Editing Armed Forces of Liberia (section)

===1945–1980===
[[File:ASC Leiden - F. van der Kraaij Collection - 28 - 34 - The Liberian National Guard - Monrovia, Liberia - Inauguration Day, 5 January 1976.tif|thumb|right|Members of the Liberian National Guard at the inauguration of President [[William Tolbert]] in 1976]]
From 1945 to 1964, the officers appointed were nearly all college graduates.{{sfn|Roberts|1964|p=389-90}} From 1951, there was a US military mission based in Liberia to assist in training the AFL. A Reserve Officers' Training Corps was established in 1956 with units at the [[University of Liberia]] in Monrovia and the [[Booker Washington Institute]] in [[Kakata]]. By 1978 the program had been redesignated the Army Student Training Program (ASTP) and had a total of 46 students at the [[University of Liberia]], the [[Booker Washington Institute]], and three smaller institutions.<ref>1978 Annual Report, p.7</ref> However it was not until the late 1960s that the [[Tubman Military Academy]] was established in [[Todee District]], upper [[Montserrado County]], as an officer training facility.{{sfn|Roberts|1964|p=389-90}}

The LFF was renamed as the Armed Forces of Liberia under the Amended National Defense Law of 1956,<ref name=Samukai2004>Brownie J. Samukai, [http://www.theperspective.org/2004/feb/afl.html Armed Forces Of Liberia: Reality Check For A New Military With A Redefined Constitutional Mission] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070814053653/http://www.theperspective.org/2004/feb/afl.html |date=August 14, 2007 }}, February 17, 2004. Retrieved August 2010</ref> though other sources say February 1962,<ref>{{cite web |author=NewLiberian.com |title=Brief History of the Armed Forces Of Liberia |url=http://newliberian.com/?p=137 |access-date=August 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110714173006/http://newliberian.com/?p=137 |archive-date=July 14, 2011 |url-status=usurped |df=mdy-all }}</ref> which appears to have been the date the land force became the Liberian National Guard.{{sfn|Roberts|1964|p=387}} Liebenow says that the LFF was 'restyled the National Guard in 1962.'<ref>Gus Liebenow, in ''Liberia: The Evolution of Privilege''  (p.109). Other source says February 1962.</ref> From this period, Liberia's armed forces consisted of the Liberian National Guard, the Liberian Militia, whose ostensible structure is depicted below, and the Liberian Coast Guard. Until 1980, by law every able-bodied male between the ages of 16 and 45 years was to serve in the militia, though this stipulation was not enforced.{{sfn|Nelson|1984|p=269}}

On January 26, 1957, the Liberian Legislature set aside Feb 11, 1957, as Armed Forces Day.<ref name=Saywah2012>C. Winnie Saywah, [http://theinquirer.com.lr/content1.php?main=news&news_id=197 Espicopal Bishop Urges AFL Soldiers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304100342/http://theinquirer.com.lr/content1.php?main=news&news_id=197 |date=March 4, 2016 }}. theinquirer.com.lr. Tuesday, February 7, 2012.</ref> Speaking in 2012, Jonathan B. B. Hart, the Bishop of the Episcopal Church of Liberia recalled that "..the Sierra Leoneans were sent to Liberia to take over the army by the British government because it had given Liberia a loan." .. "The Sierra Leonean commanders took orders from the British government and not the President of Liberia, then Arthur Barclay. When they began to misbehave, the army was turned over to a Liberian who refused. It was during that time that some soldiers took to the streets in demand of salary arrears, so soldiers getting in the streets.. in demand of salary is not new."<ref name=Saywah2012 /><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/armed-forces-day-activities-released|title=Armed Forces Day Activities Released {{!}} The Liberian Observer|website=www.liberianobserver.com|language=en|access-date=2017-02-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170207031648/http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/armed-forces-day-activities-released|archive-date=February 7, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref>

At the start of the 1960s, Liberia dispatched troops, including a movement control unit, to support [[ONUC]] during the [[Congo Crisis]], and were airlifted into the Congo by the United States Air Force.<ref>{{cite book|title=Aviation Week and Space Technology|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K_w9AQAAIAAJ|year=1960|publisher=McGraw-Hill|page=33}}</ref> The Liberian troops were initially in [[Équateur (former province)|Équateur province]].<ref name="BermanSams2000">{{cite book|author1=Eric Berman|author2=Katie E. Sams|author3=Institute for Security Studies (South Africa)|title=Peacekeeping in Africa: Capabilities and Culpabilities|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=13tjpajo6-cC&pg=PA240|year=2000|publisher=United Nations Publications UNIDIR|isbn=978-92-9045-133-4|pages=240–|access-date=September 27, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627115951/https://books.google.com/books?id=13tjpajo6-cC&pg=PA240|archive-date=June 27, 2017|url-status=live|df=mdy-all}}</ref><ref name="Abbott2014">{{cite book|author=Peter Abbott|title=Modern African Wars (4): The Congo 1960–2002|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sZCEAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA11|date=20 February 2014|publisher=Osprey Publishing|isbn=978-1-78200-076-1|pages=11–12}}</ref><ref>Annex O: Location and Strength of UN Units in the Congo: September 1960, in Lefever, Ernest W., and Wynfred Joshua. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20220208060109/https://apps.dtic.mil/sti/pdfs/AD0711936 United Nations Peacekeeping in the Congo: 1960-1964: Appendices. Vol. 3.]}} Prepared for the [[Arms Control and Disarmament Agency]] by the Brookings Institution, June 30, 1966.</ref> In 1961, during their first combat action in the country, 300 Liberian troops repelled an attack by 5,000 [[Baluba]] tribesmen and their European officers.<ref>{{cite book|title=The West African Review|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qxFXAAAAMAAJ|year=1961|publisher=West African review, Limited|page=57}}</ref>

