Kenya Defence Forces (KDF)

deploying police without proper surveillance equipment in such areas is a futile exercise..
we need helios with night vision and heat detection ability which can overfly an area and once people are detected police can be directed there to engage and find out who they are.
also lots and lots of human intelligence is needed on the ground.
IT seems the NSIS is failing badly on this.

coordination and intelligence seems to be awfully lacking. The NSIS must get a barb for these glaring failures. I still can't understand why the KDF could not pursue the Bandits in Baragoi and smoke them out of their hideouts, in spite of their threats to challenge/shoot down KDF air assets.

countersniper wrote:deploying police without proper surveillance equipment in such areas is a futile exercise..
we need helios with night vision and heat detection ability which can overfly an area and once people are detected police can be directed there to engage and find out who they are.
also lots and lots of human intelligence is needed on the ground.
IT seems the NSIS is failing badly on this.

mogen wrote:coordination and intelligence seems to be awfully lacking. The NSIS must get a barb for these glaring failures. I still can't understand why the KDF could not pursue the Bandits in Baragoi and smoke them out of their hideouts, in spite of their threats to challenge/shoot down KDF air assets.

countersniper wrote:deploying police without proper surveillance equipment in such areas is a futile exercise..
we need helios with night vision and heat detection ability which can overfly an area and once people are detected police can be directed there to engage and find out who they are.
also lots and lots of human intelligence is needed on the ground.
IT seems the NSIS is failing badly on this.

I still believe that the GOK has done a commendable job in not letting emotions and popular public opinion carry the day. The way to go with the Ngoroko is to bite and blow at the same time. The disarmament needs to go concurrently with digging of boreholes or building water pans, roads too need to be graded if not tarmacked. The local opinion chieftains need to be engaged so as to have developmental plans of the areas fastracked. If you look at the Turkana county, the educated ones have no business engaging in rustling anymore, this has been left to ''Raiyaa'' the butt naked ones that still wear goat skin. The infrastructure of the areas need to be upgraded as a matter of urgency. For instance the road section between chepareria and Lodwar in has several choke points where the seasonal rivers cut-off the roads for several weeks some of the bridges were washed away during the El-Nino rains of the 90s and the only remedy done was to build temporary drifts which are impassable when the rivers are full. Several seasonal rivers like Kalimurok between Lokichar and Lodwar, Kawalase in Lodwar town, Kalobeiyei near Kakuma and several others that span the whole road section between Lokichoggio and Chepareria have caused tremendous grief to transporters who lost trucks when they were swept away by the flash foods, this usually happens even if the river bed is dry and there have been no rains in the area. The road infrastructure is just one of the many that can be done. If a serious government commits atleast KSH 10B every financial year for five years for the development of Turkana County alone Kenya can be transformed and these security issues would be a thing of the past.

wrote:deploying police without proper surveillance equipment in such areas is a futile exercise..
we need helios with night vision and heat detection ability which can overfly an area and once people are detected police can be directed there to engage and find out who they are.
also lots and lots of human intelligence is needed on the ground.
IT seems the NSIS is failing badly on this.

These are untrained village raiders, yet you need night vision goggles
to spot raiders with AK running on tyre slippers and with bows, machetes
and matchboxes lol....What is needed is the agents deployed to
understand the urgency of the situation, but if there is a situation
where "sacred camels" are left to run the bloodbath operation... then
People will ultimately continue to die.... lol...

mogen wrote:

mbs wrote:

mogen wrote:Has the first group of bandits been arrested? I mean the silly ones who threatened to shoot down KDF helios.

wrote:Baragoi suffers fresh attack
Updated 1 hrs 13 mins ago
By Michael Saitoti
SAMBURU, KENYA: Over two hundred heavily armed bandits have attacked Masikita village in Baragoi making away with a thousand goats and four hundred heads of cattle.
The bandits were armed with heavy general purpose machine guns, hand grenades, and weapons that are suspected to be of those police officers killed in Suguta valley in in November...

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000073487&story_title=Kenya-Baragoi-suffers-fresh-attack

with the inept attitude of the police in Kenya, makes you wonder whether it is simply a situation of the police not up to the job or simply a case of ' dirty politics'. I simply cant imagine 200 bandits roaming without the security doing anything about it, or morons killing each other in Tana region. its simply politics, nobody can be this inept!

I cannot understand how security forces sit around as morons wreck havoc around the country. In Tana River many of the 1800 GSU officers recently deployed there are on the ground yet 41 people lose their lives in a new wave of senseless attacks?. Baragoi, KDF and police have been working with locals to contain the menace. How then do we have 200 heavily armed bandits take off with 2000 goats?

