In 1879, the Gold Coast Constabulary was established by personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to perform internal security and police duties in the British colony of the Gold Coast. In this guise, the regiment earned its first battle honour as part of the Ashanti campaign.[6]
The Gold Coast Constabulary was renamed in 1901 as the Gold Coast Regiment, following the foundation of the West African Frontier Force, under the direction of the Colonial Office of the British Government. The regiment raised a total of five battalions for service during the First World War, all of which served during the East Africa campaign. During the Second World War, the regiment raised nine battalions, and saw action in Kenya's Northern Frontier District, Italian Somaliland, Abyssinia and Burma as part of the 2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade.[7] Gold Coast soldiers returning from the Far East carried different perspectives from when they had departed.
The Ghana Armed Forces were formed in 1957. Major General Stephen Otu was appointed Chief of Defence Staff in September 1961. From 1966, the Armed Forces were extensively involved in politics, mounting several coups. Kwame Nkrumah had become Ghana's first prime minister when the country became independent in 1957. As Nkrumah's rule wore on, he began to take actions which disquieted the leadership of the armed forces, including the creation and expansion of the President's Own Guard Regiment (POGR).[8][9]
As a result, on February 24, 1966, a small number of Army personnel and senior police officials, led by Colonel Emmanuel Kotoka, commander of the Second Brigade at Kumasi, Major Akwasi Afrifa, (staff officer in charge of army training and operations), Lieutenant General (retired) Joseph Ankrah, and J.W.K. Harlley, (the police inspector general), successfully launched "Operation Cold Chop", the 1966 Ghanaian coup d'état, against the Nkrumah regime.[8] The group formed the National Liberation Council, which ruled Ghana from 1966 to 1969.
The Armed Forces seized power again in January 1972, after the reinstated civilian government cut military privileges and started changing the leadership of the army's combat units. Lieutenant Colonel Ignatius Kutu Acheampong (temporary commander of the First Brigade around Accra) led the bloodless 1972 Ghanaian coup d'état that ended the Second Republic.[10] Thus the National Redemption Council was formed. Acheampong became head of state, and the NRC ruled from 1972 to 1975.
In July 1978, in a sudden move, the other SMC officers forced Acheampong to resign, replacing him with Lt. Gen. Akuffo. The SMC apparently acted in response to continuing pressure to find a solution to the country's economic dilemma; inflation was estimated to be as high as 300% that year. The council was also motivated by Acheampong's failure to dampen rising political pressure for changes. Akuffo, the new SMC chairman, promised publicly to hand over political power to a new government to be elected by July 1, 1979.[12]
The decree lifting the ban on party politics went into effect on January 1, 1979, as planned. However, in June, just before the scheduled resumption of civilian rule, a group of young armed forces officers, led by Flight LieutenantJerry Rawlings, mounted the 1979 Ghanaian coup d'état. They put in place the Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, which governed until September 1979. However, in 1981, Rawlings deposed the new civilian government again, in the 1981 Ghanaian coup d'état.[13] This time Rawlings established the Provisional National Defence Council (PNDC). The PNDC remained in government until January 7, 1993. In the last years of the PNDC, Jerry Rawlings assumed civilian status; he was elected as a civilian President in 1993 and continued as president until 2001.
Honour guards from Ghana Air Force during a welcoming ceremony for Ivory Coast Gen. Soumaila Bakayoko, the ECOWAS chair of chiefs of defence staff, during Exercise Western Accord 13.
A total of 3,359 Ghana Army soldiers and 283 Ghana Military Police operated as part of UNTAC in Cambodia.[20] The UNTAC operation lasted two years, 1992−1993.[20] After the long running Cambodia civil war ignited by external interventions, a resolution was accepted by the four warring factional parties.[20] Operation UNTAC was the largest Ghanaian external operation since Ghana's first external military operation, ONUC in the Congo in the 1960s.[20] Operation UNTAC and its contingent UNAMIC had a combined budget of more than $1.6 billion.[20]
The Northern Command with headquarters in Tamale, Central Command with headquarters in Kumasi and the Southern Command with headquarters in Accra. In March 2000 Northern and Southern Commands were formed after the two infantry brigades were upgraded in status.[22] Previously there were three brigades: 1st Infantry Brigade (HQ in Teshie), 2nd Infantry Brigade (HQ in Kumasi) and Support Services Brigade (HQ in Burma Camp).
6 InfantryBattalions of the Ghana Regiment. 3rd Battalion of Infantry, 4th Battalion of Infantry and 6th Battalion of Infantry in the Northern Command, 1st Battalion of Infantry, 2nd Battalion of Infantry and 5th Battalion of Infantry in the Southern Command.
two Airborne companies attached to Northern Command; Airborne Force
Two Engineer Regiments (48 Engineer Regiment and 49 Engineer Regiment)
66 Artillery Regiment
In 1996, the Support Services Brigade was reorganized and transferred from the Army to be responsible to the Armed Forces GHQ.
