Amari National Defence Force

DATE Africa > Amari

The Amari National Defense Force (ANDF) is the state military of Amari. Its composition, disposition, and doctrine are the result of years of relative peace, but near constant internal security concerns and regional threats . The ANDF consists of the Amarian Army, Air Force, and Navy. Amari paramilitary forces include the Border Guard Corps (BGC) and Special Reserve Force (SRF). The ANDF as presently constituted was formed shortly after Amari declared independence in 19## and evolved within the tradition of frontier and border warfare fought by colonial militia forces. Following the 19## coup, the interim authority initiated a reduction of forces to roughly its current size. Internal security and the constant struggle against border incursion continue to shape its structure and roles.

The ANDF has performed well and is generally well-regarded throughout Amari and enjoys wide-spread support, with only a few regional exceptions. Over the last decade, the ANDF has become increasingly involved in peacekeeping efforts in the region, often as part of wider [Regional Security Force] or the [Regional Economic Community Stability Force] operations. Amari also is a regular contributor to international peacekeeping forces. Elements of the Amari army and air force have contributed forces to operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

The armed forces of Amari are unique in the region in the extent of inclusiveness and diversity in its ranks. Where other countries’ ground forces are often predominantly segregated along ethnic, tribal, or religious lines, the ANDF is very intentional in creating multi-ethnic units. This strategy has not been without its challenges (see: "Turkana Insurrection"), but has been demonstrated to be an effective way to promote the image of impartiality throughout the various districts of the country. The inclusion of women and other traditional minorities in the ANDF has increased over the last decade, with all but the border control elements being integrated to some level.

Defense spending and percentage of GDP included over the last five years averaged $### million, 2.3% of GDP. (Figures from CIA World Factbook.)

U .S. International Military Education and Training funds remains essential to Amari's successful officer training program, with more than 20 percent of Amari army officers and more than 60% Amari air force officers receiving military training in the US each year.

Amari Views on Neighbor States’ Security Conditions

Ziwa	Kujenga	Nyumba
Partners in combating criminal and countering extremists along shared border and on Lake Victoria. Generally not considered a threat, but viewed as a buffer between Amari and Kujengan instability.	Partners in combating criminal and countering extremists along shared border and on Lake Victoria. Generally not considered a threat, but viewed as a buffer between Amari and Kujengan instability.	Nyumba is unable or unwilling to prevent instability and criminality from spilling across the border. Nyumba has ceded control of its western territory to militias, causing rampant lawlessness and refugees. Piracy and militia violence may allow Nyumba incursions.

Amari National Command Authority

National Command Authority

The National Command Authority (NCA) construct of Amari exercises overall control of the application of all instruments of national power to plan and carry out the national security strategy. The Amari National Defence Chief is highest military individual in the chain of command over the military. This position may be held by any of the service chiefs, but has, in practice been almost exclusively the Army Chief of Staff and functions at the top of the military hierarchy and decision-making process.

National Strategic Goals

The NCA determines the direction and scope of Amari's strategic mission. Amari's overall goals include the defense of its natural resources, maintaining internal security against extremists, and defense against any regional attacks by potential enemies. The Minister of Defence may also publish supplements to clarify these high-level goals to address contemporary requirements. Amari generally does not endorse preemptive strikes , but reserves the right if there is a perceived imminent danger.

Examples of strategic goals supplements include:

• Stability and security of the northwestern Gulu-Kakuma region
• Provide security in response to violent extremist organizations and terrorism
• Containment of insurgent groups, especially those in the Tanga region and Pemba Island
• Provide support and security for refugees fleeing regional conflict
• Support to law enforcement to prevent poaching and provide security in wildlife preserves

Amari Army

Amari maintains a robust ground force capability that consists of a conventional military capable of conducting a wide range of operations. The ground forces, including paramilitary groups, boast an estimated 37,000 troops, augmented by approximately 10-15,000 reserve force personnel. The army functionally organizes its forces, known as "formations." The formations are administrative consist of an armor regiment, three mechanized brigades, a motorized infantry regiment, artillery formation, and a combined capital defense force and strategic reserve. The army also has operational control of the nation’s two paramilitary forces.

The primary roles of the Amari Army are to ensure the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country by guarding against external aggression, both conventional and unconventional; suppress violent insurgencies and other extremists; combat criminal operations; and provide assistance to civil authorities in guarding and protecting government buildings and key installations as provided in the Amari National Defence Act.

