Royal Brunei Armed Forces
| Royal Brunei Armed Forces | |
|---|---|
| Angkatan Bersenjata Diraja Brunei | |
| File:Mindefbru.JPG | |
| Founded | 31 May 1961 |
| Current form | 1 January 1984 |
| Service branches | Royal Brunei Land Forces Royal Brunei Air Force Royal Brunei Navy Training Institute |
| Headquarters | Bolkiah Garrison, Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei |
| Leadership | |
| Supreme Commander | Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah |
| Minister of Defence | Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah Major General (Retired) Halbi Mohd Yussof (Second Minister of Defence) |
| Commander | Major General Pengiran Aminan Pengiran Mahmud |
| Personnel | |
| Military age | 18 and over |
| Available for military service | 108,356 males, age 16-49, 110,153 females, age 16-49 |
| Fit for military service | 92,543 males, age 16-49, 95,301 females, age 16-49 |
| Reaching military age annually | 3,460 males, 3,399 females |
| Active personnel | 10,000 |
| Expenditure | |
| Percent of GDP | $436.76 Million (Budget) /4.5% (2006) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers |  Australia Belgium Canada France Germany Indonesia Italy Netherlands Singapore Sweden United Kingdom United States Malaysia |
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF; Template:Lang-ms, ABDB) are the military forces of Brunei. They consist of the Royal Brunei Land Forces, Royal Brunei Navy and Royal Brunei Air Force. The head of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces is the Supreme Commander and is held by the Sultan of Brunei, and the incumbent is Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah. They are managed under the Ministry of Defence. The Royal Brunei Armed Forces were formed on 31 May 1961.
Name
Upon inception, the Royal Brunei Armed Forces were originally known as the Brunei Malay Regiment (Askar Melayu Brunei). On 31 May 1965, the word 'Diraja' (Malay for 'Royal') was added to the title, hence it became known as the Royal Brunei Malay Regiment (Askar Melayu Diraja Brunei). It finally adopted its current name on 1 January 1984, that is on the day Brunei proclaimed independence from the United Kingdom.[1]
Leadership
Commander
| Commanders of Royal Brunei Armed Forces | Term in Office |
|---|---|
| 1 Pehin Orang Kaya Seri Dewa Major General (Rtd.) Dato Seri Pahlawan Haji Mohammad bin Haji Daud | 30 December 1985 - 9 August 1990 |
| 2 Pehin Datu Indera Setia Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Sulaiman Bin Haji Awang Damit | 10 August 1990 - 29 September 1994 |
| 3 Pehin Datu Harimaupadang Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Hussin bin Ahmad | 30 September 1994 - 29 September 1997 |
| 4 Major General (Rtd.) Pengiran Dato Paduka Seri Haji Abidin bin Pengiran Haji Ahmad | 30 September 1997 - 3 July 1999 |
| 5 Pehin Datu Padukaraja Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Shari bin Ahmad | 31 August 1999 - 1 April 2001 |
| 6 Pehin Orang Kaya Lela Pahlawan Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Mohammad Jaafar bin Haji Abdul Aziz | 2 April 2001 - 27 March 2003 |
| 7 Pehin Datu Lailaraja Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Halbi bin Haji Mohammad Yussof | 28 March 2003 - 31 December 2009 |
| 8 Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Haji Aminuddin Ihsan bin Pehin Orang Kaya Saiful Mulok Dato Seri Paduka Haji Abidin | 31 January 2009 - 30 February 2014 |
| 9 Pehin Datu Pekerma Jaya Major General (Rtd.) Dato Paduka Seri Mohammad Tawih bin Abdullah | 30 February 2014 - 31 January 2018 |
| 10 Major General Pengiran Dato Paduka Seri Aminan bin Pengiran Haji Mahmud | 31 January 2018 - present |
Organisation
Branches
Royal Brunei Land Forces
The Royal Brunei Land Forces (Tentera Darat Diraja Brunei) is a brigade sized formation that consists of three battalions and a support battalion. The role of the Royal Brunei Land Forces is to maintain the security of Brunei and to defend the sovereignty of the country. Its main responsibility is to oppose any threat from within or outside the country and to maintain peace and security in the country.[2] The Royal Brunei Land Forces is the largest of the armed services.
