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Botswana Defence Force
The '''Botswana Defence Force''' (BDF) is the army of Botswana. It was formed in 1977 and has approximately 12,000 members. , the commander is Lt. Gen. Tebogo Masire. History
Following political changes in South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on anti-poaching activities, disaster-preparedness, and foreign peacekeeping. The United States has been the largest single contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps has received U.S. training.
The BDF consists of one armoured brigade, two infantry brigades, four infantry battalions, two armoured artillery, one engineer regiment and one commando regiment.
Organization
Botswana Defence Force (includes Army and Botswana Defence Force Air Wing|Air Wing), Botswana National Police
- Military age: 18 years of age
- Availability:
males age 18-49:
350,649 (2005 est.)
- Fit for military service:
males age 18-49:
136,322 (2005 est.)
- Reaching military age annually:
males:
21,103 (2005 est.)
Military education and training
IMET (International Military Education and Training) funds from the USA remain important to Botswana's officer training programme. Over 30 Botswana officers receive military training in the US each year; by 1999 approximately 85% of the BDF officers are said to have been trained under this system.
Military expenditures
- Dollar figure:
7.3 million (FY02), million (FY99/00)
- Percent of GDP:
3.5% (FY02), 1.2% (FY99/00)
Structure
Air Force
The Botswana Defence Force Air Wing is the air force of Botswana and is organisationally part of the BDF.
International cooperation
[[File:2 BDF soldiers on raid in Bakaara Market 1993-01-30.JPEG|thumb|BDF soldiers on a raid in the Bakaara Market in Mogadishu as part of the Unified Task Force in January 1993.]]
From 1998-99, 380 BDF soldiers formed part of a Southern African Development Community (SADC) task force to quell an internal uprising in Lesotho. Botswana withdrew its contingent when the situation was thought to be sufficiently stable not to require their presence. The BDF has also been successfully deployed as part of the UN peacekeeping operations in both Somalia and the Darfur region of Sudan. http://www.irinnews.org/country.aspx?CountryCode=BW&RegionCode=SAF
See also
- Botswana Defence Force XI
References
External links
- Institute for Security Studies: Botswana Note: although generally a good source, this site wrongly describes Fisher as "Major General", and misspells his given name "Matshenwenyego".
- "Army Commander Accused Of Abuse" Mmegi|''Mmegi Online'' 7 November 2005. Retrieved 25 February 2006. Example of correct title and spelling of commander's name.
- "THE BOTSWANA DEFENCE FORCE" Evolution of a professional African military
Category:Military of Botswana
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Sources: StartLearningNow, Wikipedia | Usage license: GNU FDL
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