| Chief of the Defence Staff | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Appointer | President of the Gambia following consultation with the National Security Council |
| Formation | 1997 |
| First holder | Baboucarr Jatta |
| Website | Official website |
The Chief of the Defence Staff in the Gambia is the head of the Gambia Armed Forces, and is appointed by the President.
The Chief of the Defence Staff is responsible for the operational control and administration of the Gambia Armed Forces, according to Section 188 (1) of the Constitution of the Gambia. The Chief of the Defence Staff has a permanent place on the National Security Council, authorised by Section 78 of the constitution, and on the Armed Forces Council, authorised by Section 189 of the constitution. In order to appoint or dismiss a Chief of the Defence Staff, the President must first consult with the National Security Council. [1]
| No. | Portrait | Chief of the Defence Staff | Took office | Left office | Time in office | Defence branch | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Colonel Baboucarr Jatta | 1999 | 2004 | 4–5 years |  Gambian National Army | – | |
| 2 | Lieutenant Colonel Vincent Jatta | 2004 | 2004 | 0 years | Gambian National Army | – | |
| 3 | Colonel Assan Sarr | 2004 | 2005 | 0–1 years | Gambian National Army | – | |
| 4 | Colonel Ndure Cham | 2005 | 2006 | 0–1 years | Gambian National Army | – | |
| 5 | Major General Lang Tombong Tamba (born 1965) | 2006 | 2009 | 2–3 years | Gambian National Army | – | |
| 6 | Lieutenant General Masaneh Kinteh (born 1968) | 9 October 2009 | 6 July 2012 | 2 years, 271 days | Gambian National Army | – | |
| 7 | Lieutenant General Ousman Badjie (born 1967) | 6 July 2012 | 17 February 2017 | 4 years, 226 days | Gambian National Army | – | |
| (6) | Lieutenant General Masaneh Kinteh (born 1968) | 17 February 2017 | 5 March 2020 | 3 years, 17 days | Gambian National Army | – | |
| 8 | Lieutenant General Yankuba Drammeh (born 1963) | 5 March 2020 | Incumbent | 3 years, 151 days | Gambian National Army | – |
The Nigerian Armed Forces (NAF) are the military forces of Nigeria. The armed forces consists of three service branches: the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, and Nigerian Air Force. The President of Nigeria functions as the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, exercising his constitutional authority through the Ministry of Defence, which is responsible for the management of the military and its personnel. The operational head of the AFN is the Chief of Defence Staff, who is subordinate to the Nigerian Defence Minister. With a force of more than 230,000 active personnel, the Nigerian military is one of the largest uniformed combat services in Africa. According to Global Firepower, the Nigerian Armed Forces are the fourth-most powerful military in Africa, and ranked 35th on its list, internationally.
The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces are the armed forces of Sierra Leone, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's borders and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of the 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution and International laws. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force, then present in the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate.
The Gambia Armed Forces, also known as the Armed Forces of The Gambia, consists of three branches: the Gambia National Army (GNA), the Gambia Navy, and the Republican National Guard (RNG). It formerly included the Gambia National Gendarmerie (GNG) from the 1980s to 1996, when they were moved under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. The commander-in-chief is the president of the Gambia who is currently Adama Barrow, whereas practical control is exercised by the Chief of the Defence Staff who is currently Lieutenant General Yankuba Drammeh.
A commander-in-chief or supreme commander is the person who exercises supreme command and control over an armed force or a military branch. As a technical term, it refers to military competencies that reside in a country's executive leadership, a head of state, head of government, or other designated government official.
The prime minister of Singapore is the head of government of the Republic of Singapore. The president appoints the prime minister, a Member of Parliament (MP) who in their opinion, is most likely to command the confidence of the majority of MPs. The incumbent prime minister is Lee Hsien Loong, who took office on 12 August 2004.
The National Security Council is a federal institutional and consultative body chaired by the Prime Minister of Pakistan as its chairman. The NSC is a principal forum that is mandated for considering national security and foreign policy matters with the senior national security advisers and Cabinet ministers. The idea and inception of National Security Council was first conceived in 1969 under the President Yahya Khan, its functions were to advise and assist the president and prime minister on national security and foreign policies.
