Editing Gambia Armed Forces (section)

== History and formation ==

=== Independence to the coup d'etat (1965–1981) ===
At independence from the [[United Kingdom]] in 1965, defence and security in The Gambia was the responsibility of the Field Force. The Field Force was a paramilitary unit of the police, consisting of roughly 140 men at independence and rising to around 500 in 1980. It has been formed in 1958 following the disbandment of the [[Gambia Regiment]], part of the [[British Army]]. There was little concern about security in The Gambia due to its small size and the safety provided by being totally surrounded by [[Senegal]], with which it had signed a mutual defence pact in 1965.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal|last=Dwyer|first=Maggie|date=2017|title=Fragmented forces: The development of the Gambian military|journal=African Security Review|volume=26|issue=4|pages=362–377|doi=10.1080/10246029.2017.1353530|url=https://www.pure.ed.ac.uk/ws/files/46918045/Dwyer_ASR_2017_FragmentedForces.pdf|hdl=20.500.11820/53adb477-bf26-4238-ae7e-9e7a05bac8a8|s2cid=149395797|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

This lax attitude to defense changed following the [[1981 Gambian coup d'etat|1981 coup d'etat]]. Executed by members of the Field Force and led by radical leftist politician [[Kukoi Sanyang|Kukoi Samba Sanyang]], the rebels took advantage of President [[Dawda Jawara]] being out of the country to execute a coup d'etat. Having broken into the Field Force armory, the rebels proceeded to release all the prisoners from [[Mile 2 Prison|Mile Two Prison]], distributing weapons to those they felt were on their side. The rebels held Jawara's wife and children hostage, one of several acts that undermined public support for the coup. As the remaining members of the Field Force opted to remain neutral, Jawara asked for Senegal to intervene. They sent hundreds of soldiers into The Gambia, including airborne and sea assault units. The rebels were defeated four days after the coup began, having cost the lives of 33 Senegalese soldiers and an estimated 500 Gambians, many of whom were innocent civilians.<ref name=":0" />

=== Senegambia Confederation (1981–1989) ===
A few months following the coup, the [[Kaur Declaration]] was signed, which created the [[Senegambia Confederation]]. A necessary element of this was the formation of a Gambian military, which came into existence following the Gambia Armed Forces Act 1985. Jawara emphasized that the Gambia Armed Forces (GAF) should be kept "as small as possible". Initially, it consisted of the Gambia National Army (GNA) and the Gambia National Gendarmerie (GNG). The GNA was composed of new recruits and remnants of the Field Force and was trained by a British Army Training Team (BATT). The GNG was composed of new recruits trained by the [[Armed Forces of Senegal|Senegalese Gendarmerie]], on French lines. The Kaur Agreement also created the [[Confederal Army]], which was two-thirds Senegalese and one-third Gambian, able to deploy anywhere in the Confederation.<ref name=":0" />

Gambian soldiers that formed part of the Confederal Army were paid significantly more than Gambian soldiers in the GAF, which created a feeling of resentment. There were also accusations of widespread corruption and nepotism in the selection process for Gambian Confederal troops from the ranks of the GAF. Gambian soldiers were considered junior to their Senegalese counterparts, and Senegal also contributed far more resources and soldiers to the confederation. Senegalese soldiers were given the key tasks of guarding Banjul airport, the port, and the Gambian president. The confederation collapsed in 1989 over a dispute regarding the rotation of the Confederal presidency. In August, Senegal suddenly removed 300 Senegalese troops from The Gambia without warning, forcing the GAF to make up the difference.<ref name=":0" />

