Republic of Fiji Military Forces

Republic of Fiji Military Forces
Cap badge of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces
Service branches	Fiji Infantry Regiment Fijian Navy
Headquarters	Suva
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Ratu Epeli Nailatikau
Commander Republic of Fiji Military Forces	Brigadier Mosese Tikoitoga[1]
Manpower
Available for military service	215,104 males, age 18-49 (2005 est), 212,739 females, age 18-49 (2005 est)
Fit for military service	163,960 males, age 18-49 (2005 est), 178,714 females, age 18-49 (2005 est)
Reaching military age annually	9,266 males (2005 est), 8,916 females (2005 est)
Active personnel	3,500 (ranked 146)
Reserve personnel	Approx 6,000
Expenditures
Budget	$US74 Million (2006)
Percent of GDP	2.2%

The Republic of Fiji Military Forces (RFMF) is the military force of the Pacific island nation of Fiji. With a total manpower of 3,500 active soldiers and 6,000 reservists, it is one of the smallest militaries in the world. However, most of its surrounding island nations have no militaries at all. The Ground Force is organized into six infantry and one engineer battalions, with approximately 6,000 reserves. There was formerly one "Zulu" company of counter-revolutionary specialists, which was deactivated in late 2000 due to a mutiny by some of its members.

The first two regular battalions of the Fiji Infantry Regiment are traditionally stationed overseas on peacekeeping duties; the 1st Battalion has been posted to Lebanon, Iraq, and East Timor under the command of the UN, while the 2nd Battalion is stationed in Sinai with the MFO. Peacekeepers income represents an important source of income for Fiji. The 3rd Battalion is stationed in the capital, Suva, and the remaining three are spread throughout the islands.

Organization

• Commander-in-Chief - The President of the Republic serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Military Forces.
• Commander RFMF - The Commander RFMF is of one-star rank. He is assisted by the Deputy Commander and the Chief of Staff, who are responsible for Strategic Command and Land Force Command. The current Commander is Brigadier Mosese Tikoitoga^[2] succeeding the previous Commander and current Head of Government Commodore Voreqe Bainimarama after fifteen years of service as Commander and a total of thirty nine years of active military service.^[3]
  • Strategic Command - Strategic Command is responsible for all of the long term and strategic concerns of the RFMF, including welfare, legal issues, sustainability issues etc.
  • Land Force Command - Land Force Command is the operational organisation of the RFMF, and is responsible for all of the main units:
    • HQ Land Force Commander Lieutenant Colonel Jone Kalouniwai^[4]
    • Naval Unit
    • Fiji Infantry Regiment
      • Regular Force
        • 1st Battalion
        • 2nd Battalion
        • 3rd Battalion
      • Territorial Force
        • 4th Battalion
        • 5th Battalion
        • 7th/8th Battalion
    • Fiji Engineer Regiment
    • Logistic Support Unit
    • Force Training Group

Equipment

• M16A2 rifle
• Daewoo K2 rifle
• CAR-15 carbine
• 4 x howitzer QF 25 pounder 87,6 mm (ceremonial)
• 12 x mortar F2 (L16) 81 mm^[5][6]
• M60 Machine Gun
• grenade launcher

The Fijian Navy

Today, a 300-man strong Navy Unit RFMF, which on 25 July 2005 celebrated the thirtieth anniversary of its founding. It was formed in 1975 (Naval squadron Royal Fiji Military Forces), following the government's ratification of the United Nations Law of the Sea convention. The Navy is responsible for maritime needs in border control, such as watching over Fiji's exclusive economic zone and organizing task and rescue missions. It currently operates 9 patrol boats. Military aid is received from Australia, the People's Republic of China, and the United Kingdom (although the latter has suspended aid as a result of the 2006 military coup against the civilian government).

Speaking at 30th anniversary celebrations on 26 July 2006, Commander Bradley Bower said that the greatest challenge facing the navy of a maritime country like Fiji was to maintain sovereignty and the maritime environment, to acquire, restore, and replace equipment, and to train officers to keep pace with changing situations.

Equipment

3 Pacific class patrol boat (Australia, displacement 162 t, length 31,5 m, width 8,1 m, draught 1,8 m, power 2 x 1,050 kW, maximal speed 20 knots (37 km/h), crew 17 man, equipment machine guns 1 x 12,7 mm. These boat replace discharged Redwing-class minesweepers FNS Kula, Kikau and Kiro, gain 1975 - 1976 from the United States Navy.

• RFNS 201 Kula (May 1994)
• RFNS 202 Kikau (May 1995)
• RFNS 203 Kiro (October 1995)

2 patrol boat (USA, displacement 97 t, crew 11 man, equipment machine guns 1 x 12,7 mm)

• RFNS 101 Levuika (1987)
• RFNS 102 Lautoka (1987)

4 Dabur class patrol boat (Israel, displacement 39 t, crew 9 man, equipment 2 x cannon 20 mm, 2 x machine guns 7,62)

• RFNS 301 Vai (1991)
• RFNS 302 Ogo (1991)
• RFNS 303 Saku (1991)
• RFNS 304 Saqa (1991)

The Fiji Air Wing

The Air Wing of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces was founded in 1987, had a base at the airport in Nausori, but was abolished in 1997. Yehonatan Shimʻon Frenḳel writes that the "Air Wing was formed after the 1987 coup, when the French provided two helicopters as part of its military aid package."^[7] Frenkel goes on to say that the air wing was disbanded after both helicopters crashed and after subsequent revelations of huge debts incurred as a result of the aircraft.

