Editing Uganda People's Defence Force (section)

===First post-independence military, 1962–1971===
{{main|Uganda Army (1962–1971)}}
On 9 October 1962, Uganda became independent from the United Kingdom, with the 4th Battalion, [[King's African Rifles]], based at [[Jinja, Uganda|Jinja]], becoming the Uganda Rifles.<ref>J.M. Lee, 1969, 40.</ref> The traditional leader of the [[Baganda]], [[Edward Mutesa]], became president of Uganda.<ref name=loc/> [[Milton Obote]], a northerner and longtime opponent of autonomy for the southern kingdoms including Buganda, was prime minister.<ref name="loc" /> Mutesa recognized the seriousness of the rank-and-file demands for Africanising the officer corps, but was more concerned about the potential northern domination of the military, a concern that reflected the power struggle between Mutesa and Obote.<ref name="loc" /> Mutesa used his political power to protect the interests of his Baganda constituency and refused to support demands for Africanisation of the officer ranks.<ref name="loc" />

On 1 August 1962, the Uganda Rifles was renamed the "Uganda Army".<ref>Omara-Otunnu 1987, 52.</ref> The armed forces more than doubled, from 700 personnel to 1,500, and the government created the 2nd Battalion stationed at the northeastern town of [[Moroto Town|Moroto]]<ref name="loc" /> on 14 November 1963.<ref name="Ghosts of Kampala">{{Cite book|last1=Smith|first1=George Ivan|title=Ghosts of Kampala|last2=Smith|first2= George Ivan|date=1980|publisher=St. Martin's Press|isbn=978-0-312-32662-3|location=New York}}</ref> Omara-Otunnu wrote in 1987 that "a large number of men had been recruited into the Army to form this new battalion, and ... the new recruits were not given proper training" because the Army was already heavily committed to its various operations.<ref>Omara-Otunnu, 1987, 54.</ref>

In January 1964, following a mutiny by [[Tanganyika (1961–1964)|Tanganyika]]n soldiers in protest over their own Africanisation crisis, unrest spread throughout the Uganda Army.<ref name="loc" /> On 22 January 1964, soldiers of the 1st Battalion in Jinja mutinied to press their demands for a pay raise and a Ugandan officer corps.<ref name="loc" /> They also detained their British officers, several non-commissioned officers, and Minister of Interior [[Felix Onama]], who had arrived in Jinja to represent the government's views to the rank and file.<ref name="loc" /> Obote appealed for British military support, hoping to prevent the mutiny from spreading to other parts of the country.<ref name="loc" /> About 450 British soldiers from the [[History of the Scots Guards (1946–present)|2nd Battalion, The Scots Guards]] and Staffordshire Regiment (elements of the [[24th Infantry Brigade (United Kingdom)|24th Infantry Brigade]]) responded.<ref name="loc" /> They surrounded the First Battalion barracks at Jinja, seized the armory, and quelled the mutiny.<ref name="loc" /> The government responded two days later by dismissing several hundred soldiers from the army, several of whom were subsequently detained.<ref name="loc" />

Although the authorities later released many of the detained soldiers and reinstated some in the army, the mutiny marked a turning point in civil–military relations.<ref name="loc" /> The mutiny reinforced the army's political strength.<ref name="loc" /> Within weeks of the mutiny, the president's cabinet also approved a military pay raise retroactive to 1 January 1964, more than doubling the salaries of those in private to staff-sergeant ranks.<ref name="loc" /> Additionally, the government raised defense allocations by 400 percent.<ref name="loc" /> The number of Ugandan officers increased from 18 to 55.<ref name="loc" /> Two northerners, [[Shaban Opolot]] and [[Idi Amin]], assumed command positions in the Uganda Army and later received promotions to Brigadier and commander in chief, and army chief of staff, respectively.<ref name="loc" />

Following the 1964 mutiny, the government remained fearful of internal opposition.<ref name="loc" /> Obote moved the army headquarters approximately {{convert|87|km|mi}} from Jinja to Kampala.<ref name="loc" /> He also created a secret police force, the [[General Service Unit (Uganda)|General Service Unit]] (GSU) to bolster security.<ref name="loc" /> Most GSU employees guarded government offices in and around Kampala, but some also served in overseas embassies and other locations throughout Uganda.<ref name="loc" /> When British training programs ended, Israel started training Uganda's army, air force, and GSU personnel.<ref name="loc" /> Several other countries also provided military assistance to Uganda.<ref name="loc" />

