Military of Sierra Leone
Encyclopedia
The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) is the armed forces
of Sierra Leone
, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's border
and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of its international obligations. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force
, then present in the country. The Sierra Leone Armed Forces currently consist of around 8,500 personnel.
Before Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961, the military was known as the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force. The military seized control in 1968, bringing the National Reformation Council
into power. On 19 April 1971, when Sierra Leone became a republic
, the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force was renamed as the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Force (RSLMF). The RSLMF remained a single service organisation until 1979 when the Sierra Leone Navy was established. It then remained largely unchanged for 16 years until in 1995 when Defence Headquarters (DHQ) was established and the Sierra Leone Air Wing (SLAW) formed. The RSLMF was renamed the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone (AFRSL).
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
announced in January 2002 that the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) would be unified with the tiny Sierra Leone Air Force and the moribund Sierra Leone Navy to form a reconstituted force known as the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF).
is constitutionally commander in chief of the military. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence and National Security
is in charge of supervising the military. The department is headed by a minister of defence and national security, who is a civilian and a member of the president's Cabinet. The current defence minister is a retired Major General
, Alfred Paolo Conteh
.
The Military is led by the Chief of Defence Staff, who is in charge of supervising the military and is the highest ranking uniformed position in the country. The current chief of the defence staff is Robert Yira Koroma, who was appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma
in August 2010 to replace Major General Alfred Nelson Williams, who was placed on terminal leave.
Brigadier David Lansana was appointed army commander of Sierra Leone
in 1964. Brigadier Lansana took control of the army from British colonial adviser, Brigadier R.D. Blackie when Lansana's close ally Prime Minister Albert Margai came to power. He came from the Mende tribe as did Margai and conflicts existed between northern tribes, the Krios and the Mendes. In 1967 Margai, who promoted a one party (non-democratic) state was beaten in a general election. Lansana staged a brief coup, arresting Siaka Stevens, the democratic winner of the election and the army was purged of Northern and Krio officers.
In 1985, General Joseph Saidu Momoh
, the army commander, succeed President Siaka Stevens
. It is not clear what exactly Momoh's title was but it seems likely that he was the senior Sierra Leonean military officer and held the predecessor to the CDS's post.
Komba Mondeh
served as CDS during the NPRC administration of 1992-1996.
Brigadier-General Tom Carew
was Chief of Defence Staff from April 2000 to November 2003. He may have been promoted to Major General
during his tenure.
Major General
Alfred Nelson-Williams
is currently the Chief of the Defence Staff. Nelson-Williams succeeded the retiring Major General Edward Sam M’boma
on 12 September 2008.
and came into existence after independence in 1961. The core of the army was based on the Sierra Leone Battalion of the Royal West African Frontier Force
, which became the Royal Sierra Leone Regiment and later the Republic of Sierra Leone Regiment.
In 1991 the RUF began to make war against the government, and the army went on the offensive toward the end of the year along with troops from Guinea
. In 1992 the army was expanded to 6,150 under President Momoh
in a 'poorly designed strategy that eradicated the few remaining elements of cohesion in the military. ..recruits were mainly drifters, rural and urban unemployed, a fair number of hooligans, drug addicts, and thieves.' A similar expansion effort after Strasser took over aimed to build the army to 14,000, using young criminals, school drop-outs, and semi-literate youths. 'In consequence the army became further fragmented, leading to the complete breakdown of command and control during the war, and again after the AFRC coup of 1997.'
During the long Sierra Leone civil war
which the government fought against the Revolutionary United Front
from 1991–2002, the 1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état
brought the armed forces into power again. In 1997 the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
seized power. Over 15,000 perished during the war. After peace returned, the armed forces were slowly reduced in size, from around 13,500 personnel in 2007 to 8,500 in 2010. The British Armed Forces
, in the shape of the roughly 100-strong International Military Assistance Training Team (IMATT), is assisting in the formation of the new armed forces. IMATT is slated to down-size to 45-55 personnel by the end of 2010.
