| Bangladesh Army |
Article Index for Bangladesh |
Website Links For Bangladesh |
Information AboutBangladesh Army |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT BANGLADESH ARMY | |
| military of bangladesh | |
| armies by country | |
|
The Bangladesh Army ( branch of the Bangladesh Armed Forces . It was formed on 26 December 1971 following the Bangladesh Liberation War consisting of Bengali soldiers and officers from the Pakistan Army and members of the Mukti Bahini . Its current strength is estimated to be over 200,000 personnel including 50,000 on early retirement (leave prior to retirement (LPR)). The Bangladesh Army structure is similar to other armies of the Indian Subcontinent which are all modelled and organized along British Army lines. However, the Bangladesh Army has adopted U.S. Army tactical planning procedures, training management techniques and Noncommissioned Officer educational systems. It is supported by Artillery , armored and combat units. In times of war and crisis, the Bangladesh Army can also be reinforced by the Bangladesh Rifles , Ansar (Village Guards), Village Defence Parties (VDP), police and other land forces numbering about one million trained personnel. It is also improving its peacekeeping operations capabilities and is working with the U.S. Military in this area. HISTORY East Bengal under the British Rule was a prominent place for British recruitment, when entire cavalry and lancer units were named after Bengal, especially prior to the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. After the First War Of Independence , many native Bengalis were forbidden from entering military service citing the " Martial Race s theory", primarily because large numbers of them were involved in the revolt against the British. In fact later the units called Bengal Lancers and Bengal Cavalry were often recruited from non-Bengali races. Formation at Liberation War 1971 The Bangladesh Army was organized for Liberatioan War in 1971 into three brigades.
MAJOR OPERATIONS Bangladesh Liberation War When the sub-continent gained independence, India and Pakistan formed different states. Pakistan was divided into two sections, East Pakistan and West Pakistan. There were many cultural differences between these two divisions. In 1952, a rally took place in East Pakistan, against the establishment of Urdu as the national language. All the students involved were shot by the Pakistani military. Language Movement Later, in 1970, elections took place in both divisions as to decide the future of the country. Awami league, a party in East Pakistan, won the majority of the votes in the eastern section, but were not allowed to take power. This ultimately led to a civil war in which about 1-3 million Bangladeshis were killed. Bangladesh Liberation War Finally, after 9 months of bloody war with the help of India, on 16 December 1971 East Pakistan formed an independent state, known as Bangladesh. Chittagong hill tracts The Bangladesh Army has been involved in counter insurgency operations against the Shanti Bahini , an insurgent group fighting for tribal rights, in the Chittagong Hill Tracts (CHT) since 1976. Since 1997, after a peace accord was signed between the Government and Shanti Bahini, CHT has been a relatively quiet issue. However, the Army is still heavily deployed in CHT as a part of peace building, pacification and security duties. in chittagong hilltracts they are doing a hard job in order to lead and maintain normal life by normal civilian Peacetime activities Bangladesh Army has been actively involved in United Nations Peace Support Operations (UNPSO). During the first Gulf War in 1991 , the Bangladesh Army sent a 2,193 member team to monitor peace in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait . Following that, the Bangladesh Army participated in peace keeping activities in Namibia , Cambodia , Somalia , Uganda / Rwanda , Mozambique , former Yugoslavia , Liberia , Haiti , Tajikistan , Western Sahara , Sierra Leone , Kosovo , Georgia , East Timor , Congo , Côte D'Ivoire and Ethiopia . As of April 2006 , Bangladesh had a total of nearly 9,500 troops committed to UN Peacekeeping operations around the world, the most of any nation in the world. As of February 2007, Bangladesh remained the largest contributor with 10,126 troops in the UN Peacekeeping forces. ORGANIZATION Structure The army is divided into the following corps:
Chief of Army Staff The Chief Of Army Staff (CAS) is the professional head of the Bangladesh Army. He is also regarded as the senior-most defence official in the country. The current CAS is General Moeen U Ahmed , who was promoted to General on 25 May 2007 . The Army Chief functions from the Army Headquarters located in the Dhaka Cantonment. Since 26 May 2007 , the Chief of Army Staff is full General, upgraded from the previous Lieutenant General rank. The official residence of the Army Chief is known as ''Senabhaban'' (Army House) and has served as the official residence of the CAS since independence, prior to that serving as the Flag Staff House - the residence of the seniormost officer in the garrison, the General Officer Commanding of 14 Infantry Division of the Bangladesh Army of Dhaka Cantonment. List of Chiefs of Army Staff
Ranks The rank structure of the Bangladesh Army is modeled after the British Army . The ranks of commissioned officers are (in increasing order)
WEAPONS USED Wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier (APC)
Tracked Armored Fighting Vehicles (APC/IFV)
Light Battle Tanks
Presently Bangladesh army has obsoleted these T62 tanks and converted those into APCs and Self Propelled artillary guns.They will be very soon in the service. Main Battle Tanks (MBT)
Anti Aircraft Artillery
MULTIPLE LAUNCH ROCKET SYSTEM
Self-Propelled Howitzers
SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS
REFERENCES |
|
|