• Military Menu                       

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Industry
• Operations
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security
• Space

143rd Infantry Battalion

The Nigerian army’s 143rd Infantry Battalion [also called the 143rd Ranger Battalion or the Nigerian Ranger Battalion] was formed from the ground up in early 2014. According to AFRICOM assessments, the Nigerian military units best position to conduct hostage rescue operations are the Special Boat Service (SBS) and 101st, but both units require significant additional training. Both the SBS and the 101st are trainable under the Leahy Laws. The U.S. is also supporting another specialized unit, the newly-created 143rd Ranger Battalion, which has also cleared Leahy vetting.

In September 2013 the Nigerian Directorate of Training visited the US Army Ranger School at Fort Benning, Georgia. Following the visit, the Nigerian Army came up with a Ranger Training/Advanced Infantry Training request. The funding that the Nigerian Army provided for this training was capped at almost US$400,000.

Special Forces troops from the California Army National Guard deployed to Nigeria in May 2014 to train the newly formed infantry battalion designed specifically to counter the threat from Boko Haram, the Islamic militant group which has killed thousands of Nigerian people and kidnapped hundreds of young girls. This is a classic SpecialForces mission — training an indigenous force in a remote area in an austere environment to face a very real threat.

Not only is this deployment a first-of-its-kind mission for the California Army National Guard, it is a first for the US Army. US troops had previously trained Nigerian battalions for United Nations peacekeeping missions, but this time the Nigerian government requested full-spectrum operational training for its new 650-man battalion.

It is not peacekeeping. It is every bit of what is called ‘decisive action,’ meaning those soldiers will go in harm’s way to conduct counterinsurgency operation in their country to defeat a known threat, and it’s all purely funded by the Nigerians.

Among the skills being taught by the Cal Guard’s Special Forces units are fundamentals of patrolling, small-unit tactics, movement to contact, night operations and ambush tactics. The Nigerian soldiers also receive instruction on human rights, basic soldiering skills, advanced infantry skills, land navigation, marksmanship and troop-leading procedures.