Military of Bangladesh
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Bangladesh Military Force |
|
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms of Bangladesh |
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| Service branches | Sena Bahini Nou Bahini Biman Bahini Rapid Action Battalion * Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) |
| Leadership | |
| Minister of Defense | Fakhruddin Ahmed |
| Chief of staff | Moeen U Ahmed |
| Military age | 15 |
| Available for military service |
35,170,019 (2005 est.), age 15–49 |
| Fit for military service |
26,841,255 (2005 est.), age 15–49 |
| Reaching military age annually |
unknown |
| Active personnel | 197,000 (2007) |
| Expenditures | |
| Percent of GDP | 1.8% (2005) |
| Related articles | |
| History | Bangladesh Liberation War |
The Military of Bangladesh constitutes of the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Air Force and are composed of regular military personnel. Some of the senior officers and noncommissioned officers served in the Military of Pakistan before the 1971 independence war. Senior officers include "repatriates" who were interned in Pakistan during the war, and freedom fighters who fought against Pakistan.
In addition to traditional defense roles, the military has been called on to provide support to civil authorities for disaster relief and internal security.
Bangladesh armies current strength is estimated to be more than 300,000 personnel, Bangladesh Air Force consists of more than 19,000 personnel And Bangladesh Navy with 30,000 personnel[1], perform traditional military missions. A Coast Guard also operates under the Home Ministry, to play a stronger role in the area of anti-smuggling, anti-piracy, and protection of offshore resources. Recognition of economic and fiscal constraints has led to the establishment of several paramilitary and auxiliary forces, including the 85,000-member Bangladesh Rifles; the Ansars and Village Defense Parties Organization, and a 7,000-member specialized police unit known as the Armed Police. The Bangladesh Rifles, under the authority of the Home Ministry, are commanded by army officers who are seconded to the organization.
In addition to in-country military training, some advanced and technical training takes place abroad, including grant-aid training in the United States. India, People's Republic of China, and eastern Europe are the major defense suppliers to Bangladesh, but military leaders are trying to find affordable alternatives to Chinese equipment.
A 2,300-member Bangladesh Army contingent served with coalition forces during the 1991 Gulf war. Bangladesh is currently the highest contributor (with 12,000 troops) to United Nations peacekeeping operations, with an infantry battalion in UNIKOM (Kuwait), an engineer battalion in UNTAET, (East Timor) and another infantry battalion service in Sierra Leone in May 2000.
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[edit] Data
- The highest award given by the Bangladesh Armed Forces is the Bir Sreshtho, given to the bravest of Martyrs.
- Other awards include Bir Uttam, Bir Bikram and Bir Pratik.
[edit] Neutral stance
Recent political decisions have strongly emphasized the will to participate in international operations, to the point where this has become the main short-term goal of training and equipment acquisition.
Bangladesh aims to have the option of remaining neutral in case of proximate war, and therefore not a formal member of any military alliance.
[edit] Current deployments
Bangladesh has consistently made large contributions to United Nations peacekeeping operations. As of May 2007, Bangladesh had major deployments in Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sudan, Timor-Leste and Cote d'Ivoire.[1] With 9677 troops deployed, it ranks second in personnel contributions to UN peacekeeping.[2] The government declined to participate in Iraq on a request from USA. The deployment to Liberia began in October 2003 and has remained at a level of about 3200 who are participating in peacekeeping, charitable activities and infrastructure development.
[edit] Training
Officers are trained at the Bangladesh Military Academy Bangladesh Naval Academy located in Chittagong and Bangladesh Air Force Academy in Jessore respestively. In further parts of their careers, officers are often sent to Staff College within or outside Bangladesh, National Defence Collegeand Armed Forces War Course within or outside Bangladesh .Officers of medical corps are recruited after graduation from civil medical colleges. They undergo basic military training at Military Academy followed by professional training in medical corps centre and Armed forces medical institute. Recently cadets of Armed Forces Medical college also started joining directly.[2].
[edit] Military ranks
Bangladesh military ranks, essentially corresponds to those used by the armed forces of the English speaking world.