I hope someone is not playing pokies with people's live for political gains.

Hey, wait a minute guys. Don't rush to blame the police nor KDF. This has nothing to do with their inability nor willingness to intervene. KDF have been in Lodwar for sometime waiting for orders which have not been forthcoming. Weren't there complaints that the executive violated the law by attempting to deploy the military without first seeking the approval of parliament? What then do we want when all we do do is to yell that this and that is not happening yet we tie people's hands. We are our own worst enemies not ruling out political mischief either. As for the police, we have always blamed them for using excessive force whenever they intervene to the extent that these guys now feel so harassed and demoralized. What would you do were you in their shoes if heavily armed bandits in their thousands were to come your way? Wouldn't you open fire? We really hide in the new constitution and fail to see the big picture. We need to give the police the tools, the means and the freedom to operate. Anything else is just but drama.

Hey, wait a minute guys. Don't rush to blame the police nor KDF. This has nothing to do with their inability nor willingness to intervene. KDF have been in Lodwar for sometime waiting for orders which have not been forthcoming. Weren't there complaints that the executive violated the law by attempting to deploy the military without first seeking the approval of parliament? What then do we want when all we do do is to yell that this and that is not happening yet we tie people's hands. We are our own worst enemies not ruling out political mischief either. As for the police, we have always blamed them for using excessive force whenever they intervene to the extent that these guys now feel so harassed and demoralized. What would you do were you in their shoes if heavily armed bandits in their thousands were to come your way? Wouldn't you open fire? We really hide in the new constitution and fail to see the big picture. We need to give the police the tools, the means and the freedom to operate. Anything else is just but drama.[/quote]

I totaly agree with you. Protest, blame and anger should be targeted to Parliament and not Police or KDF. They are to blame for passing inflexible laws especially that Executive should seek parliamentary approval before deploying KDF in any theatre. I know POTUS has authority to deploy assets in any theatre of national interest without Congress approval and such be sought within 90 days or withdraw. This takes care of emergences or hot spot zones esp when congress is on recess or election mode. What is KDF doing in Lodwar if they can't be utilized? The Kenyan society has always persecuted police force in the worst possible way without recognizing how vulnerable these guys are. They need legal and social protection to combat such raids. Look, over 40 officers died recently and that seems to be "police problem" with nothing to say to politicians from these areas who probably know raiders by name. Counter banditry is not only police and kdf problem but politicians and county leadership and with my experience in NEP/Garrissa zone in the 90s, I know the power these guys hold. It is time as a Nation we lock together to end this menance or soon there will be bandits with APCs and SAMs. If anything they are said to operate GPMGs at the moment.

maybe what we need is to go the Mexico way; that happens when you decide that the police are so corrupt that you cant trust them to man their own houses, and you go and give their job to the army/navy. The senior police are the ones resisting a civilian head simply because they are not trained to be a police officer. If they were telling us this while they were on top of their game, we would support them. Its high time we admit that the police force is not what it used to be in the 70s or late 80s anymore. once we admit that then we can start sorting out the problems. If they believe that the resources allocated to them are not sufficient enough to do the job, then they should state that. Sometimes I tend to think that the police would rather the status quo remain the way it is and make more money than have it done away with. If the Police Body thinks that they are getting a raw deal from the Govt, it should tell them so. If the Army/Air Force/Navy can get their share of the resources which is way larger than the Police, then why in the world cant the Police resources be increased? With the right resources, the Police can attract the right people for the jobs that are currently held by mediocre people. Going with what was reported in the last recruitment, where some regions couldnt even attract the village idiots, the Police are a dying dinosaur. Too late for them to evolve. We shouldnt be ashamed to try the Mexican way, its working for them.

@Batian - sorry I took long to get back to you. Was out of normal circulation for most of the week.

Here is a few reconstructed facts:-.

1. The ECOWAS intervention Force into MALI has stalled due mainly to American and French disagreements on the Mandate Definition (hence Force-Composition and Rules of Engagement) and is unlikely to deploy before September 2013 - even then ONLY as the last resort to other initiatives the Americans and French have pushed through the UNSC.

2. The Americans have quietly but resolutely shot down the International Neutral Force which the ICGLR and African Union resolved to dispatch to Eastern DRC - arguing that a " negotiated" political deal had better chances of success and expressing doubts about the Force Capacity and Objectives of the ICGLR Force.

3. In consequence to this relentless American pressure, SADC has delayed their deployment into the DRC - unless UPDF and the RDF should precipitate SADC's entry with an invasion of Eastern DRC.