Today the army is by far the largest branch of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, and is mainly responsible for protection of the state borders, the security of administered territories and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone within the framework of its international obligations. It had an active force of about 13,300 personnel circa 2007. There were plans to reduced strength to 8,500 by 2011. However the reduction in strength to 8,500 was achieved by the end of 2009. The force consists of three brigades, 3 Brigade, in the past headquartered at Kenema
, but as of 2011 seemingly at Murray Town Barracks, Freetown, which covers the Eastern Province
(which probably includes 9th Battalion RSLAF at Simbakoro outside Koidu), 4 Brigade, at Teko Barracks, Makeni
, which covers the Northern Province
(including 2nd Battalion RSLAF at Teko Barracks, Makeni, as of 2003), and 5 Brigade, which covers the Southern Province
from headquarters at Gondama Barracks, Bo
. As of 2002, about six IMATT advisors were deployed with each RSLAF brigade to assist with training, planning, personnel, and operations.
As stability and peace continue to be consolidated in Sierra Leone, the RSLAF aimed to create a capability to contribute to wider and international peace support operations. Official websites said that 'To this end the RSLAF has targeted 2007 as the base year to initiate a Company for Peace Support Operations for ECOWAS, the AU
and the UN. This would be gradually increased to a battalion strength by 2010. As a demonstration of this desire, a Peace Support Operations Course was introduced into the curriculum of the Horton Military Academy in Freetown
. The course was intended to enhance capacity building, and to train and prepare officers of the RSLAF for their future role and participation in international peace support operations, and especially for the proposed ECOWAS Standby Force.'
The hoped-for initial operational capability date for peacekeeping slipped until late 2009, when a Sierra Leonean reconnaissance company was deployed to Darfur
as part of UNAMID.(http://www.un.int/sierraleone/news.html) International donors and the Government of Sierra Leone provided the $6.5 million required to equip the unit and build the base camp in-theatre, some 2,300 kilometers inland from Port Sudan
. The contingent is under the command of Lieutenant Colonel S.E.T. Marah.
Despite the enormous resources invested by the UK into security sector reform in Sierra Leone, there are continuing financial pressures. Pay for soldiers is only GBP 45 plus some rice for a private per month, rising to GBP 350 for the Chief of Defence Staff. There are continued serious financial pressures on monthly running costs, with fuel, rations, stationery, and maintenance 'for both equipment and the estate' rarely funded. Housing is generally of low quality. 'Operation Pebu' planned to build new barracks for the force, was badly planned and thus extremely over-ambitious. As a result, it was cut down to only two sites (Albrecht and Jackson 2009). In 2010 Robertshawe said that 'living accommodation for soldiers and their families is generally appalling with no running water or ablutions and often is a self-built shack or mud hut.'
s, and seven air defence guns in service. Other army equipment may include the FN FAL
(standard infantry rifle), the RPK
/RPD
standard infantry Support weapon, the L85 (only used by special forces), and the Type 69 RPG
.
The SIPRI database states that Sierra Leone ordered 2 probably ex-Ukrainian T-72 tanks from Ukraine in 1994 which were delivered via Poland in 1995. The vehicles are described as to be operated by the South African company Executive Outcomes
. Executive Outcomes has now withdrawn from Sierra Leone, and in 1999 was disestablished. Whether the two T-72s were actually delivered, or their final fate, remains unknown.
. In 2002 it was merged with the other service branches. Today the naval force has about 500 personnel and operates several small patrol craft and barges. Their primary responsibility is to protect and safeguard the territorial integrity of Sierra Leone's sea. Sierra Leone naval officers are trained by British forces. They received financial support from Britain
and China
.
On September 25, 2007, eight Guineans Naval officers were arrested by the Sierra Leone Navy for an act of piracy against locally-licensed fishermen inside Sierra Leonean waters. British-trained Sierra Leone naval officers interrupted the high-seas hold-up by armed men in two launches on Sunday, 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the capital Freetown inside the country's 200-mile (320-km) economic exclusion zone. One of the attacking speedboats escaped north towards Guinea, while the other was seized. The eight men arrested were found with AK-47
automatic rifles and bags of fish, including high-value snapper, taken off the Sierra Leone-licensed vessels.
The Republic of Sierra Leone Air Force was merged with the other services to form the RSL Armed Forces from 2002. Sierra Leone has a very small air component with a limited offensive capability. The status of its equipment is unknown, but the aircraft are not operable.
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
| Mi-24
| USSR
| Heavy attack helicopter
|
| 3
|
|-----
| Mi-8
| USSR
| Transport helicopter
|
| 1
|
|-----
| MFI-17 Mushshak
| Pakistan
| Trainer/light attack aircraft
|
| 2
|
|-----
Armed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's border
Border
Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and...
and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of its international obligations. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force
Royal West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. The decision to raise this force was taken in 1897 because of concern at French colonial...
