armed forces might intervene to halt the collapse of communism by force. In the event, the armed forces stood by as the regime of which they had been a part disintegrated. Further, during the civilian riots in 1997, the political attempts by the government to use the Armed Forces to crush the rebellion were soon demonstrated to be a failure, following a total disintegration of the Armed Forces and the looting of the military facilities by the civilian population.
The long communist purge, the elimination of the professional military leadership in years, and the dominion of a rural mentality in the Armed Forces were the corrosive factors which leaded to the disintegration of the Albanian Armed Forces in 1997.
Post 1991 history
Politically, since the fall of the communism in Albania in 1991, the country has played a constructive role in resolving several of the inter-ethnic conflicts in Southern East Europe, promoting peaceful dispute resolution and discouraging ethnic Albanian extremists. Albania sheltered many thousands of Kosovar refugees during the 1999 conflict, and provided through a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Operational HQ in Durrës (operational until 2006, see NATO Headquarter Tirana), logistical assistance for Kosovo Force (KFOR) troops. Albania was part of the International Stabilization Force (SFORSFOR
The Stabilisation Force was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force in Bosnia and Herzegovina which was tasked with upholding the Dayton Agreement. It replaced the previous force IFOR...
) serving in Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
(then EU mission ALTHEA), and Albanian peacekeepers are part of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
, ISAF
ISAF
ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001....
and the international stabilization force in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. Albania has been a steadfast supporter of U.S. policy in Iraq, and one of only four nations to contribute troops to the combat phase of Operation Enduring Freedom.
Modernization
Since 1999, Albania has spent approximately $108 million annually on military expenditures, roughly 1.35% of its GDP. One of the most important conditions to fulfill due to NATO integration, was the increasing of the military budget. According to Government of Albania plans, military expenditure will reach 2% of GDP in 2008 (already approved by the parliament in the 2008 budget - 2.01% of GDP).In 2002, the Albanian armed forces, launched a 10-year reform program sponsored and supervised by the U.S. Defense Department in order to trim down and thoroughly modernize the standing force of the time of more than 30,000 troops. The same radical reform is being implemented on surplus equipment, including airplanes, tanks, helicopters, artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
equipment, navy vessels, SALW and ammunition
Ammunition
Ammunition is a generic term derived from the French language la munition which embraced all material used for war , but which in time came to refer specifically to gunpowder and artillery. The collective term for all types of ammunition is munitions...
. Albania started an ambitious destruction program. However, Albania is still dealing with a huge amount of surplus and obsolete ammunition, a direct result of the country's long isolation and ethnic tensions in the area. The Albanian Ministry of Defense estimates such quantity up to 85,000 tons, but it is expected to increase up to 104,000 tons due to the on-going downsizing process of the AAF. In March 2008 the problem of massive amounts of excess ammunition stockpiled in Albania became known to the public through the tragic consequences of the explosion of an ammunition depot (the 2008 Tirana explosions). It is worth noting that Albania's notoriously fractious politics have not obstructed any of the reforms undertaken by the Armed Forces.
In May 2003, Albania, Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
, and the Republic of Macedonia
Republic of Macedonia
Macedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country located in the central Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
with the direct support of the United States, created the Adriatic Charter
Adriatic Charter
The Adriatic Charter is an association formed by Albania, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia and United States of America for the purpose of aiding their attempts to join NATO. The Charter was signed on 2 May 2003 in Tirana under the aegis of USA...
, modeled on the Baltic
Baltic states
The term Baltic states refers to the Baltic territories which gained independence from the Russian Empire in the wake of World War I: primarily the contiguous trio of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania ; Finland also fell within the scope of the term after initially gaining independence in the 1920s.The...
Charter, as a mechanism for promoting regional cooperation to advance each country's NATO candidacy. In spite of strong European Union (EU) objections, Albania also signed in May 2003 a bilateral agreement with the U.S. on non-extradition of US citizens to the EU, based on Article 98 of the statute of International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court
The International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
. In 2004 US President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
authorized the use of Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
Nunn-Lugar Cooperative Threat Reduction
The Cooperative Threat Reduction Program is an initiative housed within the Defense Threat Reduction Agency...
program funds for projects in Albania, marking the first time such funds are used outside the former Soviet Union. With this funding the US assisted the Government of Albania with the destruction of a stockpile chemical warfare agents left over from the communist regime (Category 1, Total amount 16.7 tons). The final cost of the project was US$48 million and was officially completed on 10 July 2007.
