Ghana army
| Ghana Army | |
|---|---|
| Founded | 29 July 1959 – present (57 years, 6 months) |
| Country |
 Ghana
|
| Allegiance | Constitution of Ghana |
| Branch | GAF Army Military Branch |
| Type | Army |
| Role | Ground Warfare |
| Part of |
 GAF; Ghanaian Ministry of Defence and GA Central Defence Headquarters |
| Colors | Scarlet, Black and Dartmouth Green |
| Commanders | |
| Chief of the Army Staff | Major General Obed Akwa |
The Ghana Army (GA) is the main ground warfare organizational military branch of the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF). In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast obtained independence as Ghana, the Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West African Frontier Force, and formed the basis for the new Ghanaian army. Together with the Ghanaian air force (GHF) and Ghanaian navy (GN), the Ghanaian army (GA) makes up the Ghanaian Armed Forces (GAF), controlled by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Central Defence Headquarters, both located in Greater Accra.
The command structure for the army forces in Ghana originally stemmed from the British Army's West Africa Command. Lieutenant General Lashmer Whistler was the penultimate commander holding the command from 1951 to 1953. Lt Gen Sir Otway Herbert, who left the West Africa Command in 1955, was the last commander. The command was dissolved on 1 July 1956.
In 1957, the Ghana Army consisted of its headquarters, support services, three battalions of infantry and a reconnaissance squadron with armoured cars. Total strength was approximately 5,700 men. Partially due to an over-supply of British officers after the end of the Second World War, only 12% of the officer corps in Ghana, 29 officers out a total of 209 in all, were black Ghanaians at independence. Under Major General Alexander Paley, there were almost 200 British Ghanaian officers and 230 warrant officers and senior commissioned officers posted throughout the Ghanaian Army.
Ghanaian Prime Minister Kwame Nkrumah wished to rapidly expand and Africanise the army in order to support his Pan-African and anti-colonial ambitions. Thus in 1961, 4th and 5th Battalions were established, and in 1964 6th Battalion was established, from a parachute unit originally raised in 1963. Second Infantry Brigade Group was established in 1961 to command the two battalions raised that year. However, 3rd Battalion was disbanded in February 1961 after an August 1960 mutiny while on Operation des Nations Unies au Congo service at Tshikapa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The changeover from British to Ghanaian officers meant a sudden lowering of experience levels, training and professionalism.
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Wikipedia