, then present in the country. The Sierra Leone Armed Forces currently consist of around 8,500 personnel.
Before Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961, the military was known as the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force. The military seized control in 1968, bringing the National Reformation Council
National Reformation Council
The National Reformation Council, or NRC, was a group of senior military officers with Brigadier Andrew Juxon-Smith as its chairman, who seized control of the Sierra Leone government on March 23, 1968...
into power. On 19 April 1971, when Sierra Leone became a republic
Republic
A republic is a form of government in which the people, or some significant portion of them, have supreme control over the government and where offices of state are elected or chosen by elected people. In modern times, a common simplified definition of a republic is a government where the head of...
, the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force was renamed as the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Force (RSLMF). The RSLMF remained a single service organisation until 1979 when the Sierra Leone Navy was established. It then remained largely unchanged for 16 years until in 1995 when Defence Headquarters (DHQ) was established and the Sierra Leone Air Wing (SLAW) formed. The RSLMF was renamed the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone (AFRSL).
President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Ahmad Tejan Kabbah
Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah served as President of Sierra Leone from 1996 to 1997 and again from 1998 to 2007.He worked for the United Nations Development Programme and returned to Sierra Leone in 1992...
announced in January 2002 that the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) would be unified with the tiny Sierra Leone Air Force and the moribund Sierra Leone Navy to form a reconstituted force known as the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF).
Leadership
The President of Sierra LeonePresident of Sierra Leone
The President of the Republic of Sierra Leone is the head of state and the head of government of Sierra Leone, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces...
is constitutionally commander in chief of the military. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence and National Security
Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence and National Security
Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence and National Security is a Sierra Leonean government department in charge of implementating and supervising the Sierra Leone Amed Forces and the territorial security of Sierra Leone's international border and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone.-...
is in charge of supervising the military. The department is headed by a minister of defence and national security, who is a civilian and a member of the president's Cabinet. The current defence minister is a retired Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
, Alfred Paolo Conteh
Paolo Conteh
Alfred Paolo Conteh is a retired Major in the The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces and the current Defense Minister of Sierra Leone. He is also the nephew of former President of Sierra Leone, Joseph Saidu Momoh....
.
The Military is led by the Chief of Defence Staff, who is in charge of supervising the military and is the highest ranking uniformed position in the country. The current chief of the defence staff is Robert Yira Koroma, who was appointed by president Ernest Bai Koroma
Ernest Bai Koroma
Ernest Bai Koroma is the fourth and current President of Sierra Leone. He was sworn in as President on 17 September 2007 at the State House in the capital Freetown, shortly after being declared the winner of a tense run-off in the 2007 Sierra Leone presidential election with 54.6% of the vote over...
in August 2010 to replace Major General Alfred Nelson Williams, who was placed on terminal leave.
Chief of Defence Staff
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the RSLAF. He is responsible for the administration and the operational control of the Sierra Leonean military. It is the highest rank military position in the country.Brigadier David Lansana was appointed army commander of Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone , officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Guinea to the north and east, Liberia to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west and southwest. Sierra Leone covers a total area of and has an estimated population between 5.4 and 6.4...
in 1964. Brigadier Lansana took control of the army from British colonial adviser, Brigadier R.D. Blackie when Lansana's close ally Prime Minister Albert Margai came to power. He came from the Mende tribe as did Margai and conflicts existed between northern tribes, the Krios and the Mendes. In 1967 Margai, who promoted a one party (non-democratic) state was beaten in a general election. Lansana staged a brief coup, arresting Siaka Stevens, the democratic winner of the election and the army was purged of Northern and Krio officers.
In 1985, General Joseph Saidu Momoh
Joseph Saidu Momoh
Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh was the President of Sierra Leone from November, 1985 to April 29, 1992.- Biography :...
, the army commander, succeed President Siaka Stevens
Siaka Stevens
Siaka Probyn Stevens was the 3rd prime minister of Sierra Leone from 1967–1971 and the 1st president of Sierra Leone from 1971–1985. Stevens is generally criticised for dictatorial methods of government in which many of his political opponents were executed, as well as for mismanaging...
. It is not clear what exactly Momoh's title was but it seems likely that he was the senior Sierra Leonean military officer and held the predecessor to the CDS's post.