From that point its units included 49 Engineer Regiment, the Ghana Military Police, Defence Signal Regiment (Ghana), FRO, Forces Pay Office, 37 Military Hospital, Defence Mechanical Transport Battalion (Def MT Bn), Base Ordnance Depot, Base Ammunition Depot, Base Supply Depot, Base Workshop, Armed Forces Printing Press (AFPP), Armed Forces Fire Service (AFFS), the Ghana Armed Forces Central Band, Ghana Armed Forces Institution (GAFI), 1 Forces Movement Unit (Tema Port), 5 Forces Movement Unit, Base Engineer Technical Services (BETS), 5 Garrison Education Centre (5 GEC), the Armed Forces Museum, Army Signals Training School, and the Armed Forces Secondary Technical School (AFSTS). By 2016 the Forces Pay Office had been upgraded to the Forces Pay Regiment.
The Armed Forces are heavily committed to international peacekeeping operations. Ghana prefers to send its troops to operations in Africa. However the United Nations has used Ghanaian forces in countries as diverse as Afghanistan, Iraq, Kosovo, Georgia, Nepal, Cambodia and Lebanon.[24] Currently, Ghanaian armed forces are posted to United Nations peacekeeping missions in:[25]
However, Hon. Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, the Chairperson of the Interior and Defense Committee in Parliament, has expressed his endorsement of the nation's deployment of troops to Niger.[32]
The Ghana Air Force is headquartered in Burma Camp in Accra, and operates from bases in Accra (main transport base), Tamale (combat and training base)and Sekondi-Takoradi (training base). The GHF military doctrine and stated mission is to perform counterinsurgency operations within Ghana or externally and to provide logistical support to the Ghana Army.[33]
The Ghana Navy's mission is to provide defence of Ghana and its territorial waters, fishery protection, exclusive economic zone, and internal security on Lake Volta. It is also tasked with resupplying GA (Ghana Army) peacekeepers in Africa, fighting maritime criminal activities such as Piracy, disaster and humanitarian relief operations, and evacuation of Ghanaian citizens and other nationals from troubled spots.[34] In 1994 the Navy was re-organized into an Eastern command, with headquarters at Tema, and a Western command, with headquarters at Sekondi-Takoradi.[34]
The GAF main military hospital has been organized into departments and divisions, which created structure within the establishment.[37] The Divisions and Departments (the units) are developed and joined according to medical, paramedical and administrative lines and each of these units has its own departmental head.[37] The GAF military hospital is staffed by GAF military personnel and also houses a medical education training facility.[37] 37 Military Hospital is also accredited for post-graduate medical education teaching.[37]Vyacheslav Lebedev, Chairman of the Supreme Court of Russia, expressed gratitude following his emergency treatment at the hospital.[38]
The Ghana Armed Forces Command and Staff College (GAFCSC) dates back to 1963. It was to provide training for Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) officers and affiliated officers from Africa, focusing on command and staff duties. Throughout its history, it has hosted and educated individuals from neighboring African states. It focuses on military and defense courses, culminating in the issuance of the Pass Staff College (PSC) certificate.[39]
The range of programs expanded, driven by the demands of the global environment. The Ghana Armed Forces have been engaged in peacekeeping operations since 1960. This meant broadening the array of courses provided by GAFCSC. Consequently, the college aimed to establish partnerships with the University of Ghana and GIMPA to offer diverse peacekeeping and other courses. With the attainment of Institutional Accreditation, the college is now prepared to conduct its own courses, while still maintaining its collaborative association with the University of Ghana and GIMPA.[39]
Defence budget
Ghana Military–industrial complex and Defence industry budgetary history
The Single Spine Salary Structure (SSSS) is the payment made to the Ghana Arm Forces. The salary structure started in 2010 has increased the income of the military. Payment structure with the Single Spine differs from each officer depending on their ranking.[40][41]
Military clothing and prohibition of photography
Ghanaian statutory law officially prohibits civilians and foreign nationals from wearing military apparel such as camouflage clothing, or clothing which resembles military dress. Officially, fines and/or short prison sentences can be passed against civilians seen in military dress in public.[42] In addition, Ghanaian law prohibits the photographing of Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) Ghana Military Police (GMP) police or GAF military personnel and vehicles while on duty, strategic sites such as Kotoka International Airport when in use, and the seat of the Ghanaian government, Jubilee House.[42]
^"Ghana". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica. 2007. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
^McLaughlin & Owusu-Ansah (1994), "The National Redemption Council Years, 1972-79".
^Hutchful, Eboe. "Institutional Decomposition and Junior Ranks’ Political Action in Ghana." in Hutchful and Bathilly, The military and militarism in Africa, CODESRIA, (1998): 211-56.
^"ONUC−Congo". Gaf.mil.gh. Ghana Armed Forces. Archived from the original on 2016-11-24. Retrieved 2014-04-27.
General History of the Ghana Armed Forces – a Reference Volume, (Professor) Stephen Addae, Ministry of Defence of Ghana Armed Forces, Accra, 2005, ISBN9988-8335-0-4. Nearly 700 pages but quite readable. Very poor bibliography.
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