The ANDF also has an ongoing commitment to providing forces and support to the peacekeeping operations in the region and military operations out of the region. The ANDF contributed forces to operations in both Afghanistan and Iraq.

Doctrine and Tactics

Amari land doctrine focuses on maintaining the ability to successfully conduct operations in difficult and often austere conditions, which gives credibility to its deterrence and national military pressure capabilities.

Amari derives most of its ground force doctrine and tactics from a combination of colonial influences and more recent military trainers – primarily from the UK. An emphasis on integrated action drives task organization across the various formations and gives the Amari ground forces substantial agility, despite the relative heaviness of its forces. The paramilitary forces (Border Guard Corps, Special Reserve Force) are regarded as a valuable asset to this doctrinal flexibility and is regularly integrated into regular army operations.

The Amari army can readily adjust its doctrine and tactics in response to shifting security concerns of its neighbors. Amari can conduct multi-brigade operations, but has rarely had the need to deploy in this manner. In practice, they often use adaptive tactics or hybrid configurations. In almost all operations, the ground forces will be integrated with the other services to some extent. Similar to its Western contemporaries, Amari ground forces employ tactical control measures, including assembly areas, forming-up assembly areas just prior to attacks, advance axes, checkpoints, jump-off lines, and attack lines.

Composition

Maneuver brigades serve as Amari’s basic combined arms unit. The major maneuver units of the ANDF continue to be administratively aligned along their historical regimental affiliations, but in practice are task organized and deployed based on operational requirements in designated “Military Districts.”

Units may be organized into special purpose task forces, designed to possess greater ability to accomplish independent missions without further allocation of forces from a higher-level headquarters. An example of this is "Task Force Cheetah" that was formed to respond to border incursions by militant forces in the northwestern Gulu region in 2008. The Amari National Defence Force structures its maneuver brigades to provide maximum flexibility. Maneuver battalions are organized to conduct operations independently or as part of a task-organized brigade tactical group (BTG).

Amari Army Order of Battle

Primary Formations:

• 12th Mechanised Brigade
• 14th Mechanised Brigade
• 18th Mechanised Brigade
• 5th Armour Regiment
• 102nd Infantry Regiment (“Amari Mounted Rifles”)
• Fires Regiment
• Reconnaissance Formation
• Capital Defence Force and Strategic Reserve

12th Mechanised Brigade. Based in Kampala, the brigade is responsible for the internal security and border protection in the Western Military District. Elements of the Border Guard Corps (BGC) are attached (?) for security along the borders of Nyumba and Kujenga.

14th Mechanised Brigade. Based in Arusha the brigade is responsible for the internal security and border protection in the Southern Military District. Elements of the Border Guard Corps (BGC) are attached (?) for security along the borders of Ziwa and Kujenga.

18th Mechanised Brigade. Based in Nyeri the brigade is responsible for the internal security and border protection in the Northern Military District. Elements of the Border Guard Corps (BGC) are attached (?) for security along the borders of Nyumba .

5th Armour Brigade. This formation’s assets are typically task organized by battalion to each of the mechanised brigades. 102d Infantry Regiment. This formation’s assets may be task organized by battalion or company in support of each military district’s operational requirements. They may also deploy to suppliment border security forces. At least one battalion will be deployed as part of either an international or regional peacekeeping force.

Fires Regiment. This formation’s assets are typically task organized by battalion to each of the mechanized brigades. One or more firing batteries may be deployed as part of either an international or regional peacekeeping force. Reconnaissance and Intelligence Formation. The structure of the Reconnaissance Formation can significantly change as many of its personnel are either reservists or tasked personnel from other elements. The unmanned aerial reconnaissance company can task organize to operate with other elements.

Capital Defence Force (CDF). Based near the Amari capital of Kisumu, the CDF is responsible for providing capital security and defense, as well as supporting operations in the various military districts and providing ceremonial duties. It also contains the senior command elements for all services, as well as liaison and management of intelligence resources and functions.

Paramilitary Forces

Border Guard Corps (BGC). The BGC is a national security and paramilitary unit if ANDF and the primary law enforcement body outside of the well-policed urban areas. They are administratively under the Ministry of Revenue , but are under operations control of the Amari Army. The BGC’s primary roles are border control operations and combating crime cross-border trafficking and other transient criminal activities. They are primarily utilized to augment police in elevated-risk inspections at customs stations and to supplement border infantry forces. Soldiers leaving active duty with regular units often transfer to the BGC rather than to the reserve rolls. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 15, Special Purpose Forces and Commandos.)