Komba Mondeh
Komba Mondeh
Brigadier General Komba Mondeh Brigadier General Komba Mondeh Brigadier General Komba Mondeh (born on October 31, 1966 in Freetown, Sierra Leone] is a top ranking officer in the Sierra Leonean army. Mondeh was one of six young soldiers in the Sierra Leonean Army that ousted president Joseph Saidu...
served as CDS during the NPRC administration of 1992-1996.
Brigadier-General Tom Carew
Tom Carew
Tom Carew was a Brigadier, possibly later promoted to Major General, in the Sierra Leonean army and Chief of Defence Staff of the Government of Sierra Leone from April 2000 to November 2003, at which point Sierra Leone President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah re-assigned him to non-military duties.-External...
was Chief of Defence Staff from April 2000 to November 2003. He may have been promoted to Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
during his tenure.
Major General
Major General
Major general or major-general is a military rank used in many countries. It is derived from the older rank of sergeant major general. A major general is a high-ranking officer, normally subordinate to the rank of lieutenant general and senior to the ranks of brigadier and brigadier general...
Alfred Nelson-Williams
Alfred Nelson-Williams
Brigadier Alfred Claude Nelson-Williams of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces is a Sierra Leonean army officer and Chief of Defense Staff for Sierra Leone from 2008 to 2010...
is currently the Chief of the Defence Staff. Nelson-Williams succeeded the retiring Major General Edward Sam M’boma
Edward Sam M’boma
Edwin Sam - M’boma is a Sierra Leonean military commander. He is currently at the rank of Major General and is also the Chief of the Defence Staff of The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. In February 2007, M'boma acted as spokesman for the RSLAF in declaring that no voting booths for the...
on 12 September 2008.
Sierra Leone Army
The Army is modelled on the British ArmyBritish Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
and came into existence after independence in 1961. The core of the army was based on the Sierra Leone Battalion of the Royal West African Frontier Force
Royal West African Frontier Force
The West African Frontier Force was a multi-battalion field force, formed by the British Colonial Office in 1900 to garrison the West African colonies of Nigeria, Gold Coast, Sierra Leone and Gambia. The decision to raise this force was taken in 1897 because of concern at French colonial...
, which became the Royal Sierra Leone Regiment and later the Republic of Sierra Leone Regiment.
In 1991 the RUF began to make war against the government, and the army went on the offensive toward the end of the year along with troops from Guinea
Guinea
Guinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
. In 1992 the army was expanded to 6,150 under President Momoh
Joseph Saidu Momoh
Major General Joseph Saidu Momoh was the President of Sierra Leone from November, 1985 to April 29, 1992.- Biography :...
in a 'poorly designed strategy that eradicated the few remaining elements of cohesion in the military. ..recruits were mainly drifters, rural and urban unemployed, a fair number of hooligans, drug addicts, and thieves.' A similar expansion effort after Strasser took over aimed to build the army to 14,000, using young criminals, school drop-outs, and semi-literate youths. 'In consequence the army became further fragmented, leading to the complete breakdown of command and control during the war, and again after the AFRC coup of 1997.'
During the long Sierra Leone civil war
Sierra Leone Civil War
The Sierra Leone Civil War began on 23 March 1991 when the Revolutionary United Front , with support from the special forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia , intervened in Sierra Leone in an attempt to overthrow the Joseph Momoh government...
which the government fought against the Revolutionary United Front
Revolutionary United Front
The Revolutionary United Front was a rebel army that fought a failed eleven-year war in Sierra Leone, starting in 1991 and ending in 2002. It later developed into a political party, which existed until 2007...
from 1991–2002, the 1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état
1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état
The 1992 Sierra Leonean coup d'état was a coup d'état against the government of Sierra Leone by a group of young military officers, led by 25-year-old Captain Valentine Strasser on 29 April 1992.-Results:...
brought the armed forces into power again. In 1997 the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
Armed Forces Revolutionary Council
The Armed Forces Revolutionary Council was a group of Sierra Leone soldiers that allied itself with the rebel Revolutionary United Front in the late 1990s. While the AFRC briefly controlled the country in 1998, it was driven from the capital by a coalition of West African troops...
seized power. Over 15,000 perished during the war. After peace returned, the armed forces were slowly reduced in size, from around 13,500 personnel in 2007 to 8,500 in 2010. The British Armed Forces
British Armed Forces
The British Armed Forces are the armed forces of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Also known as Her Majesty's Armed Forces and sometimes legally the Armed Forces of the Crown, the British Armed Forces encompasses three professional uniformed services, the Royal Navy, the...