On April 3, 2006, the final contract for the delivery of 12 Bölkow-Blom MBB BO-105 lightweight twin-engine multi-role helicopters to the Republic of Albania was signed in Tirana
Tirana
Tirana is the capital and the largest city of Albania. Modern Tirana was founded as an Ottoman town in 1614 by Sulejman Bargjini, a local ruler from Mullet, although the area has been continuously inhabited since antiquity. Tirana became Albania's capital city in 1920 and has a population of over...
between the Albanian Ministry of Defense and Eurocopter Deutschland GmbH. According to the Albanian Government, six of the BO-105 helicopters are designated for the Albanian Air Brigade, four for the Ministry of Interior and the remaining two for the Albanian Ministry of Health.
On 14 November 2006, the new structure of the Albanian Armed Forces was officially introduced with the sign of the President of the Republic. The new structure, based on the "Joint" concept, has three main Commands. The AL JFC (Albanian Joint Forces Command) includes the RRB Rapid Reaction Brigade (the RRB is basically a Mechanized Infantry Brigade), the Commando Regiment, the Albanian Navy Brigade, the Albanian Air Brigade and the Albanian Area Support Brigade. The Support Command provides support and logistical functions for the all army units and the Albanian Training and Doctrine Command which is the main educational and training provider for the Albanian Armed Forces. The final number of personnel will be 13,800 (including 2,000 civilians).
The Albanian Navy Brigade performs mainly Coast Guard duties, and recently the Albanian parliament has approved some amendments to the articles of the actual Law on the Coast Guard in Albania, in order to improve the necessary legal framework due to efforts at European Union-NATO integration.
Since February 2008, Albania participates officially in NATO's Operation Active Endeavor in the Mediterranean and received a NATO membership invitation on 3 April 2008.
Note The AAF has no reserve units, although it does maintain a reserve personnel roster of up to 10,000 personnel that can be called in if required to augment or fill active units.
Peacekeeping
| Country Country A country is a region legally identified as a distinct entity in political geography. A country may be an independent sovereign state or one that is occupied by another state, as a non-sovereign or formerly sovereign political division, or a geographic region associated with a previously... |
Current Mission Military operation Military operation is the coordinated military actions of a state in response to a developing situation. These actions are designed as a military plan to resolve the situation in the state's favor. Operations may be of combat or non-combat types, and are referred to by a code name for the purpose... |
Organization | Nr. of personnel |
|---|---|---|---|
 AfghanistanAfghanistan Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world... |
ISAF ISAF ISAF may refer to:* International Sailing Federation, the world governing body for Olympic and other competitive sailing.* International Security Assistance Force, the NATO-led security mission operating in Afghanistan since 2001.... |
Nato | |
 ChadChad Chad , officially known as the Republic of Chad, is a landlocked country in Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic to the south, Cameroon and Nigeria to the southwest, and Niger to the west... |
UNMCARC United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad The United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic and Chad was a United Nations peacekeeping mission established by the United Nations Security Council on September 25, 2007 to provide a multidimensional presence of up to 350 police and military personnel to eastern Chad and north-eastern... |
United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... |
|
 Côte d'IvoireCôte d'Ivoire The Republic of Côte d'Ivoire or Ivory Coast is a country in West Africa. It has an area of , and borders the countries Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso and Ghana; its southern boundary is along the Gulf of Guinea. The country's population was 15,366,672 in 1998 and was estimated to be... |
UNOCI | United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... |
|
 LiberiaLiberia Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open... |
UNMIL | United Nations United Nations The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace... |
|
See also
- Albanian Air ForceAlbanian Air ForceThe Albanian Air Force is the national Air Force of the Albanian military. Currently it operates under the Albanian Joint Forces Command and it is regrouped in the Albanian Air Brigade...
- Albanian Naval Defense ForcesAlbanian Naval Defense ForcesThe Albanian Naval Defense Forces are the naval branch of the Albanian military.Their name was changed from the Coastal Defense Command of the Albanian Army in 1996. With the new structure the naval forces are regrouped in the Albanian Navy Brigade under the Albanian Joint Forces Command. The...
- Albanian Support CommandAlbanian Support CommandThe Albanian Joint Support Command of the Albanian Military provides operational,logistical and support functions for the Albanian Land Forces, the Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Defense Forces.The Logistic Support Command is based in Tirana....
External links
- Ministry of Defence of Albania (official site)
- Albanian Armed Forces (official site)
- equipment
- Amrs of Albanian army
- BBC article about the Albanian Bunker System
- Centre for SouthEast European Studies: Albanias Armed Forces
- Albanian military forum