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The Military of Nepal basically consists of the Nepalese Army

Contents

Strength

Army Divisions

Organization

Supreme Command

The National Defence Council

Ranks

Domestic Operations

International Operations

U.S./Nepal military relations

Statistics

References

Gurkhas

See also

Strength

The current strength of Nepal's army is 90,000 troops. It is organized into 'Combat Divisions' and 'Combat Brigades'. As of 2006 the Army has 15 Combat (Infantry) Brigades as follows:
'1st Brigade'
'2nd Brigade'
'3rd Brigade'
'4th Brigade'
'5th Brigade'
'6th Brigade'
'7th Brigade'
'9th Brigade'
'10th Brigade' '( Special Forces )'
'18th Brigade'
'19th Brigade'
'Royal Guards Brigade'
'20th Brigade'
'21st Brigade'
'22nd Brigade'
The '23rd' and '24th Brigades' are in the process of being formed and are partly operational.

Army Divisions

The Army is divided into six Combat Divisions. This is part of the re-organization of the Military designed to improve its capacity to fight the Maoist Revolt. Each division has a number of Brigades under its control.
'Far Western Division'-Headquartered at Dipayal
'Mid Western Division'-Headquartered at Nepalgunj
'Western Division'-Headquartered at Pokhara
'Central Division'-Headquartered at Hetauda
'Valley Division'-Headquartered at Katmandu
'Eastern Division'-Headquartered at Itahari

Organization

The current command and control organization of Nepal's army is set forth in the 1990 Constitution. As of January 2007, it is still Nepal's active constitution. However, the current government has said that it plans to replace the 1990 constitution with a new one. The timeframe for this new constitution is unknown as of now and the possibility remains that the 1990 constitution will only be amended or left as is. It is simply too early to know how this will work out. Until a new or amended constitution comes into effect, the basic layout of command and control is as follows:

Supreme Command

Atricle 119 of the 1990 constitution states that: "His Majesty the King is the Supreme Commander of the Royal Nepal Army." However, following the People's Power revolution in April 2006, the 1990 constitution has been replaced by an interim constitution which has removed the King from anything to do with the army. The army is now answerable to the civilian and the multi-party government.

The National Defence Council

This Council used to have three members, the Prime Minister, the Defence Minister, and the Chief of the Army Staff. In accordance with the Constitution, the King (as Supreme Commander) used to "operate and use" the "Royal Nepal Army on the recommendtion" of this council. However, this is no longer the case as the king has been removed from his position as the supreme commander of the army.

Ranks

★ '''Paramadhipati''':"Grand" "Commander-in-Chief" - Note: This rank has been removed

★ Field Marshal

★ '''Pradhan Senapati''': "Chief General" but usually translated as "Chief of the Army Staff"

★ General

★ Lieutenant General

★ Major General

★ Brigadier General

★ Colonel

★ Lieutenant Colonel

★ Major

★ Captain

★ Lieutenant

★ Second Lieutenant

★ Subedar Major

★ Warrant Officer 1

★ Warrant Officer 2

★ Sergeant

★ Corporal

★ Lance Corporal

Domestic Operations

See article Nepalese Civil War
In November 2001, the Nepalese armed forces began military operations against the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist). Allegations of war crimes and human rights abuses have been levelled by the media against current and former members of the high command, especially former royalist army chiefs like Prajwalla Shumsher Rana and Pyar Jung Thapa.

International Operations

The Nepalese Army has contributed more than 36,000 peacekeepers to a variety of United Nations-sponsored peacekeeping missions such as:

★ United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL),

★ UNOSOMII the UN Protective Force (UNPROFOR), UN Operational Mission Somalia II,

★ UNMIH the United Nations Mission in Haiti.

★ UNAMSIL - Currently, Nepal is sending an 800-man battalion to serve in the peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL).

★ UNMIS - The Nepalese Army has sent a protectiion company , comprising of 200 personnel in United Nations Mission In Sudan.

★ RCHQ - The RCHQ, KASSALA is also manned by the Nepalese Staffs.

U.S./Nepal military relations

The U.S.-Nepali military relationship focuses on support for democratic institutions, civilian control of the military, and the professional military ethic to include respect for human rights. Both countries have had extensive contact over the years. Nepali Army units have served with distinction alongside American forces in places such as Haiti, Iraq, and Somalia.
U.S.-Nepali military engagement continues today through IMET, Enhanced International Peacekeeping Capabilities (EIPC), and various conferences and seminars. The U.S. military sends many Nepalese Army officers to America to attend military schooling such as the Command and General Staff College and the U.S. Army War College. The IMET budget for FY2001 was $220,000.
The EPIC program is an interagency program between the Department of Defense and the Department of State to increase the pool of international peacekeepers and to promote interoperability. Nepal received about $1.9 million in EPIC funding.
Commander in Chief, Pacific (CINCPAC) coordinates military engagement with Nepal through the Office of Defense Cooperation (ODC). The ODC Nepal is located in the American Embassy, Kathmandu.

Statistics

'Military branches:' Nepalese Army (includes Nepalese Army Air Service), Nepalese Police Force
'Military manpower - military age:' 17 years of age
'Military manpower - availability:'

''males age 15-49:'' 6,674,014 (2003 est.)
'Military manpower - fit for military service:'

''males age 15-49:'' 3,467,511 (2003 est.)
'Military manpower - reaching military age annually:'

''males:'' 303,222 (2003 est.)
'Military expenditures - dollar figure:' $57.22 million (FY02)
'Military expenditures - percent of GDP:' 1.1% (FY02)

References

Gurkhas

Nepal is also notable for the Gurkhas. Significant sections of the British Army and Indian Army are recruited from this ethnic group. This arrangement comes from the days of the British East India Company's rule of India when Company troops tried to invade Nepal and were beaten back. Both sides were impressed with the other, and Gurkhas were recruited into the Company's forces. The Gurkhas remained loyal during the Indian Mutiny of 1858 and were kept on in the Indian Army thereafter. Upon Indian independence in 1947, some units went to British service and some to Indian service, with a Britain-India-Nepal Tripartite Agreement signed between the three nations. The Gurkhas are feared troops, and their signature weapon is the extremely effective kukri.

See also

★ Nepal

★ Armed Police Force Nepal

★ Nepalese Police Force