, in the shape of the roughly 100-strong International Military Assistance Training Team (IMATT), is assisting in the formation of the new armed forces. IMATT is slated to down-size to 45-55 personnel by the end of 2010.
Today the army is by far the largest branch of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces, and is mainly responsible for protection of the state borders, the security of administered territories and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone within the framework of its international obligations. It had an active force of about 13,300 personnel circa 2007. There were plans to reduced strength to 8,500 by 2011. However the reduction in strength to 8,500 was achieved by the end of 2009. The force consists of three brigades, 3 Brigade, in the past headquartered at Kenema
Kenema
Kenema is the third largest city in Sierra Leone and the largest city in the Eastern Province with a population of 128,402 in the 2004 census and a more recent estimate of 169,937...
, but as of 2011 seemingly at Murray Town Barracks, Freetown, which covers the Eastern Province
Eastern Province, Sierra Leone
Eastern Province is one of the four provinces of Sierra Leone. It covers an area of 15,553 km² and has a population of 1,187,532...
(which probably includes 9th Battalion RSLAF at Simbakoro outside Koidu), 4 Brigade, at Teko Barracks, Makeni
Makeni
Makeni is the largest city in the Nortern Province of Sierra Leone and the fifth largest city in Sierra Leone. The city is the capital of Bombali District and had a population of 80,840 in the 2004 census and a current estimate of 105,900...
, which covers the Northern Province
Northern Province, Sierra Leone
The Northern Province is one of the four provincial divisions of Sierra Leone. It comprises five Districts and covers an area of 35,936 km² and with a population of 1,718,240 . Its administrative and economic center is Makeni...
(including 2nd Battalion RSLAF at Teko Barracks, Makeni, as of 2003), and 5 Brigade, which covers the Southern Province
Southern Province, Sierra Leone
The Southern Province is one of three provinces of Sierra Leone. It covers an area of 19,694 km² and has a population of 1,377,067 . It consists of four districts . Its capital and administrative center is Bo, which is also the second largest and second most populated city in Sierra Leone...
from headquarters at Gondama Barracks, Bo
Bo, Sierra Leone
Bo is the second largest city in Sierra Leone and the largest city in the Southern Province. It lies about 164 miles south-east of Freetown and had a population 149,957 in the 2004 census, with a current estimate is 231,494 . The city serve as the capital and administrative center of Bo District...
. As of 2002, about six IMATT advisors were deployed with each RSLAF brigade to assist with training, planning, personnel, and operations.
As stability and peace continue to be consolidated in Sierra Leone, the RSLAF aimed to create a capability to contribute to wider and international peace support operations. Official websites said that 'To this end the RSLAF has targeted 2007 as the base year to initiate a Company for Peace Support Operations for ECOWAS, the AU
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...
and the UN. This would be gradually increased to a battalion strength by 2010. As a demonstration of this desire, a Peace Support Operations Course was introduced into the curriculum of the Horton Military Academy in Freetown
Freetown
Freetown is the capital and largest city of Sierra Leone, a country in West Africa. It is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean located in the Western Area of the country, and had a city proper population of 772,873 at the 2004 census. The city is the economic, financial, and cultural center of...
. The course was intended to enhance capacity building, and to train and prepare officers of the RSLAF for their future role and participation in international peace support operations, and especially for the proposed ECOWAS Standby Force.'
The hoped-for initial operational capability date for peacekeeping slipped until late 2009, when a Sierra Leonean reconnaissance company was deployed to Darfur
Darfur
Darfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
as part of UNAMID.(http://www.un.int/sierraleone/news.html) International donors and the Government of Sierra Leone provided the $6.5 million required to equip the unit and build the base camp in-theatre, some 2,300 kilometers inland from Port Sudan
Port Sudan
Port Sudan is the capital of Red Sea State, Sudan; it has 489,725 residents . Located on the Red Sea, it is the Republic of Sudan's main port city.-History:...
. The contingent is under the command of Lieutenant Colonel S.E.T. Marah.