Special Reserve Force (SRF). SRF personnel are elite police/paramilitary soldiers. Their most significant roles are to conduct special operations, riot control, and counter-terrorism. They may be used independently or in conjunction with regular military operations. They routinely train and deploy with elements of the Airborne Battalion and the Air Force to conduct operations in remote areas. They will often have more advanced equipment (niche Tier 1) and funding than other Amari forces. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 15, Special Purpose Forces and Commandos.)

Defence Force Reserves. The ANDF reserve component is manned with a voluntary national service system. Through this system, volunteers receive a basic military-style familiarization training and have the option to receive additional training and transfer to the regular forces. Reserve formations are aligned either with regular units or military district. They are mostly used for civil emergency defense.

Training and Readiness

Amari fields the one of the best-trained and most professional military forces in the region. The AMoD’s training branch manages training courses for officers and enlistees throughout their respective career paths. Unit training is managed by unit commanders. Most units maintain a 75% operational readiness rate.

Paramilitary forces have their own training departments, but share many of the same courses as the Army. Amari’s paramilitary forces maintain their training and readiness on a par with their Army counterparts. Amari’s push for integrated (ethnic, gender, tribal) forces and training has increased its flexibility and reduced professionalism problems experienced by some if it regional neighbors. Intentional integration of paramilitary and reserve forces into regular military training and schools has further developed the overall professionalism of the force.

Amari retains a reserve recall capability of former soldiers for five years after leaving active duty, but has never activated it. If activated, it would add approximately 12,000 troops to the army strength levels. The capability of these reserves troops would vary greatly and they would likely be used to back-fill non-combat gaps. There is currently no compulsory service requirement or draft.

Weapons and Equipment

Amari ground forces’ equipment and weapons largely reflect Tier 2 capabilities with limited Tier 1 niche capabilities, although budget constraints and shifting political environments threaten to allow stocks to age. The Amari inventory is a mix of equipment from Russia/USSR, China, Namibia, and the UK . The Special Reserve Force (SRF) enjoys the best and most modern equipment (Tier 1-2), while the Border Guard Corps (BGC) and some infantry units largely have Tier 3 inventories. The Amari army has the equipment to operate in all terrain types and successfully conduct both day and night operations.

Functional Capabilities

Command and Control

The Amari military maintains its constitutionally-mandated civilian control and structure. It has developed a high degree of trust across all echelons. Professional military training has filled its ranks with competent leaders with the ability to operate independently.

Amari is keenly aware of potential threats to its command and control (C2) capabilities and has worked to mitigate such threats and has decentralized wherever viable. Despite this effort, their communications and networks may yet be vulnerable to attack and/or monitoring. Amari commander generally understand that centralized planning helps assure both command (establishing the aim) and control (sustaining the aim), leading to strategic and operational directions. Necessarily then, the military relies on the loyalty of its forces and extends far-ranging authority for troops to act while foregoing rigorous control as unproductive in the modern environment. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 2, Command and Control.)

C2 at the tactical level of command emphasizes survivability through mobility, communications redundancy, and rigorous operations security. Command posts and procedures are streamlined at the operational level, relying heavily on common procedures for important recurring tactical tasks. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 2, Command and Control.)

Maneuver

The Amari military has a robust capability to conduct combined arms operations. Maneuver brigades serve as Amari’s basic combined arms unit. The major maneuver units of the ANDF continue to be administratively aligned along their historical regimental affiliations, but in practice are task organized and deployed based on operational requirements. Units may be organized into special purpose task forces, designed to possess greater ability to accomplish independent missions without further allocation of forces from a higher-level headquarters.

The military districts usually rotate forces between forward and supporting roles. This provides a consistent defensive posture while allowing for rapid response to potential threats. Forces may also provide support outside of their assigned district as needed . The Amari National Defence Force structures its maneuver brigades to provide maximum flexibility. Maneuver battalions are organized to conduct operations independently or as part of a task-organized brigade tactical group (BTG).

Air Defense

Air defense in Amari is the responsibility of all unit, all-arms effort. All ground units possess some type of an organic air defense capability to differing degrees, depending on the type and size of the unit. Maneuver and paramilitary forces are trained to use organic systems, such as heavy machine guns and even some ATGMs, in an air defense capacity. Amari also has a dedicated air defense regiment that is responsible for larger systems and point defense. Air defense batteries are often task organized to maneuver units.

