The Chadian Armed Forces (''Forces Armées Tchadiennes'' or FAT) were the army of the central government of

Chad Chad (; ar, تشاد , ; french: Tchad, ), officially the Republic of Chad, '; ) is a landlocked country at the crossroads of North and Central Africa. It is bordered by Libya to the north, Sudan to the east, the Central African Republic ...

from 1960 to 1979, under the southern presidents

François Tombalbaye François Tombalbaye ( ar, فرنسوا تومبالباي '; 15 June 1918 – 13 April 1975), also known as N'Garta Tombalbaye, was a Chadian politician who served as the first President of Chad from the country's independence in 1960 until ...

and

Félix Malloum Félix Malloum or Félix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi ( ar, فليكس معلوم '; 10 September 1932 – 12 June 2009) was a Chadian military officer and politician who served as the second President of Chad from 1975 to 1978. A native of so ...

, until the downfall of the latter in 1979, when the head of the ''

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

'',

Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué Wadel Abdelkader Kamougué (May 20, 1939 – May 9, 2011) was a Chadian politician and army officer. Kamougué was a leading figure in the 1975 coup d'état and subsequently held several positions in the Chadian government and legislature. He was ...

, assumed command. Joined by gendarmerie units, FAT became a regional force representing primarily the

Sara Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

ethnic group of the five southern

prefectures A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...

. It joined with the

Transitional Government of National Unity The Transitional Government of National Unity (''Gouvernement d'Union Nationale de Transition'' or GUNT) was the coalition government of armed groups that nominally ruled Chad from 1979 to 1982, during the most chaotic phase of the long-running ci ...

(GUNT) forces fighting against

Hissène Habré Hissène Habré (Arabic: ''Ḥusaīn Ḥabrī'', Chadian Arabic: ; ; 13 August 1942 – 24 August 2021), also spelled Hissen Habré, was a Chadian politician and convicted war criminal who served as the 5th president of Chad from 1982 u ...

and was a recipient of aid from

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. FAT began to disintegrate during 1982 as a result of defeats inflicted by Habré's

Armed Forces of the North The Armed Forces of the North (''Forces Armées du Nord'' or FAN) was a Chadian rebel army active during the Chadian Civil War. Composed of FROLINAT units that remained loyal to Hissène Habré following his break from Goukouni Oueddei and the ...

(FAN). Most remaining soldiers accepted integration into FAN or resumed their insurgency as ''

codos {{For, the Spanish municipality, Codos, Aragon The Codos or Commandos were guerrilla groups, active in southern Chad from 1983 to 1986, that resisted domination of their region by the President Hissène Habré's army. Many were veterans of the go ...

''.

Branches

The Military of Chad is divided into three main branches of service: * Chadian National Army *

Chadian Air Force The Chadian Air Force (french: Armée de l'Air Tchadienne or AAT) is the aviation branch of the Chad National Army. It was formed in 1961 as the Chadian National Flight/Squadron ( or ENT). The force shares a base with French forces at N'Djamena ...

*Gendarmerie

Military statistics

The Armed Forces of Chad have around 2.2 million women available to be drafted into their military as well as around 1.9 million men. People are considered fit for military service in Chad at the age of 20. People in Chad can volunteer to join the military at age 18, however if you wait until age 20 there is a 3-year service obligation. There is also no minimum age for volunteers as long as guardian consent is given. Women in Chad are subject to 1 year of compulsory military or civic service at the age of 21. The government of Chad spends around 4.2% of their GDP on their armed forces. The Chadian Armed Forces spend about One-Hundred and One million dollars in military spending. The Chadian Armed Forces are ranked eleventh overall recent military growth.

References

''Chad: A Country Study''
Military history of Chad Chadian–Libyan conflict {{Chad-stub

Branches

Military statistics

See also

References