Lebanese Armed Forces

Lebanese Armed Forces القوات المسلحة اللبنانية
Flag of the Lebanese Armed Forces
Founded	August 1, 1945
Current form	1983 and 1991
Service branches	Lebanese Army Lebanese Air Force Lebanese Navy
Headquarters	Yarze, Lebanon
Leadership
Commander-in-chief	Jean Kahwaji (2008–)
Minister of defense	Yaacoub Sarraf
Chief of staff	Hatem Mallak (2016–)
Manpower
Military age	18–30 years of age for voluntary military service
Conscription	No (abolished in 2007)
Available for military service	1,106,879 males, age 18–49, 1,122,595 females, age 18–49
Fit for military service	934,828 males, age 18–49, 948,327 females, age 18–49
Active personnel	87 000 (80 000 army,5000 navy,2000 air force )
Expenditures
Budget	$1.275 billion (2013)
Percent of GDP	2.8%
Industry
Foreign suppliers	United States  France  United Kingdom  Saudi Arabia  Russia
Related articles
History	World War I Army of the Levant (1919–1946) Allied Forces Vichy French Forces French Mandate of Lebanon World War II Syria–Lebanon Campaign 1948 Arab-Israeli War 1958 Lebanon crisis The War over Water Lebanese Civil War Battle of the Hotels Hundred Days' War Multinational Force in Lebanon 1982–1984 Mountain War War of the Camps Operation Dinnieh Global War on Terrorism United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (1978–present) Operation Benin 2006 Lebanon War Operation Nahr el Bared 2008 conflict in Lebanon 2013 Sidon clash Battle of Arsal North Lebanon Clashes (2014)
Ranks	Military Ranks of Lebanon

1948 Arab-Israeli War
1958 Lebanon crisis
The War over Water
Lebanese Civil War

Operation Dinnieh
Global War on Terrorism

The Lebanese Armed Forces (LAF) (Arabic: القوات المسلحة اللبنانية | Al-Quwwāt al-Musallaḥa al-Lubnāniyya) or Forces Armées Libanaises (FAL) in French, also known as the Lebanese Army according to its official website (Arabic: الجيش اللبناني or "Armée libanaise" in French), is the military of the Republic of Lebanon. It consists of three branches, the army, the air force and the navy. The motto of the Lebanese Armed Forces is "Honor, Sacrifice, Loyalty" (Arabic: "شرف · تضحية · وفاء" - Sharaf.Tadhia.Wafa^_'). The Lebanese Armed Forces symbol consists of a Lebanon cedar tree surrounded by two laurel leaves, positioned above the symbols of the three branches: the ground forces represented by the two bayonets, the navy represented by an anchor, and the air force represented by two wings.

The Lebanese Armed Forces' primary missions include defending Lebanon and its citizens against external aggression, maintaining internal stability and security, confronting threats against the country's vital interests, engaging in social development activities and undertaking relief operations in coordination with public and humanitarian institutions.

The armed forces consist of 87,000 active personnel with the ground force consisting of approximately 80,000 troops, the air force 2000 personnel and 5,000 in the naval force. The remaining personnel are commanders, advisors, engineers and members of the special forces. All three branches are operated and coordinated by the LAF Commander; a position customarily held by a Maronite Catholic Christian, from the ministry of defence which is located in Yarzeh, east of Lebanon's capital, Beirut. The actual commander in chief of the Lebanese Armed Forces is General Jean Kahwaji Currently, the LAF is ranked sixth in the world in terms of growth, with the number of military personnel doubling over the period between 1985 and 2000. The country has six military colleges and schools. Lebanese officers are sent to other countries such as the US, Russia or other parts of Europe to receive additional training.