Amari has significantly developed its integrated air defense system (IADS), which includes dedicated systems throughout the force and surveillance systems. This ability provides continuous and overlapping umbrella of coverage and presents a significant defense against most potential enemy air activity. (For more information, see TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 11, Air Defense.)

INFOWAR

Ariana defines information warfare (INFOWAR) as specifically planned and integrated actions to achieve an information advantage at critical points and times. The goal is to influence a threat actor’s decision-making cycle through collected and available information, information systems, and information-based processes, while retaining the ability to employ friendly information and information-based processes and systems.

Defense against threat GPS jamming and spoofing is a serious concern for the Amari due to the high dependency of key systems – particularly advanced targeting and UAV capabilities. That Amari have not publicly discussed any potential offensive capabilities. Regular forces are becoming more accustomed to operating in communication-degraded environments, but may still be vulnerable to GPS interference.

Amari has developed a robust defensive cyber operations (DCO) capability in response to intrusion by international and regional hostile actors. Amari reportedly has well-developed offensive cyber operations (OCO) and cyber operational preparation of the environment (cyber OPE). Cyber operations, other than tactical active and passive protective measures, are managed by the Ministry of Defense. The MOD may allocate resources as needed to tactical commanders. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 7, Information Warfare and Amari:Information)

RISTA

Reconnaissance, intelligence, surveillance, and target acquisition (RISTA) is one of the most important enabling functions of the Amari military. Amari ground commanders will use these capabilities to aggressively gain understanding with overlapping redundancy in the intelligence disciplines.

The primary purpose of Amari RISTA forces is to enable commanders’ understanding of the human, information and physical aspects of the environment by collecting, processing and disseminating information and intelligence required. Amari RISTA elements are fully capable of conducting both reconnaissance and surveillance tasks. These elements’ composition may vary according to the supported maneuver commander’s requirements. They may also conduct operations independent of a supported command. Although these elements generally avoid armed contact and detection, reconnaissance forces, when supported by fires, can provide guards and screens, or be used to degrade enemy ISR capabilities or conduct limited counter-reconnaissance.

Amari has invested heavily in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), allocated them as acquired down to the lowest echelon as possible. Most maneuver units and many border elements have demonstrated effective use of the UAV to supplement human and electronic surveillance. Amari has developed a significant aerial intelligence capability, including support from the Navy assets and space-based capabilities. Amari also maintains intelligence sharing agreements with Ziwa. [link to Information Variable]

Fire Support

Amari military doctrine stresses that fire support combines air assets, surface-to-surface missiles, and artillery into an integrated attack against enemy defenses as well as for offense operations. Amari capability in this area has been proven during numerous peacekeeping deployments. Technical enhancements will likely increase the accuracy and integration of the entire spectrum of fire support systems. The majority of the indirect fire systems are towed and have dedicated tow and support vehicles. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 9, Indirect Fire Support.)

Protection

Amari will attempt to minimize civilian casualties and collateral damage as much as possible. Military engineer elements are highly capable and are well-integrated into maneuver units and have supported border efforts to reduce unauthorized crossing. Amari C2 and related systems are generally sufficient to prevent unintended casualties and damage. In times of conflict, mobility assets may surge to support repositioning of heavy maneuver elements. Amari engineer capabilities have been leveraged in peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance deployments. (See TC 7-100.2: Opposing Force Tactics, Chapter 12, Engineer Support.)

Logistics

The Amari military maintains a robust domestic logistics capability that can support its maneuver units for any length of time. As it has accumulated deployment requirements, Amari has invested in additional air and sea-borne transport capabilities. Ariana’s Amari’s military continues to improve its logistics systems, including increased emphasis on regional support stockpiles in each military district. Other missions include mobilization control, in-country movement and life support tasks (for example, reception, staging and onward integration), force supply and distribution, the reverse supply chain, contractor support and personnel policy. Tactical level logistic, equipment, health services, infrastructure and administrative support are normally conducted by the individual components, but require coordination across the wider joint operations area.

CBRNE

Amari does not have an offensive CBRNE capability, nor is it part of their warfighting doctrine. All units receive defensive training and have a basic chemical defense capability. Emergency responders in all cities have more advanced capabilities for mass casualty care.