|
|
|---|
| Military branches | Army , Navy , Air Force
|
|
| Military age | 18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2005)
|
| Availability | males age 18-49: 35,170,019 (2005)
|
| Fit for military service | males age 15-49: 26,841,255 (2005)
|
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| Dollar figure | $995.3 million ( 2004 )
|
| Percent of GDP | 1.8% ( 2004 )
|
The
Bangladesh Army ,
Navy , and
Air Force 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.
The Bangladesh Air Force and Navy, with about 7,000 personnel each, perform traditional military missions. A Coast Guard has been recently formed, 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 40,000-member
Bangladesh Rifles ; the
Ansars And Village Defense Parties Organization , which claims 64 members in every village in the country; and a 5,000-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 .
People's Republic Of China ,
Pakistan , 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 leading contributor (with 9,457 members) to
United Nations peacekeeping operations, with an infantry battalion in
UNIKOM (
Kuwait ), an engineer battalion in
UNTAET , (
East Timor ) and another infantry battalion scheduled for service in
Sierra Leone in May 2000.
- The highest award given by the Bangladesh Armed Forces is the Bir Sreshtho .
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.
Currently, Bangladesh has deployed military forces in several countries under UN. Bangladesh Armed Forces is active in
Liberia ,
Sierra Leone ,
Angola ,
Somalia ,
Haiti ,
Kosovo ,
Bosnia And Herzegovina ,
Kuwait and
Saudi Arabia . Bangladesh ranked 1 in number of personnel in UN peacekeeping force. Her government refused to take perticipate in Iraq on a request from USA.
Officers are trained at the
Bangladesh Military Academy located in
Chittagong , southern part of the country.
Bangladesh Military Rank s, essentially corresponds to those used by the armed forces of the
English speaking world.
There are three different systems of rank for
Commissioned Officer s, depending on whether one is commissioned in the Army, Navy and Air Force. Although Para-military forces used their own system of ranking,
Bangladesh Rifles (border security force) use same ranking system as army.
| Army Ranks |
|---|
| Field Marshal |
| General |
| Lieutenant General |
| Major General |
| Brigadier General |
| Colonel |
| Lieutenant Colonel |
| Major |
| Captain |
| Lieutenant |
| Second Lieutenant |
The military introduced the rank of Brigadier General in 2001. All officers were commissioned as "Second Lieutenant. Above colonel , ranking is a , chief of
Bangladesh Liberation Force in 1971 and Mustafizur Rahman, chief of Bangladesh Army in 1997 to 2001.
Secret. No information is acquired yet.
Some of the schools listed below answers to other units, listed under the various branches of the Armed Forces.
- Bangaldesh Military Academy
- Mirpur Infantry School.
- Mirpur Staff School.
- Bangladesh Military Institute.
- Bangladesh Military Medical School.