4. Meantime, a very innocuous Rebel group in Central African Republic is "reactivated" six years after it demobilised and is fast conquering large swathed of real estate extending along the Darfurian and DRC borders. Chad which is a key component is the Malian mess has deployed in force into the CAR against the Rebel.

5. Into this mix, throw in an aggressive militarization of America's Africa Foreign Policy, with all attendant justifications ( china, resources and markets) and an unsettled AFRICOM still operating from Germany.

Pregnant question is - would American want to encourage such Regional Military Formations like AMISOM in African reaction to Threats from local armed negative forces - how would AFRICOM entrench itself in Africa to the degree America intents without either generating dangerous Africa-wide "military resentment" or from a clear position of weakness?

Jaza mwenyewee. Na leta hapa alafu!

Batian wrote:@Ole Nkarei/@HokumA,

It is worth noting nothing in history has ever threatened the very existence of CAR not even wars, but is NATO envisaging a situation where they send a strong force from countries that can barely feed themselves like Chadians. Chadians themselves have a dire need of humanitarian assistance and so does CAR. What is happening to the 'bloody' kenyana region, just the other day I read that AS have restarted polishing their guns somewhere in Somalia, I lost the link but will post it when I find it.

Another problem in Tana Delta is re-emerging that will indeed aggravate our internal security vulnerabilities. Most of your discussions have been focusing on DRC but has been circumventing the CAR which is another imminent blood-bath battle-theater in the making.

Sorry, guys. Truth be told. The Kenya Police force is its own worst enemy largely because of gross indiscipline, too much greed, too much corruption and sabotage all the way from top to bottom. They need(ed) reform yesterday. In fact, you would wonder how Ndegwa Muhoro passed the vetting process that was meant to herald a rebirth of the most corrupt institution in Kenya. Sorry to spoil your Christmas mood but if you check the video clip below you will see some of the reasons why the police force is clearly unable to do its job:

Olekoima wrote:

mogen wrote:

mbs wrote:

mogen wrote:Has the first group of bandits been arrested? I mean the silly ones who threatened to shoot down KDF helios.

wrote:Baragoi suffers fresh attack
Updated 1 hrs 13 mins ago
By Michael Saitoti
SAMBURU, KENYA: Over two hundred heavily armed bandits have attacked Masikita village in Baragoi making away with a thousand goats and four hundred heads of cattle.
The bandits were armed with heavy general purpose machine guns, hand grenades, and weapons that are suspected to be of those police officers killed in Suguta valley in in November...

http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/?articleID=2000073487&story_title=Kenya-Baragoi-suffers-fresh-attack

with the inept attitude of the police in Kenya, makes you wonder whether it is simply a situation of the police not up to the job or simply a case of ' dirty politics'. I simply cant imagine 200 bandits roaming without the security doing anything about it, or morons killing each other in Tana region. its simply politics, nobody can be this inept!

I cannot understand how security forces sit around as morons wreck havoc around the country. In Tana River many of the 1800 GSU officers recently deployed there are on the ground yet 41 people lose their lives in a new wave of senseless attacks?. Baragoi, KDF and police have been working with locals to contain the menace. How then do we have 200 heavily armed bandits take off with 2000 goats?

I hope someone is not playing pokies with people's live for political gains.

Hey, wait a minute guys. Don't rush to blame the police nor KDF. This has nothing to do with their inability nor willingness to intervene. KDF have been in Lodwar for sometime waiting for orders which have not been forthcoming. Weren't there complaints that the executive violated the law by attempting to deploy the military without first seeking the approval of parliament? What then do we want when all we do do is to yell that this and that is not happening yet we tie people's hands. We are our own worst enemies not ruling out political mischief either. As for the police, we have always blamed them for using excessive force whenever they intervene to the extent that these guys now feel so harassed and demoralized. What would you do were you in their shoes if heavily armed bandits in their thousands were to come your way? Wouldn't you open fire? We really hide in the new constitution and fail to see the big picture. We need to give the police the tools, the means and the freedom to operate. Anything else is just but drama.

Happy Christmastide to all of you TEA. Of course all civilian-types have taken off to the Coast or mass murderimg goats and chicken up country, or rustic camping in Kora National Park. How I wish.... But am due for a raise anyway, so I won't complain desertion!

On return to TEA, I do hope we can all stay within context of a Military-Intel forum which synergizes on our divergent knowledge and creates a healthy nexus of the Civilian and Uniformed forum-ners. And also deliberately lessen posts that denigrate our collective self-esteem by their emphasis on our isolated inevitable failures. Let's use TEA as a renewing Oasis, a Jacob's Well, to strengthen our optimism and self-belief.

