Difference between revisions of "Armed Forces of Zaire"

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The big five. Left to right: General Bolozi Gbudu Tanikpama (SARM); General Baramoto Kpama Kata (Civil Guard); Admiral Mavua Mudima (Navy); General Eluki Monga Aundu (Army); and General Étienne Nzimbi Ngbale Kongo wa Bassa (DSP).

The Armed Forces of Zaire (French: Forces Armées Zaïrois, or "FAZ" for short) is the name of Zaire's military. It consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and law enforcement and paramilitary organizations. President Mobutu Sese Seko Kuku Ngbendu Wa Za Banga is Supreme Commander of the FAZ. Former Army Chief of Staff General Donat Lieko Mahele serves as Minister of Defense and Veterans' Affairs.

Army

The 142,000-member army (162,000 if you include the DSP) consists of four infantry divisions (each with two infantry brigades and one support brigade); five airborne brigades (each with three parachute battalions and one support battalion); two special forces (commando/counterinsurgency) brigades; five independent armored brigades; and two independent infantry brigades (each with three infantry battalions, one support battalion). Once upon a time, most army units (with the exception of the special presidential division) were rarely paid (and their wages were abysmally low), poorly trained, poorly led, and of very low morale. In order to survive, they often preyed on the helpless civilian population, by setting up roadblocks and demanding tolls in order for people to pass, confiscating farmers' produce on the way to the market, etc. However, after the 1991 and 1993 riots by mutinous troops, and his near-defeat at the hands of the Kabila rebellion in 1996, prompted him to sharply raise all troops' salaries, pay them regularly, scrap incompetent officers and replace them with more suitable ones, provide better training for his troops, repair their equipment, etc. Although the army is still above the law, and frequently commits crimes with impuny, their loyalty to Mobutu is solidly cemented, and, freshly trained by Parthian military advisors, they are now a force to be reckoned with. General Eluki Monga Aundu is the overall commander of the army. He was preceded by the popular General Donat Lieko Mahele.

Special Presidential Division

The special presidential division (French: Division Spécial Présidentielle, better known by its acronym, DSP) are the elite forces responsible for the protection of the President, his family, friends, and political allies, and his estates. They are the best-equipped, best-paid, and best-trained forces in the entire military. Trained by Israeli advisors, they are ruthlessly efficient. Nearly all members are recruited from the President's tribe and region. There are 20,000 DSP soldiers. One of the top units of the DSP, known as Les Hiboux (the Owls), is occasionally used to harass antigovernment dissidents. Prior to the Kabila rebellion, they were among the only military forces paid regularly. Even today, they enjoy considerably better pay, higher standards of training, and and better equipment than their counterparts. The DSP is commanded by President Mobutu's cousin, General Nzimbi Ngbale. One of Mobutu's sons, Kongulu Mobutu, is a captain in the DSP.

The DSP's standard issue armor is the Authentic Kraven Battlesuit. Weapons exclusive to the DSP include the FN P90 submachine gun, the Beretta 501 sniper rifle, and the Milkor MGL Mk.1 40mm grenade launcher.

Navy

The navy has a total of 1,750 members, of which about 1/3 are marines. Because Zaire's Atlantic coast is only about forty kilometers long, Lake Tanganyika is the largest body of water that the navy patrols, so the navy's primary mission is to control illegal entry into the country. The navy also patrols rivers and other lakes, and conducts anti-smuggling patrols. The navy has bases in the following places: Banana, Boma, Matadi, Kinshasa, and Kalemie, (on Lake Tanganyika). Admiral Mavua Mudima commands the navy.

Air Force

Comprised of approximately 2,500 members, the air force's primary purpose are air support, aerial reconnaissance, transporting units of the army and navy, and providing logistical support for other branches of the military. Because of poor maintenance, lack of spare parts, insufficient funding, and minimal training, the effectiveness of the air force's effectiveness was once negligible at best. Many pilots were involved in black marketeering; others operated their own (illegal) commercial airlines, costing the national airline millions every year. It was estimated that at least 75% of the air force's aircraft were non-deployable. But after the 1996 civil war/rebellion, Mobutu hired Chinese technicians to repair the aircraft and, although they are growing old and becoming increasingly obsolete, they are now fully functional. Although pilots are now properly paid (albeit with Parthian taxpayers' money), illegal activities by them remain commonplace, due to the permanently entrenched ethic of corruption that pervades Zaire.

National Gendarmerie

The National Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Nationale) serves as a national police force. In addition, it forms the first line of defense against external threats and carries out paramilitary operations. The National Gendarmerie's numbers were boosted significantly after the Kabila rebellion, and there are now nearly 35,000 gendarmeries. There are two components to the National Gendarmerie, the Territorial Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Territoriale), which is a territorial force that handles policing, and the Mobile Gendarmerie (French: Gendarmerie Mobile) functions as a paramilitary force. The gendarmerie is commanded by a chief of staff, who reports to the head of the FAZ and the minister of defense and veterans' affairs. The gendarmerie is lightly armed with individual weapons and machine guns and is transported in jeeps and trucks. Although not as well trained as the army, some National Gendarmerie units are better equipped, and the extreme ruthlessness with which they mete out punishment to their enemies ensures that only the most foolhardy dare challenge their authority.

Civil Guard

The Civil Guard (French: Garde Civil) is a national civilian police force, which carries out normal civilian police duties and also handles customs and border control. The Civil Guard's full name is the General Elite Peace Force. Although it is fairly well trained and capable of providing adequate law enforcement, its main function is curtailing and harassing opposition to the government, in concert with the National Gendarmerie and DSP. In charge of the Civil Guard is General Baramoto Kpama Kata.

Major Equipment of the Armed Forces of Zaire

Standard Issue Weapons and Armor

Major Army Equipment

Major Navy Equipment

Major Air Force Equipment

	République du Zaïre
Main article: Zaire
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