Royal Brunei Air Force
The Royal Brunei Air Force (Tentera Udara Diraja Brunei) is a small, mainly helicopter-based force which is tasked with supporting the other branches of the armed services and defending Bruneian air space. It was established in 1965 and consists of a range of helicopters, including: 10 Bell 212 and 4 Sikorsky S-70. The Bell 212s are to be replaced between 2013–15 by 12 Sikorsky S-70i.[3]
The Royal Brunei Air Force fixed-wing inventory is limited to around 4 Pilatus PC-7 training aircraft and Airbus CN-235 transport aircraft.[4] On 14 July 2014, the Commander of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces announced plans to order the C-130J in the near future.[5] On 7 October 2014, Brunei purchased a single C-130J with spare parts and logistic support for 343 million dollars.
Royal Brunei Navy
The Royal Brunei Navy (Tentera Laut Diraja Brunei) is the naval defence force of Brunei Darrussalam. It is a small but relatively well-equipped force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions and to deter and defend the Brunei waters against attack mounted by sea borne forces.[6]
Support Services
The Support Services of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces had the responsibility of providing support services to units in the RBAF in all aspects pertaining to their administration, security, health, logistics, communication, transportation and technical equipment service support to all units in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. The Support Services or the Royal Brunei Armed Forces also worked closely with other units in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces to undergo and help co-ordinate military training and operations. As part of the reorganisation of the RBAF, the Support Services was disbanded in early 2009 and its various units were relocated.[7]
Bands
The RBAF Band was established on 31 May 1962 at Port Dickinson in Malaysia. It originally had 21 members. On 1 January 1984, Major Haji Manaf bin Kamis became the first local to head the band. Kamis was the judge at a competition which chose the official anthem of ASEAN. Since 2003, it has been led by Major Awg Jaya bin Metussin. It has participated in events such as the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, the Brunei Darussalam International Tattoo and the Berlin Military Music Festival.[8] The RBAF Band first participated in the Hari Merdeka celebrations and the Kuala Lumpur International Tattoo in Malaysia in 2007 and has since become a regular participant.[9]
The 2nd and 3rd Battalion Royal Brueni Land Forces Pipes and Drums are also part of the larger RBAF Band. Bands are also maintained in the Navy and the Air Force.
Training Institute
The Training Institute of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces is also known as the Military Training Institution. It provides basic military training to all new recruits to the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. Other military courses are also offered and conducted in the institution to personnel of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.[10]
Recruitment
Only Brunei citizens of the Malay ethnicity (Bumiputera) are allowed to enlist in the Royal Brunei Armed Forces.[11] The Malay ethnicity comprises the Belait, Bisaya, Brunei, Dusun, Kedayan, Murut, and Tutong indigenous races as defined in the Brunei constitution.[12] Military service is not compulsory for any segment of the population; there is no conscription. Both women and men work in the military.
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces(RBAF) Military Cadet should not be confused with the RBAF Military Cadets of Higher Institutions(Not officially members) despite sharing the same name. They could be identified by the uniforms they are wearing(the old woodland camouflage for the higher institutions while the official Military cadets wore digital camouflage).[13]
Miscellaneous
The Royal Brunei Armed Forces (RBAF) use a wide range of foreign equipment, with a large percentage originating from the United Kingdom, France/Europe and the United States. The Bruneian military lacks any recent combat experience but has been deployed regionally in humanitarian and peacekeeping missions. Brunei also has extensive military relations with Singapore.
31 May is the Armed Forces Day of Brunei, which celebrates the founding of the Royal Brunei Armed Forces. It is an annual national holiday and the events on the day include military parade in front of the Sultan and public exhibition of the armament. On 31 May 2011, Royal Brunei Armed Forces celebrated its golden jubilee.
See also
Notes
- ^ "MINDEF - RBAF Introduction". www.mindef.gov.bn. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
- ^ Royal Brunei Land Forces - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 2 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Black-Hawks-for-Brunei-07207/%7C+LPD+22+%7C+PAC-3+%7C+C-5+Galaxy+%7C+US+Navy+Destroyers&date_sent=2011-11-23+12%3A42%3A12[permanent dead link]
- ^ Royal Brunei Air Force - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 2 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2014.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Royal Brunei Navy - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 2 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Royal Brunei Armed Forces Support Services - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 28 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ https://www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/6366602/royal-brunei-armed-forces-band-ministry-of-defence
- ^ http://www.mindef.gov.bn/Lists/News/DispForm.aspx?ID=3188
- ^ Royal Brunei Armed Forces Training Institute - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 19 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Military Record, Brunei - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 18 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Brunei: The Abode of Peace - Retrieved 20 April 2007 Archived 13 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "News - HIGHER INSTITUTIONS MILITARY CADETS BATTLE..." www.mindef.gov.bn. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
External links
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