Armed Forces of Gabon

The Armed Forces of Gabon (French: Forces armées gabonaises), officially the Gabonese Defense and Security Forces (French: forces de défense et de sécurité gabonaises), is the national professional military of Gabon, divided into the Army, Air Force, Navy, and a National Gendarmerie, consisting of about 5,000 personnel. The armed forces includes a well-trained, well-equipped 1,800-member guard that provides security for the President of Gabon.

Organizational structure

Army

Personnel of the Armed Forces stand in formation during the opening day ceremony of the Central Accord Exercise in Libreville.

The Gabonese Army (French: Armée de terre gabonaise) is the land component of the armed forces, specializing in infantry and mechanized reconnaissance. It was created on December 6, 1960 by decree of president Léon M'ba from non-commissioned officers who served in the French colonial army, mainly the 2nd company of the 21st BIMA. Following independence, Gabon signed defense agreements with France, mainly on technical assistance and training. Until June 1964, the title of Chief of Staff of the Gabonese Armed Forces was held by a senior French Army officer. In 1962 a detachment of the Auxiliary Women of the Gabonese Armed Forces (AFFAG), commanded by Lieutenant Ba Oumar at the military camp of Owendo, was created. President M'ba promoted the initiative following a visit to Tel Aviv, Israel, where he met female staff in its Defense Forces.

Order of battle

• Republican Guard Battalion (Libreville)
  • • 1 Light Armoured recon unit
  • 3 Infantry companies
    • 1 Artillery battery
  • 1 Air Defence battery
• Airborne Regiment
  • 1 Command company
  • 1 Recon & Support company
  • 3 Airborne companies
• 1 Light Armoured Recon Battalion
  • 2 Armoured squads
  • 1 Command & Logistics company
• Support Command Regiment
  • 1 Artillery battery
  • 1 Mortar battery
  • 1 MRLS battery (8 Teruel MRL)
  • 1 Engineer company
  • Logistic units
• 7 Military Regions
  • 7 Motorised infantry battalions (1 battalion for each region)

Air Force

Order of battle

• Fighter Squadron 1-02 Leyou at BA02 Franceville with:
  • Mirage F-1AZ
  • MB-326M Impala I
• Heavy Transport Squadron at BA01 Libreville with:
  • C-130 Hercules
  • CN-235
• Ministerial Air Liaison Group (Groupe de Liaison Aérien Ministériel or GLAM) at BA01 Libreville with:
  • 1 Falcon-900EX
  • 1 Gulfstream-III

Facilities

• BA01 Libreville
• BA02 Franceville
• Tchibanga

Navy

The Gabonese Navy uses a P400-class patrol vessel similar to this one

The Gabonese Navy (French: Marine Nationale du Gabon) is the official maritime branch of the armed forces. It was created in December 1960 as part of the army, and only became an independent entity in 1983. The navy's core purpose is to monitor the country's coastal waters, including 800 km of coastline.^[3]

• Headquarters Staff (Libreville)
• Port-Gentil Naval Base
• Mayumba Naval Base
• Port-Gentil Aviation Base^{[citation needed]}
• Marine Rifle Battalion (since 1984)

Other security forces

National Gendarmerie

The National Gendarmerie of Gabon (Gendarmerie nationale gabonaise) is the national police force of Gabon responsible for law enforcement in the country. It was formed on March 10, 1960 when Gabon, formerly French Equatorial Africa, gained its independence from France. It originated from Libreville Gendarmerie Detachment 1929, which was commanded by Governor General of French Equatorial Africa, Félix Eboue. The main tasks of the gendarmerie are to defend the country's borders, ensure public safety, and to enforce actions taken by judicial and government authorities. The National Gendarmerie is under the direct command of the President of Gabon.^[4][5][6]

Republican Guard

The Gendarmerie is also in charge of the Republican Guard (French: Garde républicaine, GR).^[7] It is viewed as the most powerful and sophisticated of the security forces. It is primarily tasked with protecting the president and ensures regime stability.

Equipment

Small arms

Armour

Artillery

Air defense

Current inventory

Retired aircraft

Previous aircraft operated were the CM.170 Magister, Embraer EMB 110, Fokker F28, Aérospatiale N 262, Reims C.337, and the Alouette II helicopter.^[13][14]

Naval equipment

Ceremonial traditions

• In April 2001, then-Defense Minister Bongo visited China, during which he reviewed the PLA honor guard upon arrival, and proposed to his Chinese counterpart Chi Haotian that members of the battalion will go to Gabon to help set up and train professional ceremonial units in the Gabonese military. In March 2003, after just under three years, the Chinese Ministry of National Defense sent four officers led by Lieutenant Colonel Wang Yuanjing to Libreville by the end of November of that year, after which they stayed to train the Gabonese guard of honour for more than six months.^[17][18]
• The Principal Music Band of the Gabonese Defense Forces was created in 2010. It brings together elements of the Band of the National Gendarmerie, the Armed Forces and the Prytanée militaire de Libreville. It has a staff of 50 professional currently directed by Captain Jean-Baptiste Rabimbinongo. Its conductor, Lieutenant Léa Nzoufa Nze, was the first woman to conduct a military band to the Saumur International Festival of Military Bands. It takes part in many official ceremonies such as National Flag Day and the military parade marking the country's independence.^[19]

References

1. "CIA World Fact 2015". cia.gov. 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2015.
2. Mounombou, Stevie (2021-03-09). "Gabon:Qui est Félicité Ongouori Ngoubili, nouvelle ministre de la Défense nationale?". Gabon Review. Retrieved 2021-08-31.
3. "Calaméo - Marine nationale GABON". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
4. "La Gendarmerie Nationale || Ministère de la Défense Nationale". Archived from the original on 2018-07-25. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
5. "Gabon - Gendarmerie Nationale". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
6. "JournalDuGabon.com: La sécurité gabonaise change de visage". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
7. "Gabon, une "garde républicaine" préposée aux basses oeuvres - Mondafrique". Archived from the original on 2019-01-05. Retrieved 2019-01-05.
8. Jones, Richard D. Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jane's Information Group; 35 edition (January 27, 2009). ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
9. International Institute for Strategic Studies (2021). The Military Balance. Taylor & Francis. p. 466. ISBN 9781032012278.
10. Steenkamp, Willem; Helmoed-Römer, Heitman (September 2016). Mobility Conquers: The Story Of 61 Mechanised Battalion Group 1978-2005. Solihull: Helion & Company. p. 142. ISBN 978-1-911096-52-8.
11. "Trade Registers". armstrade.sipri.org.
12. "Pandur 6×6 Wheeled Armoured Vehicles". Army Technology.
13. "World Air Forces 1987 pg. 56". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
14. "World Military Helicopter Markey 1971 pg. 577". flightglobal.com. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
15. "Kership to deliver two offshore patrol vessels to Gabonese Navy - Naval Technology". 3 November 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-11-07. Retrieved 2014-11-07.
16. Trade Registers Archived 2010-04-14 at the Wayback Machine. Armstrade.sipri.org. Retrieved on 29 May 2015
17. "People's Daily Online -- PLA helps traing [sic] honor guard for Gabon". en.people.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-03-26. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
18. "Gabon's Communication minister appreciates good Gabono-Chinese relations". Archived from the original on 2019-10-12. Retrieved 2021-09-17.
19. "Festival international de Musiques militaires Saumur 2019; Musiques et artistes invités 2019". www.comitedesfetes-saumur.fr. Archived from the original on 2020-02-06. Retrieved 2021-09-17.