Merry Christmas, folks.

ole Nkarei wrote:@Batian - sorry I took long to get back to you. Was out of normal circulation for most of the week.

Here is a few reconstructed facts:-.

1. The ECOWAS intervention Force into MALI has stalled due mainly to American and French disagreements on the Mandate Definition (hence Force-Composition and Rules of Engagement) and is unlikely to deploy before September 2013 - even then ONLY as the last resort to other initiatives the Americans and French have pushed through the UNSC.

2. The Americans have quietly but resolutely shot down the International Neutral Force which the ICGLR and African Union resolved to dispatch to Eastern DRC - arguing that a " negotiated" political deal had better chances of success and expressing doubts about the Force Capacity and Objectives of the ICGLR Force.

3. In consequence to this relentless American pressure, SADC has delayed their deployment into the DRC - unless UPDF and the RDF should precipitate SADC's entry with an invasion of Eastern DRC.

4. Meantime, a very innocuous Rebel group in Central African Republic is "reactivated" six years after it demobilised and is fast conquering large swathed of real estate extending along the Darfurian and DRC borders. Chad which is a key component is the Malian mess has deployed in force into the CAR against the Rebel.

5. Into this mix, throw in an aggressive militarization of America's Africa Foreign Policy, with all attendant justifications ( china, resources and markets) and an unsettled AFRICOM still operating from Germany.

Pregnant question is - would American want to encourage such Regional Military Formations like AMISOM in African reaction to Threats from local armed negative forces - how would AFRICOM entrench itself in Africa to the degree America intents without either generating dangerous Africa-wide "military resentment" or from a clear position of weakness?

Jaza mwenyewee. Na leta hapa alafu!

Superficially, it seems that the ECOWAS's response towards the Malian crisis has been woeful, with a blanket conclusion that a universal armed intervention will escalate the problem two-fold. So much criticism is also belted on the competence of the Malian army (technology and discipline) to mitigate the crisis which is quite unfortunate for them. Such examples continue to increase the pile of causes that extend African conflicts unresolved for decades. Mali’s position and agitation is understandable, given the rapid collation of extremists from Algeria and the gravity of the security situation on the ground.

The situation’s woeful deterioration is further motivated by fatal interlocking feuds at between two discordant permanent representatives of the Security Council (i.e. a well oiled congressional interference vs. western political Christendom on mandate’s invasion doctrinal definition).

Take this to the bank, America will never bow down in the name of weakness to a constellation of powers outside its borders and especially those within the French borders and will seek to continue to entrench itself despite fierce resentments. AFRICOM is not seeking to toy with the Al-Qaeda Idea as does AU, and the results of that means aggressive militarized approach in stymieing extremism.

The once fierce 16^th century seat of the Ottoman Turks is serving to currently feed historical consciousness OF EXTREMISTS; envisaging a hostile invasion into world affairs via religion. Talks engineered by AU only seek to extend the conflict preferring a lengthy “negotiated” Political/legal disquisition to settle the Malian crisis and the results of such heroics are known historically of protracted conflicts and bolstering Islamic rebel strongholds and movements within northern Mali.

While i was doing my high altitude aerial recce of this blog and its happenings, certain things happened in the world that i think we would do well to note.

China unveiled it 'indigenous' Jian 15 carrier aircraft (another name for Su 33)
The imperialists deployed patriot missiles to the Turkish border to 'counter' Syrian SSM's, as if Syria would be crazy enough to fire guided projectiles at Turkey
Russia 'sold' Iran the highly accurate hunter-killer Iskander SSM and deployed a flotilla (an ASW destroyer, a landing ship a fleet replenishment ship and a handful of frigates) to Syria
North Korea successfully launches its 'satellite'
China buzzes Diaoyu with a Coast Guard aircraft the Samurais go overboard in the response with 8 F-15's and an AWACS bird to chase away the 'deadly' Y-12 from 'Senkaku'
China declares from 1st January some Migingos off the coast of Phillipines, Malay and a bevy of other weird countries will under Chinese Jurisdiction and as such, shipping will need permission from Chinese maritime authorities to transit.
Annan and his hoard of marauding western puppets pump up the volume on the 'illegitimacy' of certain presidential candidates in Kenya.
The Rwandese are caught pants down shitting in the neighbours farm
SADC approves the deployment of an AMISOM type force to E. DRC
The Malian Force curiously fails to agree on anything while Chad, who by all means are the UPDF of North Central, conveniently get sucked into an out-of-nowhere rebellion in the CAR (funny, where is Kony in all this?)
oh, and Spartan once again does his characteristic 'pop up, shoot, dive' tactic on Ole Nkarei