The National Guard was not a high status force: "It was a skeleton brigade of soldiers who were predominantly from the lower economic and social stratum of society. They were poorly paid, and had less than decent facilities for accommodation and care."<ref name=Samukai2004 /> Despite this, a Liberian company, designated the Reinforced Security Company, was contributed to the [[United Nations Operation in the Congo]] in the early 1960s. Six rotations were made. The 1964 US Army Area Handbook described the company's actions as "...After a poor start, the performance of the contingent improved steadily; the last company, which returned home in May 1963, had performed creditably and, by its conduct and appearance, gave the impression of being a well-trained and disciplined military organization."{{sfn|Roberts|1964|p=394}}

Liebenow writes that the head of the National Guard was arrested, along with others, in February 1963, to forestall an alleged coup, and that Tubman had announced that following the labour strikes of 1966, a foreign power had attempted to bribe army officers to stage a coup.<ref>Liebenow, Liberia: The Evolution of Privilege, 1969, 110.</ref> In addition, Albert T. White, Commanding Officer of the LNG, was 'rusticated' by Tubman to become the Superintendent of [[Grand Gedeh County]] in 1966, though he was later 'rehabilitated'.{{sfn|Lowenkopf|1976|p=179}}

In 1964 the US Army Area Handbook described the National Guard as 3,000 strong with a headquarters company, the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion in Monrovia, three infantry battalions and one engineer battalion (which was newly formed at Camp Naama in 1962 and only had one company organized).<ref>Roberts et al. 1964, p.394. See also [[International Institute for Strategic Studies]], The Armed Forces of African States, 1967 and 1970, Adelphi Papers 27 and 67, pages 11 and 22 respectively.</ref> The three infantry battalions were the 1st Infantry Battalion, at Camp Schiefflin, situated on the airport road between [[Monrovia]] and [[Roberts International Airport]], the 2nd Infantry Battalion, HQ at Barclay Training Center (BTC), Monrovia, and the 3rd Infantry Battalion, HQ at Baworobo, [[Maryland County]].<ref>Baworobo appears to be in [[Barrobo District]], [[Maryland County]].</ref>

By 1978, the LNG Brigade had been established and the brigade was described as comprising a [[Headquarters and Headquarters Company]] at the Barclay Training Center, Monrovia, the Executive Mansion Guard Battalion on Capitol Hill, Monrovia, the Engineer Battalion and the First Field Artillery Battalion (both at Camp Jackson, Naama) two tactical combat battalions (the First Infantry Battalion, at Schiefflin and the Second Infantry Battalion which in the intervening period had moved from the BTC to Camp Tolbert, Todee) and three non-tactical battalions, tasked with providing guard services to government officials, tax collection, and 'other non-military duties'.<ref name=AR10-13>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Ministry of National Defense to the Fourth Session of the Forty-Eighth Legislature of the Republic of Liberia, Year Ending December 31, 1978|publisher=Government of Liberia|location=Monrovia|pages=10–13}}, Accessed at [[New York Public Library]], October 2007</ref>

The Third Infantry Battalion covered Montserrado, Grand Cape Mount, and [[Grand Bassa County|Grand Bassa]] counties from BTC. The Fourth Infantry Battalion covered [[Grand Gedeh County|Grand Gedeh]], [[Sinoe County|Sinoe]] and [[Maryland County, Liberia|Maryland]] counties from Camp Whisnant, [[Zwedru]]. The Fifth Infantry Battalion was at [[Gbarnga]].<ref name=AR10-13 />

