Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces

Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces
Sierra Leone Coat of Arms
Founded	1961
Current form	2002
Service branches	Army Navy Air Wing
Headquarters	Military Forces HQ, Murray Town Barracks, Freetown, Sierra Leone
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Ernest Bai Koroma
Deputy Minister of Defence	Abdul Rahman Kamara
Chief of Defence Staff	Major General John Milton
Manpower
Military age	17
Active personnel	13,000 [1]
Expenditures
Budget	$10.6 million (2006 est)
Percent of GDP	2.3% (2006)
Industry
Foreign suppliers	United Kingdom  China  United States  Ukraine  Belarus
Related articles
History	Congo Crisis Ndogboyosoi War Sierra Leone Civil War

The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF) is the armed forces of Sierra Leone, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's border and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of its international obligations. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force, then present in the country. The Sierra Leone Armed Forces currently consist of around 13,000 personnel.

Before Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961, the military was known as the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force. The military seized control in 1968, bringing the National Reformation Council into power. On 19 April 1971, when Sierra Leone became a republic, the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force was renamed as the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Force (RSLMF). The RSLMF remained a single service organisation until 1979 when the Sierra Leone Navy was established. It then remained largely unchanged for 16 years until in 1995 when Defence Headquarters (DHQ) was established and the Sierra Leone Air Wing (SLAW) formed. The RSLMF was renamed the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone (AFRSL).

President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah announced in January 2002 that the Sierra Leone Army (SLA) would be unified with the tiny Sierra Leone Air Force and the moribund Sierra Leone Navy to form a reconstituted force known as the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces (RSLAF).

With a state of emergency announced in the country due to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the Armed Forces will aid in protecting quarantine zones for those infected with the virus.

The President of Sierra Leone is constitutionally commander in chief of the military. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence and National Security is in charge of supervising the military. The department is headed by a minister of defence and national security, who is a civilian and a member of the president's Cabinet. The current defence minister is a retired Major General, Alfred Paolo Conteh.