The Ministry of National Defence is one of the eighteen ministries of the Government of Romania.
The State Security Council of Turkmenistan is an important decision-making body in the field of the defence of Turkmenistan. It is the highest decision-making body in the armed forces next to the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff, with its members directly advising the President of Turkmenistan on matters of national security.
The Chief of the Defence Staff (CDS) is the professional head of the Ghana Armed Forces. He is thus responsible for the administration and the operational control and command of the Ghana military. The CDS is a member of the Armed Forces Council. This council advice the President of Ghana on matters of policy relating to defence and also regulates the administration of the Armed Forces. It also advises the President on the promotion of all officers above the rank of Lieutenant-Colonel or its equivalent.
The Kosovo Security Force is the military of Kosovo. KSF is tasked with defending the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kosovo, military support for civil authorities, and participation in international peacekeeping missions and operations. Since 2018, it is in the process of transforming into the Kosovo Armed Forces, a process that is expected to finish in 2028.
Lang Tombong Tamba was the Chief of the Defense Staff of the Gambian Armed Forces until his arrest, detention and trial in an attempted coup.
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is a statutory body of between 20 and 25 senior Egyptian military officers and is headed by Field Marshal Abdul Fatah al-Sisi and Lieutenant General Mohamed Ahmed Zaki. The council is convened only in cases of war or great internal emergencies. As a consequence of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, SCAF assumed power to govern Egypt from departing President Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011, and relinquished power on 30 June 2012 upon the start of Mohamed Morsi's term as president. The Council has met regularly in times of national emergencies. During the course of the 2011 revolution, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces met first on 9 February 2011 under the chairmanship of Egyptian president, Hosni Mubarak. The Council met for the first time without the chairmanship of the president on the following day, 10 February, and issued their first press statement which signaled that the council was about to assume power which they did the following day after Mubarak's resignation. The military junta was headed by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi who served as the Minister of Defense under Mubarak, and included the service heads and other senior commanders of the Egyptian Armed Forces, namely Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Anan, Armed Forces Chief of Staff; Air Marshal Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed, Air Force commander; Lt. Gen. Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen, Commander of Air Defense; and Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish, Navy Commander in Chief.
The Chief of Defence Force is the head of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF), who holds the rank of Lieutenant-General or Vice-Admiral. The Chief of Defence Force also serves as the aide-de-camp to the president of Singapore. The current Chief of Defence Force is Aaron Beng.
Sadibou Hydara was an important Gambian military and political leader who served in various international peacekeeping operations. He later served as the Gambia's Minister of Interior and government spokesman.
Adama Barrow is a Gambian politician and real estate developer who has served as President of the Gambia since 2017.
Ousman Badjie was the Chief of the Defence Staff and of the Army of the Gambia, and Lieutenant-General in the Gambian Army, having succeeded Masaneh Kinteh to the position. He was removed from his position in March 2017.
Masaneh Nyuku Kinteh is a retired Gambian Army officer who served as Chief of the Defence Staff until his removal on 5 March 2020 by President Adama Barrow. He was the Gambian Chief of Mission in Havana, Cuba, from 2012 to 2017, and was previously Chief of the Defence Staff from 2009 to 2012. He was retired with the rank of lieutenant general in 2012, having previously also served as Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff in 2009, and shifted to the Foreign Service. He was reinstated as the Chief of Defence Staff in 2017 but redeployed him to the Foreign Service in 2020, becoming the ambassador to China.
Lieutenant General Yankuba Drammeh is a Gambian military officer who is the current Chief of the Defence Staff of the Gambia.
Yankuba Badjie was Director-General of the National Intelligence Agency under former President Yahya Jammeh from December 2013 to 2016.
The Commander of the Indonesian National Armed Forces is the professional head and highest-ranking officer of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. Directly answerable to the president of Indonesia, the position is held by any four-star officer who previously served as Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Army (KSAD), Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Navy (KSAL) or Chief of Staff of the Indonesian Air Force (KSAU).