Despite the enormous resources invested by the UK into security sector reform in Sierra Leone, there are continuing financial pressures. Pay for soldiers is only GBP 45 plus some rice for a private per month, rising to GBP 350 for the Chief of Defence Staff. There are continued serious financial pressures on monthly running costs, with fuel, rations, stationery, and maintenance 'for both equipment and the estate' rarely funded. Housing is generally of low quality. 'Operation Pebu' planned to build new barracks for the force, was badly planned and thus extremely over-ambitious. As a result, it was cut down to only two sites (Albrecht and Jackson 2009). In 2010 Robertshawe said that 'living accommodation for soldiers and their families is generally appalling with no running water or ablutions and often is a self-built shack or mud hut.'
Equipment
Sierra Leone has very limited modern weaponry. It should be noted though, that the country has a wide variety of used second-hand foreign imported arms. The IISS Military Balance 2009 lists 31 mortars, Carl Gustav recoilless rifleCarl Gustav recoilless rifle
The Carl Gustav is the common name for the 84 mm man-portable reusable multi-role recoilless rifle produced by Saab Bofors Dynamics in Sweden...
s, and seven air defence guns in service. Other army equipment may include the FN FAL
FN FAL
The Fusil Automatique Léger or FAL is a self-loading, selective fire battle rifle produced by the Belgian armaments manufacturer Fabrique Nationale de Herstal . During the Cold War it was adopted by many North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries, with the notable exception of the United States...
(standard infantry rifle), the RPK
RPK
The RPK is a 7.62x39mm light machine gun of Soviet design, developed by Mikhail Kalashnikov in the late 1950s, parallel with the AKM assault/battle rifle...
/RPD
RPD
The RPD is a 7.62mm light machine gun developed in the Soviet Union by Vasily Degtyaryov for the intermediate 7.62x39mm M43 cartridge. It was created as a replacement for the DP machine gun chambered for the 7.62x54mmR Mosin rifle round...
standard infantry Support weapon, the L85 (only used by special forces), and the Type 69 RPG
Type 69 RPG
The Type 69 85mm rocket propelled grenade , made by Norinco, is a Chinese copy of the famous RPG-7 developed by the Soviet Union. First introduced in the early 1970s, the Type 69 RPG is a common individual anti-tank weapon in service with the PLA...
.
The SIPRI database states that Sierra Leone ordered 2 probably ex-Ukrainian T-72 tanks from Ukraine in 1994 which were delivered via Poland in 1995. The vehicles are described as to be operated by the South African company Executive Outcomes
Executive Outcomes
Executive Outcomes was a private military company founded in South Africa by former Lieutenant-Colonel of the South African Defence Force Eeben Barlow in 1989. It later became part of the South African-based holding company Strategic Resource Corporation....
. Executive Outcomes has now withdrawn from Sierra Leone, and in 1999 was disestablished. Whether the two T-72s were actually delivered, or their final fate, remains unknown.
Naval component
The RSLN was an arm of the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces that is responsible sea patrol of Sierra Leone's Territorial watersTerritorial waters
Territorial waters, or a territorial sea, as defined by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, is a belt of coastal waters extending at most from the baseline of a coastal state...
. In 2002 it was merged with the other service branches. Today the naval force has about 500 personnel and operates several small patrol craft and barges. Their primary responsibility is to protect and safeguard the territorial integrity of Sierra Leone's sea. Sierra Leone naval officers are trained by British forces. They received financial support from Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
On September 25, 2007, eight Guineans Naval officers were arrested by the Sierra Leone Navy for an act of piracy against locally-licensed fishermen inside Sierra Leonean waters. British-trained Sierra Leone naval officers interrupted the high-seas hold-up by armed men in two launches on Sunday, 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the capital Freetown inside the country's 200-mile (320-km) economic exclusion zone. One of the attacking speedboats escaped north towards Guinea, while the other was seized. The eight men arrested were found with AK-47
AK-47
The AK-47 is a selective-fire, gas-operated 7.62×39mm assault rifle, first developed in the Soviet Union by Mikhail Kalashnikov. It is officially known as Avtomat Kalashnikova . It is also known as a Kalashnikov, an "AK", or in Russian slang, Kalash.Design work on the AK-47 began in the last year...
automatic rifles and bags of fish, including high-value snapper, taken off the Sierra Leone-licensed vessels.