Other field units of the brigade were the Armoured Unit, at Camp Ram Rod, Paynesward City (possibly [[Paynesville, Liberia|Paynesville]]), [[Monrovia]], and the Bella Yella Special Detachment, Camp Bella Yella, [[Lofa County|Lofa]]. Bella Yella was of course the location of the feared [[Bella Yella prison]].<ref>{{cite journal|author=Timothy D. L. Nevin|title=Liberia's Belle Yella Prison Camp (1910–1990): Repression, Stigma, and Forced Labor in the Heart of the Rainforest |journal=Journal of West African History|volume=6|number=1|date=Spring 2020|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/756145}}</ref> The Service Support Battalion was located at BTC, and comprised the Medical Company, the Brigade Band, the Brigade Special Unit (a parade unit) and the Military Police Unit. Also at BTC was the Logistical Command, consisting of a depot, arsenal (whose location had been declared unsafe), the AFL Quartermaster Corps, and the AFL Transportation Company. Strength was reported to be 4,822 in 1978.<ref name=AR10-13 />
{{Quote box
 | quote  = '''The Liberian Militia'''<br />Organization of the Liberian Militia, according to the National Defense Law 1956<ref>{{cite web |author=Thomas Jaye (compiler) |title=National Defense Law 1956, § 70-A. Composition of the Armed Forces, via Liberia's Security Sector Legislation |url=http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/kms/details.cfm?ord279=title&q279=liberia&lng=en&id=55506&nav1=5 |publisher=Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces |location=Geneva |page=66 |date=February 2008 |access-date=14 August 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081004214527/http://www.dcaf.ch/publications/kms/details.cfm?ord279=title&q279=liberia&lng=en&id=55506&nav1=5 |archive-date=October 4, 2008 |df=mdy-all }} Another reference to the 9th Regiment AFL is at Liberian Observer, [http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/3755/Former_AFL_Colonel,_District_Commissioner,_Knight_Official_Remembered.html Former AFL Colonel Remembered] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080404043112/http://www.liberianobserver.com/news/fullstory.php/aid/3755/Former_AFL_Colonel,_District_Commissioner,_Knight_Official_Remembered.html |date=April 4, 2008 }}</ref>

Two Divisional Headquarters
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
* First Brigade
** First Regiment
** Fifth Regiment
** Sixth Regiment
** Tenth Regiment
* Third Brigade
** Fourth Regiment
** Eighth Regiment
** Ninth Regiment
** Fifteenth Regiment
** Sixth Regiment
{{col-2}}
* Second Brigade
** Second Regiment
** Third Regiment
** Eleventh Regiment
** Fourteenth Regiment
* Fourth Brigade
** Seventh Regiment
** Thirteenth Regiment
** Sixteenth Regiment
** Seventeenth Regiment
{{col-end}}
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While militia service was compulsory by law for all eligible males, the law was only enforced in a lax manner. From the mid-1960s, and in its later years, members of the militia met only quarterly for sparsely attended drill practice. Estimates of men enrolled over the years vary. The 1964 US Army Area Handbook said that "some 20,000 men are estimated to be enrolled."{{sfn|Roberts|1964|p=395}} The IISS estimated militia numbers at 5,000 in 1967 and 6,000 in 1970.<ref>IISS, Adelphi Papers 27 and 67, op. cit.</ref>

By the early 1970s the militia reported a strength of some 4,000 poorly trained and ill-equipped men.  The 1978 Annual Report of the Liberian Ministry of National Defense said that "The various militia regiments, in accordance with the law, held quarterly parades. ...Furthermore, the entire Regiments were out in full strength during burial occasions."<ref>{{cite book |title=Annual Report of the Ministry of National Defense to the Fourth Session of the Forty-Eighth Legislature of the Republic of Liberia, Year Ending December 31, 1978|publisher=Government of Liberia|location=Monrovia|page=21}}</ref> By the time it was disbanded in 1980, the militia was considered to be completely ineffective as a military force.{{sfn|Nelson|1984|p=269}}

The armed forces' third arm, the Liberian National Coast Guard, was established in 1959.{{sfn|Nelson|1984|p=274}} Throughout the Tubman period the coastguard was little more than a few sometimes unserviceable patrol craft manned by ill-trained personnel, though its training improved in the 1980s to the point where it was considered the best trained of the armed services.{{sfn|Nelson|1984|p=274}}

From 1952 onwards, Chiefs of Staff of the AFL included Major General Alexander Harper (1952–54), Lieutenant General Abraham Jackson (1954–60), Albert T. White (1964–65), Lieutenant General [[George T. Washington (Liberia)|George T. Washington]] (late 1960s), Lieutenant General Henry Johnson (1970–74), Lieutenant General Franklin Smith, and Lieutenant General Henry Dubar (1980–1990).<ref name=AFT63>[[Ministry of National Defense (Liberia)]], ''Armed Forces Today,'' Vol. 2, No.1, February 11, 2008, p.63</ref>

When [[William Tolbert]] replaced the long-serving [[William Tubman]] as president in 1971, he retired more than 400 aging soldiers.{{sfn|Sawyer|1992|p=287}}<ref>Sawyer 1982 p287 draws on Martin Lowenkopf, Politics in Liberia: The Conservative Road to Development, 1976.</ref> Sawyer comments that "retired soldiers were replaced by young recruits from urban areas, many of whom were then poorly trained at the Tubman Military Academy. This development dramatically changed the character of the military in Liberia." ([[Samuel Doe]] was among this group.) [[Amos Sawyer]] also comments that "recruitment of such individuals for the military was part of Tolbert's efforts to replace aging, illiterate soldiers with younger, literate men who were capable of absorbing technical and professional training."{{sfn|Sawyer|1992|p=375}}