Senegal Armée de Terre

Subordinate to the Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, the Chief of Staff of the Army is responsible for the training, training, maintenance and operational capability of the units of the Army, Land Force. The Army is currently the major component of the Armed Forces with more than half of the troops. It is structured around a Headquarters with two divisions in charge of Operations and Logistics.

Territorial units comprise Infantry Battalions supported by sections of heavy mortars whose mission is to watch over borders and to oppose all forms of aggression in their areas of settlement. Reconnaissance and Support Battalions (ARBs) constitute zonal reserves thanks to their flexibility, mobility and firepower. The general reserve units constituting an equipped and armed Intervention Force to be projected on any point of the national territory.

Zone n°1 - Dakar Zone n°2 - Saint Louis Zone n°3 - Kaolack Zone n°4 - Ziguinchor Zone n°5 - Tambacounda Zone n°6 - Kolda Zone n°7 - Thiès North (St Louis) AHQ UNITS 1 x Signal Battalion 1 x Armored Battalion (AML+VTT) 1 x Airborne Battalion 1 x Commando Battalion 1 x Artillery Battalion 1 x Engineer Battalion 1 x Presidential Guard BN 1 x Logistic Group UNITS ASSIGNED TO MR 1st Infantry Battalion 2nd Infantry Battalion 3rd Infantry Battalion 4th Infantry Battalion 5th Infantry Battalion 3 x Recon and Support Bns 1 x Light armored Sqdn (AML) 1 x Motorized Infantry coy 3 x construction companies

Military units, particularly the army's engineer battalion, participated in numerous economic construction projects and in other civic works. Projects included the building of roads, bridges, and airfields; the preparation of sites for housing projects; the improvement of ports; and the development of water supplies. On several occasions government spokesmen confirmed the importance attached to civic projects carried out by the military forces. In 1972 the minister of state for the armed forces indicated that many civil engineering projects being executed by the government would be turned over to the army, as this approach provided vocational training to recruits and also produced economic improvements.

Three major periods marked the evolution of the Army after independence. The first period from 1960 to 1971 saw the creation of a few battalions and participation in the security of the southern border in the context of the war of liberation of Guinea-Bissau and peacekeeping operations in the Congo (ONUC).

The second period from 1972 to 1988 saw the formation of the COMTER, which was transformed first of all into a Major Earth State (EMTER) and finally into a General Staff of the Army (EMAT) Coverage of the entire national territory was achieved by infantry battalions and various troops. The National School of Non-commissioned Officers (ENSOA) in 1971, the National School of Active Officers (ENOA) in 1981, and the Infantry Application Division (DAI) In 1984 became the School of Infantry Application (EAI) in 1990. Participation of the Army in peacekeeping operations in Chad, Zaire at Sinai (FINUS), Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the Gambia (FODE KABA II).

In 1973 the personnel strength of Senegal's armed forces had been increased since the early 1960s, but the total was still slightly under 6,000 men, less than 0.15 percent of the population. The army was the senior service. About 5,000 of these men were in army units, the majority in two infantry battalions and an engineer battalion. There were also two companies of parachute troops, two companies of men who had commando training, and small support units.

The third period from 1988 to the present witnessed the increase in the power of formations. Simultaneous operations in the valley of the Senegal River and in the south of the country in 1989. The rise of these formations enabled the Army to demonstrate its capabilities, both inside and outside the territory, particularly during the War of the Golf (Shield and Desert Storm ), The civil war in Liberia (ECOMOG and UNMIL), the civil war in Rwanda (UNAMIR and TURQUOISE), the Central African Republic (MISAB and MINURCA) and Guinea Bissau (GABOU).

Senegal's armed forces are steadily gaining strength in view of their regular participation in theaters of operation throughout the world, the former Minister of the Interior General Lamine Cissé said 25 February 2016 in Dakar, pointing out that this international experience galvanizes Senegalese troops. "Many people say that Senegal has a strong Army that is well-known in the world, and it is a fact that our Army can be seen everywhere in the theaters of operations," said Cissé.

"It is an experience that it acquires wherever it is deployed in addition to what it has already acquired at the local level," Cissé said. He added that the "good reputation" of Senegal's defense troops goes hand in hand with a "good image" of the military personalities who manage them. "That is why Senegal and its military personalities are not neglected anywhere where they are called on by external defense forces. There are very strong Senegalese personalities in high security missions in the world".

Senegal had well over 3,000 Senegalese military and constabulary forces deployed on peacekeeping operations throughout Africa by 2017, and was the eighth largest contributor in the world for peacekeeping operations. Additionally, the Senegalese Armed Forces must ensure security and be prepared to respond to any sort of crisis throughout across a broad expanse of national territory. Conditions range from desert to Savanah to wetlands. And this often included response to unforeseen emergency conditions.