Decalo writes:<ref>Herbert Howe, Ambiguous Order: Military Forces in African States, 2005, 50, citing Samuel Decalo. Coups and Army Rule in Africa, Yale University Press (1990). {{ISBN|0-300-04045-8}}, p.205</ref>
<blockquote>
using classic 'divide and rule' tactics, he [Obote] appointed different foreign military missions to each battalion, scrambled operational chains of command, played the police off against the army, encouraged personal infighting between his main military 'proteges' and removed from operational command of troops officers who appeared unreliable or too authoritative.
</blockquote>

When Congolese aircraft bombed the West Nile villages of [[Paidha]] and [[Goli, Uganda|Goli]] on 13 February 1965, Obote again increased military recruitment and doubled the army's size to more than 4,500.<ref name="loc" /> Units established included a third battalion at [[Mubende]], a signals squadron at Jinja, and an antiaircraft detachment.<ref name="loc" /> On 1 July 1965, six units were formed: a brigade reconnaissance, an army ordnance depot (seemingly located at [[Magamaga]]),<ref>[[Tony Avirgan and Martha Honey]], ''War in Uganda'', [[Zed Books|Zed Press]], London, UK, 1982, 31.</ref> a brigade signals squadron training wing, a records office, a pay and pensions office, and a Uganda army workshop.<ref>Amii Omara-Otunnu, ''Politics and the Military in Uganda 1890–1985'', [[St. Martin's Press]], New York, 1987, 72</ref><ref name="loc" />

[[File:Uganda Army OT-64 APC.jpg|thumb|A Uganda Army [[OT-64 SKOT]] armoured personnel carrier during a military parade in Kampala in the late 1960s]]
Tensions rose in the power struggle over control of the government and the army and over the relationship between the army and the Baganda people.<ref name="loc" /> During Obote's absence on 4 February 1966, a motion opposing him was introduced to parliament by [[Grace Ibingira]], which called to suspend Amin and investigate Obote and three others (including Amin) for supposedly accepting gold and ivory from Congolese rebels.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lindemann |first1=Stefan |title=Exclusionary elite bargains and civil war onset: The case of Uganda |url=https://www.files.ethz.ch/isn/120530/WP76.2.pdf}}</ref> On 22 February, Obote arrested Ibingira and four other ministers, essentially dismantling opposition to himself in the [[Ugandan People's Congress]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Amor |first1=Meir |title=State Persecution and Vulnerability: A Comparative Historical Analysis of Violent Ethnocentrism |url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/12677/1/nq41006.pdf}}</ref> Later, Amin was appointed Chief of the Army and Air Force Staff, while Brigadier Opolot was demoted to the Ministry of Defence as Chief of the Defence Staff.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Holan |first1=James |title=Amin: his seizure and rule in Uganda |url=https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3600&context=theses |website=scholarworks.umass.edu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Amor |first1=Meir |title=State persecution and vulnerability, a comparative historical analysis of violent ethnocentrism |url=https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/12677/1/nq41006.pdf}}</ref> On 24 May 1966, Obote ousted Mutesa, assumed his office as president and commander in chief, suspended the 1962 constitution, and consolidated his control over the military by eliminating several rivals.<ref name="loc" /> In October 1966 Opolot was dismissed from the army and detained under the emergency regulations then in force.

At about the same time, Obote abrogated the constitution, revoked Buganda's autonomous status, and instructed the Army to [[Battle of Mengo Hill|attack the Kabaka's palace]], forcing the Kabaka to flee. Elections were cancelled. Political loyalty rather than military skill became critical amongst both officers and men.<ref>E.A. Brett, "Neutralising the Use of Force in Uganda", ''[[Journal of Modern African Studies]]'', Vol. 33, No. 1 (Mar., 1995), 136.</ref> Many educated southern officers were court-martialled or dismissed in 1966 and 1967, and ethnicity became the key factor in recruitment and promotions.

In 1970, the [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]] (IISS) assessed the Ugandan armed forces to consist of 6,700 personnel, constituting an army of 6,250 with two brigade groups, each of two battalions, plus an independent infantry battalion, with some [[Ferret armoured car]]s, and [[BTR-40]] and [[BTR-152]] armoured personnel carriers, plus an air arm of 450 with 12 [[Fouga Magister]] armed jet trainers, and seven [[MiG-15]]s and [[MiG-17]]s.<ref>IISS Military Balance 1970–71, p. 53</ref>