There are three different systems of rank for commissioned officers, depending on whether one is commissioned in the Bangladesh Army, Bangladesh Navy or Bangladesh Air Force. The Para-military force Bangladesh Rifles whose primary duty is to guard the border does not have any officer of their own. Commissioned officers from Bangladesh Army are posted there for a certain period of time to do that job. There are plans to build a national defence university in Bangladesh, which will succeed the National Defence College.
| Army | Navy | Air Force |
|---|---|---|
| Field Marshal | Admiral of the Fleet | Marshal of the Air Force |
| General | Admiral | Air Chief Marshal |
| Lieutenant General | Vice Admiral | Air Marshal |
| Major General | Rear Admiral | Air Vice Marshal |
| Brigadier General | Commodore | Air Commodore |
| Colonel | Captain | Group Captain |
| Lieutenant Colonel | Commander | Wing Commander |
| Major | Lieutenant Commander | Squadron Leader |
| Captain | Lieutenant | Flight Lieutenant |
| Lieutenant | Sub Lieutenant | Flying Officer |
| Second Lieutenant | Midshipman | Pilot Officer |
The Bangladesh Army introduced the rank of Brigadier General in 2001. All officers were commissioned as "Second Lieutenant. Above colonel and equivalent, ranking is a political will to in the armed forces. No Field Marshals have been appointed yet. Two persons were exceptionally ranked as General: General Osmani, chief of Bangladesh Liberation Force in 1971 and General Mustafizur Rahman in 2000 (later demoted one step). On May 2007, the post of the Chief of Army Staff was promoted from Lt. Gen. to General and General Moeen U Ahmed is serving this modified post for the first time. On the same day the rank of Chief of Air Staff was promoted to Air Marshal from Air Vice Marshal and Chief of Naval Staff was promoted to Vice Admiral from Rear Admiral. It must be noted that the practice of keeping Chief of Army Staff senior over Chief of Air Staff and Chief Naval Staff are maintained even with this promotion.
[edit] Organization
[edit] Branches
- Bangladesh Army (Sena Bahini)
- Bangladesh Navy (Nou Bahini)
- Bangladesh Air Force (Biman Bahini)
- Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)
- Bangladesh Rifles (BDR)
[edit] Specialized Forces
- Special Security Forces
- Presidential Guards Regiment
- Bangladesh Army Commandos
- Para-commandos
- Special Security Forces (SSF)
- Rapid Action Battalion
- Coast Guard of Bangladesh
[edit] Military Districts
No information is acquired yet.
[edit] Schools
Some of the schools listed below answers to other units, listed under the various branches of the Armed Forces.
- Bangladesh Military Academy (BMA), Bhatiary, Chittagong
- School of Infantry and Tactics (SI&T), Jalalabad Cantonment, Sylhet.
- Defense Services Command and Staff College (DSC&SC), Mirpur Cant.
- National Defence College (NDC), Mirpur Cant, Dhaka.
- Military Institute of Science & Technology (MIST), Mirpur.
- Armoured Corps Center & School (ACC&S), Majhira Cant, Bogra.
- Engineer Centre and School of Military Engineering, Quadirabad Cant, Natore.
- Signal Training Centre and School, Jessore Cant.
- Army Service Corp Center & School, Jahanabad Cantt, Khulna.
- Ordnance Corps Centre & School, Rajendrapur Cantonment, Gazipur
- Bangladesh Institute of Peace Support Operation Training (BIPSOT), Rajendrapur Cantonment, Gazipur.
- Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Centre and School, Saidpur Cant.
- Corps of Military Police Centre and School, Shahid Salahuddin Cantt, Ghatail, Tangail.
- Army School of Education and Administration, Shahid Salahuddin Cantt Ghatail, Tangail.
- Army School of Physical Training and Sports (ASPTS), Dhaka Cant.
- Army School of Music, Ctg Cant, Ctg.
- Armed Forces Medical College, Dhaka.
- Artillery Center and School, Halishahar, Chittagong.
- School of Military Intelligence, Comilla Cant.
- Army Computer Training School (ACTS), Dhaka Cant, Dhaka.
- Army Medical Corps Center & School, Rajshahi Cantt, Rajshahi.
- East Bengal Regiment Center, Chittagong.
- Bangladesh Infantry Regiment Center & School, Rajshahi.
- Non Commissioned Officers Academy, Majhira Cant, Bogra.
[edit] Cantonments
- Dhaka Cantonment
- Mirpur Cantonment
- Savar Cantonment
- Chittagong Cantonment
- Khagrachari Cantonment
- Rangamati Cantonment
- Jessore Cantonment
- Khulna Cantonment
- Rajshahi Cantonment
- Bogura Cantonment
- Sayedpur Cantonment
- Ghatail Cantonment
- Mymensing Cantonment
- Sylhet Cantonment
- Comilla Cantonment
- Rangpur Cantonment
- Jahangirabad Cantonment
- Rangamati Cantonment
- Jahanabad Cantonment, Khulna
[edit] Para-military forces
- Bangladesh Ansar
- Bangladesh National Cadet Core (BNCC)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ UN Mission's Summary detailed by Country, Monthly Summary of Contributors of Military and Civilian Police Personnel, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations, 2007-5-31
- ^ Ranking of Military and Police Contributions to UN Operations, Monthly Summary of Contributors of Military and Civilian Police Personnel, Department of Peacekeeping Operations, United Nations, 2007-5-31
[edit] External links
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