Editing Gambia Armed Forces (section)

=== 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" />