As this events were happening, not necessarily in the listed order, i realised something. Kenya has it's backside exposed.
In my evaluation of 'the troubles' in relation to the ambitions this country has i conclude we have an armed force woefully inadequate of the task before us. The United States has slowly been backed into a corner and this new desperate America is becoming dangerous to everyone around them. Russia's snarling in Europe is now developing into a ''crouch'' position ready for an attack. China is squeezing the U.S Navy out of the South, East China Seas, Yellow Sea and Gulf of Tonkin. As a super power emerging it is owning its waters the way the U.S owns the Pacific, Atlantic and the Mexican Gulf. The direct result of this is a moody Washington which no longer cares about subtleness but now jumps for the jugular of nations at the slightest hint of kichwa ngumu in relation to its foreign policy.

Back to Kenya.

We have a Vision to industrialise oursleves by 2030. To achieve this, certain nations must be on board. C.A.R, D.R.C, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi (making up the hard nuts) Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda (the more willing members). This requires allot of strategising on our part because as it already, some senseless wars are breaking out (like this one of CAR). It is as if someone is frustrating us in their larger than life chess game. We need a military that take care of problems at a regional level. Our lack of strategic assets will be our Achilles heel. Risasi once said that future operations will take a regional shape. however, even in a regional setting there must be a leader regardless of whoever owns the rotating chairmanship. Museveni seems to be the guy reading his bones and beads correctly. We have most to gain from East Africa and therefore we have the most to protect in E.A.
The above said, i propose it's time we re-organised our forces starting from the most vital unit going into the future..

The Navy.

Here @Mjeshi could help...a force organised into 2 fleets. One focused on the coast of Mombasa, Tanzania, Mozambique and DRC in the Atlantic, i'll call this the Southern Fleet. Another one focused on the coast of Mombasa, and Somalia (in my estimates the toughest challenge). These 2 fleets should be armed with a mix of 2 LPD's (that between them can transport a battalion of marines (the KRI Makassar is a good example) 4 frigates (fully capable of land attack), 16 corvettes* (littoral capable e.g Cigala Fulgosi, Baynunah), about 8 coastal patrol boats (like the Nyayo and Shujaa class) and about 4 LST's (with a slightly higher displacement than the Tana and Galana). Now with this set up a Submarine force is obviously a neccesity, but since this will be primarily for anti-shipping(which the possibility for a naval war is a bit off), intelligence gathering. . .4 capable subs will be adequate. Between them, two fully mechanised Marine battalions. naturally the army will be resistant to this new powerful navy, therefore a permanent detachment of air calv from the army should be seconded to support amphibious operations.

Air Force,

they have pretty much covered it on the fighter front. What the completely lack, n are very comfy about it, is a lack of strategic air lifters. If we are going to lock down our turf then we need to re-supply troops deployed far from our borders. our current airlift capacity is laughable for a country with this big an ambition. A couple of C-130 class (the Yun 8 looks promising) air assets ought to cover that front. Since going into the future the air operations will primarily be air-ground instead of air-air, a respectable replacement for the F-5's once they reach the end of their usefull life is in order (the F-15's if Multi role will be a huge plus).

As for the army

..hehehe..OLE NKAREI..when i asked about converting the old ladies to heavy IFV's it is because i realised that what we have in this country is primarily a motorised infantry. We pia unajua we cant call the PUMA's APC's, they are MRAP's period! Their role and application is way different from APC's and IFV's. luckily, someone realised this and hence the LAZAR's (beautiful animals this ones). This will go a long way in complementing the WZ 551's. The tank force should also have a major makeover. I personally do not believe the T-72 was a good choice seeing as this tank will be obsolete in the next few years. A powerful and expanded tank force should keep anyone in check. Their air Calv is pretty much well equipped so that's a plus. Field guns and artillery, more punch more mobility more variety in range. Thats all i can say on arty coz i hardly know jack about it.

However all this done, wish should not underestimate the power of soft-force. cross training, bilateral agreements, mutual assistance programs, mutual defence pacts etc. I personally liked what Kibaki did with Burundi, extending military aid to the Burundians. In asmuch as this helps them, it endears us to them and gives us a launching pad into the beehive that is Congo should it come to that. I propose the same for the CAR too. this is a country that is seriously underdeveloped and a shoulder to lean on like Kenya's should be much appreciated. Train their troops in exchange of trade opportunities (and that little detail about a base in CAR) should be more than fair. Angola should be a 'friend' in the Atlantic. We would do well to have them as an ally than a competitor. It shouldn't be that hard to convince Kabila of the need for naval security in the Congo. This is whee the southern fleet's frigates should and corvettes would work their magic. A ready amphibious force that can deploy anywhere in our AOI should keep any cheeky party contained. The primary reason for such a large force of littoral capable corvettes is because the future naval challenge will be securing Lines of Communication from pirates more than foreign warship (even though this too is a reality). A respectable corvette armed with ship to ship missiles and good guns for littoral warfare should be very effective. The frigates will be primarily for when things go south real bad.