The two helicopters were:

• 1 transport helicopter Eurocopter AS 365N2 Dauphin 2 - matriculation marker DQ-FGD - in service from 1989 to 1994.
• 1 transport helicopter Aerospatiale AS 355F-2 Twin Squirrel - matriculation marker DQ-FGH - in service from 1991 to 1997.

Helicopter AS-365 N2 Dauphin crashed off the coast of the main island in July 1994, a smaller helicopter AS-355F-2 continued in service until mid-1997 and in 1999 was sold to France.

Rank insignia

Rank designation based on the British tradition.^[8][9]

Political intervention

Fiji's Military has a history of political intervention.^[10] In 1987, soldiers were responsible for two military coups, and in 2000, the Military organized a countercoup to quash George Speight's civilian coup. Since 2000, the Military has had a sometimes tense relationship with the Qarase government, and has strongly opposed its plans to establish a Commission with the power to compensate victims and pardon perpetrators of the coup. Among other objections, the Military claims that its integrity and discipline would be undermined if soldiers who mutinied in the 2000 upheaval were to be pardoned.

On 4 August 2005, Opposition Leader Mahendra Chaudhry called for more Indo-Fijians, who presently comprise less than one percent of the Military personnel, to be recruited. (Specifically, as of October 2007, Fiji's military had 3527 full-time members, of whom only 15 were Indo-Fijians.^[11]) This would help guarantee political stability, he considered. He also spoke against government plans to downsize the military. Military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Orisi Rabukawaqa responded the next day by saying that the Military was not an ethnic Fijian body, that it stood to serve the entire nation, and that there was no colour bar in its recruitment or promotion. He said that many Indo-Fijians had been reluctant to commit themselves to a Military career because of the slow progress of promotion, often preferring to be discharged and to use their record as a stepping stone to a successful career in some other field. Nevertheless, he appreciated the Indo-Fijian contribution to the Military, and noted the success of Lieutenant Colonel Mohammed Aziz, the head of the Military's legal unit who was a pivotal figure in the court martial of soldiers who mutinied in 2000. Ironically the rate of promotion of indigenous Fijian officers had been very rapid after the 1987 coup, and subsequent expansion of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces.

On 26 August 2005, the government announced plans to study ways to reduce the size of the military. Military engineers would be transferred to the Regional Development Ministry, said Home Affair Minister Josefa Vosanibola, and the reduction of the Military forces would coincide with an increase in the numbers of the police force.

On 26 September 2005, Rabukawaqa revealed that the Military had decided to curtail certain operations in order to stay within its budget. The cuts would affect maritime patrols, search and rescue operations, training and exercises, School Cadet training, and the deployment of Military engineers to rural areas. These cuts would be made to ensure that activities accorded a higher priority, such as peacekeeping operations in the Sinai Peninsula and Iraq, officer cadet training with the New Zealand Defence Forces, and the prosecution of soldiers charged with mutiny, would not be affected, Rabukawaqa said.

The next day, Lesi Korovavala, Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs, told the Fiji Village news service that the Military had undertaken the reductions on its own initiative, in consultation with the department, an explanation corroborated by Lieutenant Colonel Rabukawaqa.

On 5 December 2006, the Fijian army staged a third coup d'état. On February 7, 2008, the head of the RFMF and post-coup interim Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama stated: "Qarase [...] does not understand the role of the Military and as such is misinforming the nation. [...] [I]f there are practices and policies which have potential to undermine the national security and territorial integrity of Fiji, the RFMF has every right under the Constitution to intervene."^[12] In August 2009, with Bainimarama still controlling the government as prime minister and the constitution abrogated, Ratu Epeli Nailatikau a former military commander was appointed acting president on the retirement of Iloilo.

Commanders since 1971

#	Name	Rank	Term
1	D. J. Aitken	Brigadier	1971 – 1974
2	Paul Manueli	Colonel	1974 – 1979
3	Ian Thorpe	Colonel	1979 – 1982
4	Epeli Nailatikau	Colonel	1982 – 1987
5	Sitiveni Rabuka	Major General	1987 – 1992
6	Epeli Ganilau	Brigadier	1992 – 1999
7	Frank Bainimarama	Commodore	1999 – 2014
8	Mosese Tikoitoga	Brigadier	2014 – Present

See also

• List of militaries by country

Notes

References

• Central Intelligence Agency (2007-09-06). "The World Fact Book - Fiji". Retrieved 2007-09-20. 
• The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) (2007). The Military Balance 2007. Abingdon: Routledge Journals. ISBN 978-1-85743-437-8. 

External links

• Official RFMF website