Haitian military
| Armed Forces of Haiti Forces Armées d'Haïti |
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|---|---|
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| Current form | 1958 |
| Disbanded | 1995 |
| Service branches | Haitian Army Haitian Navy Haitian Air Force Haitian Coast Guard Port-au-Prince Police |
| Headquarters | Port-au-Prince, Haiti |
| Leadership | |
| President of Haiti | François Duvalier (1957–1971) Jean-Bertrand Aristide (1994–1996) |
| Chief of the General Staff of the Army / Commander-in-chief |
Maurice P. Flambert (1958) Bernardin Poisson (1994–1995) |
| Related articles | |
| History | Military history of Haiti |
The Armed Forces of Haiti (French: Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H), consisted of the Haitian Army, Haitian Navy (at times), the Haitian Air Force, Haitian Coast Guard, and some police forces (Port-au-Prince Police [blue uniformed with approximately 1,000 members in six companies]). The Army was always the dominant service with the others serving primarily in a support role. The name of Haiti's military was changed from the Garde d'Haiti to the Forces Armées d'Haïti—FAd'H in 1958 during the dictatorship of François Duvalier. After years of military interference in politics, including dozens of military coups, Haiti disbanded its military in 1995.
The origins of Haiti's military lie in the Haitian Revolution. A decade of warfare produced a military cadre from which Haiti's early leaders emerged. Defeat of the French demonstrated Haiti's considerable strategic stamina and tactical capabilities, but Haiti's victory did not translate into a successful national government or a strong economy. Lacking a strong constitution, Haiti was usually ruled by force. The armed forces, who had been united against the French, fragmented into warring regional factions. The military very soon took control of almost every aspect of Haitian life. Officers assumed responsibility for the administration of justice and for municipal management. According to a Haitian diplomat, the country was in its earlier days "an immense military camp." Without viable civilian institutions, Haiti was vulnerable to military personalities, who permanently shaped the nation's authoritarian, personallist, and coercive style of governance.
Haiti's defense fell victim to political vagaries. A readiness for battle and the initiation of defense related engineering projects in the early 19th century turned out to be costly preparation for conflict against phantom armies. The engineering projects included construction of the citadel of La Ferrière in northern Haiti. Soon afterward, Haiti turned its attention toward the rest of the island of Hispaniola (La Isla Española), which Haiti controlled between 1822 and 1844. Controlling the whole island, however, drained the national treasury and induced torpor in the battle-hardened veterans of the wars of independence.
During the mid-19th century, prolonged instability weakened the military. By the end of the 19th century, Haiti's military had become little more than an undisciplined, ill-fed, and poorly paid militia that shifted its allegiances as battles were won or lost and as new leaders came to power. Between 1806 and 1879, an estimated 69 revolts against existing governments took place; another twenty uprisings, or attempted insurrections, broke out between 1908 and 1915.
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