If we kid ourselves that the status quo will remain with the current troop levels then we are in for a shock. No country worth it's name wants foreign warships with unknown intentions drifting off its coastline. Ever wondered why Myanmar built a new Capital city?
Haya open to debates and criticism.

MERRY CHRISTMAS men of the blog

jasiri wrote:No country worth it's name wants foreign warships with unknown intentions drifting off its coastline. Ever wondered why Myanmar built a new Capital city?

Young @Jas, you 'spoke' like one of old wise men from the East (The Magi). Big ideas that can be realised only if the politics (both national and regional) is conducive.

About relocation of exposed/vulnerable capital cities examples abound and the reason is mainly one. Dodoma, Abuja, Brasilia and Myamar's new capital Naypyidaw [Nay Pyi Daw] are a few. I understand that the Burmese people popularly believe that a warning about a foreign attack was delivered to the military chief by an astrologer. But seriously, the takedown of Chai Town by way of an amphibious assault is very instructive in this regard. Clearly, anyone would want their seat of government far away from the coast unless their entire coastal waters are fully protected 24/7.

Oops! Double posted. See below.

Can't quite get a handle on these field gizmos yet! Eeish!.

@Jasiri

Fantastic Thesis. Top drawer geopolitical projection, man! Enough to keep discussion going for a good distance.

You propose a "Continental Power" posture for KDF that projects a typically American Gun-boat hegemony enforcement . Not only has America acknowledged the inadequency of this post WWII Strategy progressively over the past three decades, and its inappropriateness to American Future Global challenges, but also that American present and future Global Strategic posturing is premised on building Strategic Synergy with Regional Blocks. Kind of like winning the Trust and Favor of the Village Belle by repetitive assurance of common interests rather that parading an MBT past her hut every morning.

The Old Man has driven just such a Strategic Policy in Kenyana - shared Security, Socio, Economic Matrix in a Region with shared synergy. And persuasively getting Nations in Kenyana to buy into that Matrix out of individual Nation's own volation. And of course the perception of Strength both Economic and Military are vital components if this - as has been perceptions of the benign intentions in the projection of these strengths (as opposed to a sledgehammer threat projection to force hegemony). This approach will not change much regardless the winner of March 4th 2013.

So, force-projectiion in what you refer to AOI interest will ride on Regional Concordance as opposed to unilateralism by Kenya. Therefore the Nature of KDF will be so defined. As indeed has been the evolution of the American Military away from unilateral force-projection of their Gun-boat tyrannical years.

Highly compartmentalized, quick-insertion/extraction (air,land,sea) Elements.

Intel - Tactical and Strategic

Mechanized Rapid deployment-capable, fully integrated, capacity - IFV, Arty, Recce. Comms, etc

SpecOps Integrated.

Offensive and defensive Airborne Platforms - Tactical and Strategic

Hammerhead Armored Corps with an integrated Anti-armor Offensive / Defensive clenched fist / shield.

Air-lift capacity for massed troops and stores / ordnance delivery and SpecOps insertions / extractions.

Amphibian Ops and the Support component - tactical delivery, beachhead fire support, blockade enforcement, extractions / exfiltration etc

Na kathalika.

We lack anytime soon the capacity to enforce generalised Hegemony in Kenyana by Military means. And it iw certainly not what informs Strategic Planning either. Few of the member-Nations in Kenyana will willingly be bullied into a Kenyana and all have the Resource-base to effectively resist duress in the long run. It must be a nexus between the intellectual Force of the Argument (socioeconomic benefits) for integration and the Physical Force for integration (shared securityderiving from perceptions of Military Capacity - if Kabila requests, does Kenyana manifest Force-projection Capacity to ensure sanctity of Katana Province?)


More later

ole Nkarei wrote:@Jasiri

Fantastic Thesis. Top drawer geopolitical projection, man! Enough to keep discussion going for a good distance.

