Military of Belgium

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Belgian Armed Forces
Belgische Strijdkrachten
Forces Armées belges

A detachment of the 2nd/4th Regiment Mounted Rifles
Founded 1830
Service branches Land Component
Air Component
Naval Component
Medical Component
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief King Albert II
Minister of Defence Pieter De Crem (CD&V)
Chief of Defence General August Van Daele
Military age 16 years of age (2005)
Available for
military service
2,436,736 males, age 16–49 (2005 est.),
2,369,463 females, age 16–49 (2005 est.)
Fit for
military service
1,998,003 males, age 16–49 (2005 est.),
1,940,918 females, age 16–49 (2005 est.)
Reaching military
age annually
64,263 males (2005 est.),
61,402 females (2005 est.)
Active personnel 40,800 (ranked 76th)
Reserve personnel 100,500
Expenditures
Budget 2,7 billion (FY05)
Percent of GDP 1.3% (FY05)
Related articles
Ranks Belgian military ranks

The military of Belgium is the Belgian armed forces. The Belgian Armed Forces have about 41,000 active troops. They are organised into one unified structure which consists of four main components:

1. Land Component, or the Army;

2. Air Component, or the Air Force;

3. Naval Component, or the Navy,

4. Medical Component.

The operational commands of the components (COMOPSLAND, COMOPSAIR, COMOPSNAV and COMOPSMED) are subordinate to the Staff Department for Operations and Training of the Ministry of Defence, which is headed by the Assistant Chief of Staff Operations and Training (ACOS Ops & Trg), and to the Chief of Defence (CHOD).

Contents

[edit] Ranks

The Belgian Land Component, Air Component and Medical Component use the same military ranks. The Naval Component's ranks are unique in the Belgian Armed Forces.

[edit] Average Age of a soldier

The average age of a soldier in the Belgian armed forces is 40, one of the highest in the world. For comparison purposes, the United States armed forces had an average age of 28, which is considered one of the lowest in the world.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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