=== Increasing discontent (1990–1994) ===
In 1990, ECOWAS despatched troops to [[Liberia]] as part of the [[Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group|ECOWAS Monitoring Group]] (ECOMOG). In August, 105 Gambian soldiers deployed to [[Monrovia]], alongside Ghanaian, Nigerian, Guinean, and Sierra Leonean troops. Some in The Gambia questioned the goal of the mission and others doubted the military's readiness to participate. During the first deployment, two Gambian soldiers, Corporal Modou Bojang and Private Sama Jawo were killed. This contingent arrived home on 13 April 1991. Two months later, soldiers from the unit mutinied and went on a protest march to the State House, over claims they were owed money from their deployment. Jawara agreed to meet them, paying them the money and promising to look into their other requests. Immediately following the mutiny, the commanding officer (CO) of the GNA, Colonel Momodou Ndow Njie, was dismissed.<ref name=":0" />

Less than a month following the incident, the government announced that the Nigerian Army Training Assistance Group (NATAG) would be arriving to help train and equip the Gambian soldiers. Further to this, the head of NATAG, Colonel Abubakar Dada, was to become the new CO of the GNA, which "shocked" the Gambian soldiers. In the nine months between this announcement and NATAG arriving, in 1992 Gambia suffered another mutiny that was very similar to the first, perpetrated by the second contingent of peacekeepers returning from Liberia. These two mutinies demonstrated the growing sense of distrust in the ranks, primarily from ECOMOG peacekeepers and junior officers who saw that promotions were based on favoritism, eroding their confidence in the hierarchy. Another concern was the extent to which Nigerians had control over the senior ranks.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:A Gambian soldier salutes during Senegal's national anthem during the opening ceremonies for Western Accord 2012 in Thies, Senegal, June 9, 2012 120609-Z-KE462-133.jpg|thumb|Gambian soldiers in 2012|300x300px]]
In 1992, the government disbanded the Gambia National Gendarmerie, which had served to counter the two mutinies in 1991 and 1992. It was merged into a unit in the police called the Tactical Support Group (TSG). This action, according to several former soldiers, caused the [[1994 Gambian coup d'état|1994 coup d'etat]] to be "fait accompli" because there was no one to counter the army. On the morning of 22 July 1994, when Jawara was at his office in the State House, he received a report that armed soldiers were approaching. They far outnumbered the contingent of presidential guards at the State House that day, and so Jawara quickly fled. The mutinying soldiers briefly exchanged fire with the TSG and after overpowering the police, had no trouble in taking over the state. The whole affair was over by midday, with no bloodshed.<ref name=":0" />

=== Military rule and the Jammeh era (1994–2016) ===
Lieutenant [[Yahya Jammeh]] was announced as head of the new ruling council, the [[Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council]] (AFPRC), along with four other junior officers. The initial press release following the coup pointed to "rampant corruption" as its cause. While civilians were appointed to the government positions, decisions were regularly made through military decrees, of which 70 were made in the first two years. After 26 months in power, Jammeh retired from the military and was elected President in 1996. He began to replace the image of him as a military leader with one of him as a religious and spiritual leader.<ref name=":0" />

Jammeh awarded promotions and pay rises to armed forces personnel and improvements were made to the [[Yundum]] barracks. The Gambia Army Revolving Loan Scheme was set up to provide cheap loans to soldiers, and military personnel were afforded educational opportunities. The NATAG contingent also left The Gambia following the coup. In addition to this, Jammeh expanded the structure of the armed forces. In 1995, he announced his intention to establish a navy, which was formed in 1997. The Gambia Armed Forces Act 2008 established a national guard, which included several specialized units in its structure. Under Jammeh, the GAF included the Gambia National Army, the Gambia Navy, and the Republican National Guard. A [[Chief of the Defence Staff (The Gambia)|Chief of the Defence Staff]] was appointed to head the military with the President as its commander-in-chief.<ref name=":0" />

In May 2011, Gambia appointed its first female general, [[Ramatoulie DK Sanneh]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Fadera |first1=Hatab |title=Gambia: Nation's First Female Army General Decorated |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/201105120709.html |access-date=28 September 2019 |work=Daily Observer (Banjul) |agency=All Africa |date=12 May 2011}}</ref>