You propose a "Continental Power" posture for KDF that projects a typically American Gun-boat hegemony enforcement . Not only has America acknowledged the inadequency of this post WWII Strategy progressively over the past three decades, and its inappropriateness to American Future Global challenges, but also that American present and future Global Strategic posturing is premised on building Strategic Synergy with Regional Blocks. Kind of like winning the Trust and Favor of the Village Belle by repetitive assurance of common interests rather that parading an MBT past her hut every morning.

The Old Man has driven just such a Strategic Policy in Kenyana - shared Security, Socio, Economic Matrix in a Region with shared synergy. And persuasively getting Nations in Kenyana to buy into that Matrix out of individual Nation's own volation. And of course the perception of Strength both Economic and Military are vital components if this - as has been perceptions of the benign intentions in the projection of these strengths (as opposed to a sledgehammer threat projection to force hegemony). This approach will not change much regardless the winner of March 4th 2013.

So, force-projectiion in what you refer to AOI interest will ride on Regional Concordance as opposed to unilateralism by Kenya. Therefore the Nature of KDF will be so defined. As indeed has been the evolution of the American Military away from unilateral force-projection of their Gun-boat tyrannical years.

Highly compartmentalized, quick-insertion/extraction (air,land,sea) Elements.

Intel - Tactical and Strategic

Mechanized Rapid deployment-capable, fully integrated, capacity - IFV, Arty, Recce. Comms, etc

SpecOps Integrated.

Offensive and defensive Airborne Platforms - Tactical and Strategic

Hammerhead Armored Corps with an integrated Anti-armor Offensive / Defensive clenched fist / shield.

Air-lift capacity for massed troops and stores / ordnance delivery and SpecOps insertions / extractions.

Amphibian Ops and the Support component - tactical delivery, beachhead fire support, blockade enforcement, extractions / exfiltration etc

Na kathalika.

We lack anytime soon the capacity to enforce generalised Hegemony in Kenyana by Military means. And it iw certainly not what informs Strategic Planning either. Few of the member-Nations in Kenyana will willingly be bullied into a Kenyana and all have the Resource-base to effectively resist duress in the long run. It must be a nexus between the intellectual Force of the Argument (socioeconomic benefits) for integration and the Physical Force for integration (shared securityderiving from perceptions of Military Capacity - if Kabila requests, does Kenyana manifest Force-projection Capacity to ensure sanctity of Katana Province?)


More later

Quick question to you Ole and other Military Personnel, what informs you if you have $ 10 to share between the brothers (Air Force, Army, Navy ) in the last 10 yrs and the next ten years? I might be misinformed, but I personally feel the Navy should be getting the largest share at the moment what with all the hydrocarbons along the coast and also being pumped at the coast. How do they come with such decisions? Merry X mas to you all bloggers!

@mbs - that is one complex maneno yet way above my rank. Though in compartmentalized aspects every Uniform in the Command Structure plays a part. Of course there are theoretical fissures in the division of the procurement Budget - but only for planning purposes, generally. It is not the preserve of a few "Brass" but the whole Military Edifice.

In simplistic terms only....

Procurement and growth-spending is both Tactical (to correct deficiencies in the present and near future) and Strategic ( in response to projected challenges to National Defense). Tactical procurements begin with a typical SWOT-type analysis for the purpose being to increase efficiency and effectiveness of Military utilization.

It is another matter altogether on Strategic Procurement and Growth spending.

As realistic as possible Threat Board is created and the challenges aggravated into the future - say, in conformity to RWAZA 2030. Follows deliberate Categorization / Prioritization of the Threat Board. Through repetitive simulations, realistically possible Capacities to meet / mitigate these threat are developed both within the existing Module in and possible alternative Modules. Because of the limitations of the procurement Budgets, allocation will generally follow this meandering course - never forget that ever Commander from the Platoon level will fight for greater attention of his Command in Budgetary Allocations.

This process is not static, inane. And reviews are painstakingly carried out at every Budgetary Circle and adjusted as appropriate. Even when Procurement is not a Domestic Budget Constraint - bilateral Grants, equipment transfers, etc.

It must be clear that there is synergy between the capacities of the thr Arms of the KDF and any other such as the Marine Expeditionary Force that is in the pipeline, to facilitate their correspondence in National Defense.

It doesn't appear that we face a Sea borne Intercontinental Threat anytime soon. Our threat board is preponderantly Continental - from Vectors without shared Boundaries with us. The Deep Sea HydroCarbons harvesting don't present a greater threat profile.

jasiri wrote:
Back to Kenya.