Air arm
After achieving independence from the UK in 1961, it wasn't until 1973 the air force was established with Swedish help in the form of two Saab MFI-15 two seat trainers. Saab also supplied two model 300 (269C) light helicopters for additional training with Ghanaian help, plus anther was acquired as a presidential transport but was replaced in 1976 by a MBB BO 105. In 1978 both the helicopters and light trainers were sold and the air arm disappeared, the BO 105 was transferred to the civil register in 1985. In 1984 two Aerospatiale SA 355F Erureuil 2 helicopter entered service with the ministry of defence. Five mercenary operated Mil Mi-24V and two Mil Mi-8 helicopters entered service from 1995.The Republic of Sierra Leone Air Force was merged with the other services to form the RSL Armed Forces from 2002. Sierra Leone has a very small air component with a limited offensive capability. The status of its equipment is unknown, but the aircraft are not operable.
Current air force equipment
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Aircraft! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Origin
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Type
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Versions
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|In service
! style="text-align: left; background: #aacccc;"|Notes
|-----
| Mi-24
| USSR
| Heavy attack helicopter
|
| 3
|
|-----
| Mi-8
Mil Mi-8
The Mil Mi-8 is a medium twin-turbine transport helicopter that can also act as a gunship. The Mi-8 is the world's most-produced helicopter, and is used by over 50 countries. Russia is the largest operator of the Mi-8/Mi-17 helicopter....
| USSR
| Transport helicopter
|
| 1
|
|-----
| MFI-17 Mushshak
| Pakistan
| Trainer/light attack aircraft
|
| 2
|
|-----
List of aircraft used by Sierra Leone
- 3x Hawker (BAC) HS-748 transport aircraft (United Kingdom)
- 1x SAL Twin-Pioneer transport aircraft (United Kingdom)
- 2x MFI-17 Mushshak trainer\ light CAS aircraft (Pakistan) - in service
- 2x Saab MFI-15 Safari (Sweden)
- 1x Socata 235E Rallye (France) training aircraft
- 6x Mil Mi-24V Hind attack helicopter (Russia) - 2 in service
- 4x Mil Mi-17 Hip (Russia) - 1 in service
- 2x Mil Mi-8 Hip (USSR) - 1 in service
- Mil Mi-4 Hound (USSR)
- 1x Westland Commando (United Kingdom)
- 1x SNIAS SA-316B Alouette-III (France)
- 2x SNIAS SA-355F Ecureuil-II (France)
- 1x MBB BO-105C (Germany)
- 2x Hughes 269C \ 300 (United States)
- 1x Hughes 369HS\500 Defender (United States)
RSLAF HIV/AIDS programme
The RSLAF HIV/AIDS programme has been very proactive and successful in its campaign against the spread of HIV/AIDS within and among soldiers, their spouses and dependents, and the general public. At the height of the civil war there was an increase in the number of combatants admitted with HIV/AIDS related symptoms, like profuse diarrhoea, persistent fever, chest pains and tuberculosis. Since then a massive campaign launched has reduced the incidence of HIV/AIDS. Col Dr. J. Samba, is the current RSLAF HIV/AIDS coordinator.Further reading
- Peter Albrecht and Paul Jackson, Security System Transformation in Sierra Leone, 1997–2007, Global Facilitation Network for Security Sector Reform, accessible at http://www.ssrnetwork.net/publications/gfn_ssr_publications.php
- T S Cox, Civil-Military Relations in Sierra Leone, Harvard University PressHarvard University PressHarvard University Press is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. In 2005, it published 220 new titles. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. Its current director is William P...
, London, 1976 - Mimmi Soderberg Kovacs, Bringing the Good, the Bad and the Ugly into the Peace Fold: The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces after the Lomé Peace Agreement, Department of Peace and Conflict Research, Uppsala University, paper prepared for presentation at the SGIR 7th Pan-European International Relations Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, 9–11 September 2010
- Andrew Stewart, 'An Enduring Commitment: The British Military's Role in Sierra Leone,' Defence Studies (Journal of the Joint Services Command and Staff CollegeJoint Services Command and Staff CollegeJoint Services Command and Staff College is a British military academic establishment providing training and education to experienced officers of the Royal Navy, Army, Royal Air Force, Ministry of Defence Civil Service, and serving officers of other states.-History:JSCSC combined the single...
), Volume 8, No. 3, September 2008 - E D A Turay & A Abraham, The Sierra Leone Army: A Century of History, MacMillan Publishers, London & Basingstoke, 1978, accessible via the School of Oriental and African StudiesSchool of Oriental and African StudiesThe School of Oriental and African Studies is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the University of London...
, London - Sierra Leone Expenditure Review (now dead link)