We have a Vision to industrialise oursleves by 2030. To achieve this, certain nations must be on board. C.A.R, D.R.C, South Sudan, Somalia, Burundi (making up the hard nuts) Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda (the more willing members). This requires allot of strategising on our part because as it already, some senseless wars are breaking out (like this one of CAR). It is as if someone is frustrating us in their larger than life chess game. We need a military that take care of problems at a regional level. Our lack of strategic assets will be our Achilles heel. Risasi once said that future operations will take a regional shape. however, even in a regional setting there must be a leader regardless of whoever owns the rotating chairmanship. Museveni seems to be the guy reading his bones and beads correctly. We have most to gain from East Africa and therefore we have the most to protect in E.A.
The above said, i propose it's time we re-organised our forces starting from the most vital unit going into the future..

Indeed, I am seconding the idea of a strong militarized Kenya at the regional level is key to the success of the framed vision-2030. Bear with me as I plead ignorance to anything militarily strategic in relation to what assets we need and the origin of the assets but upgrading our strategic military assets is key. If we are to take the 19th century path to development, where railroads and corridors will increase economic growth, much of its successes will also be achieved by how well we maneuver on the political-chessboard within our borders. We have also many internal loopholes that we need to mend, security being our biggest problem. The other additional challenge also facing us at the moment will be how precipitate faster and sizable economic growth amidst a fractious democracy.

While still on this maneno.

With respect to KDF troop numbers the force should consider increasing the numbers of recruits per yr. Certainly, doubling/tripling the annual recruit numbers (currently at about 2400) would be helpful as threat levels increase.

ole Nkarei wrote:@mbs - that is one complex maneno yet way above my rank. Though in compartmentalized aspects every Uniform in the Command Structure plays a part. Of course there are theoretical fissures in the division of the procurement Budget - but only for planning purposes, generally. It is not the preserve of a few "Brass" but the whole Military Edifice.

In simplistic terms only....

Procurement and growth-spending is both Tactical (to correct deficiencies in the present and near future) and Strategic ( in response to projected challenges to National Defense). Tactical procurements begin with a typical SWOT-type analysis for the purpose being to increase efficiency and effectiveness of Military utilization.

It is another matter altogether on Strategic Procurement and Growth spending.

As realistic as possible Threat Board is created and the challenges aggravated into the future - say, in conformity to RWAZA 2030. Follows deliberate Categorization / Prioritization of the Threat Board. Through repetitive simulations, realistically possible Capacities to meet / mitigate these threat are developed both within the existing Module in and possible alternative Modules. Because of the limitations of the procurement Budgets, allocation will generally follow this meandering course - never forget that ever Commander from the Platoon level will fight for greater attention of his Command in Budgetary Allocations.

This process is not static, inane. And reviews are painstakingly carried out at every Budgetary Circle and adjusted as appropriate. Even when Procurement is not a Domestic Budget Constraint - bilateral Grants, equipment transfers, etc.

It must be clear that there is synergy between the capacities of the thr Arms of the KDF and any other such as the Marine Expeditionary Force that is in the pipeline, to facilitate their correspondence in National Defense.

It doesn't appear that we face a Sea borne Intercontinental Threat anytime soon. Our threat board is preponderantly Continental - from Vectors without shared Boundaries with us. The Deep Sea HydroCarbons harvesting don't present a greater threat profile.

Grow the numbers in Uniform? Humph!

In actual fact, there is nearly 100k in KDF formations and growing. Looked at from our population in Size, Sex, conscript- ages, GDP, Threat Board + Growth Objectives, that figure is about correct.

Remember KDF opening Mission Statement - "...professional Armed Force.....External Aggression deterrence...etc". The Internal Security situation is the purview of Policing, including locking tight the Borders.

First KDF must not just fight for space on the Regional Militaries drinking trough, but provide visible leadership which inspires Regional acceptance. Then we can begin to imagine a Continental Purpose.

Because unlike Countries with disproportionate-to-populations-economies who fashion their Militaries as an extension of their political organizations (ENDF, UPDF, JWTZ) and consequently a vital indoctrination ground of their Citizenry, hence mass conscriptions and "National Services" without Military Justifications, the KDF is historical and by traditions delinked from population political mobilization / manipulations.

Going forward, it is certain that the purpose is to keep the Uniform numbers growing proportionate to population, Budgetary Support / GDP and in tandem to the Treat Board.

To develop optimized efficiency and effectiveness of the KDF as an Offensive and Defensive fighting Organization - need based restructuring , Corps wide functional training, topical equipment.

Has anyone noticed the KDF disengagement from UN Peacekeeping roles in the past Decade - except those that rolled over from the previous Decade? Kwanini?

ole Nkarei wrote:Grow the numbers in Uniform?

Yes, I thought growing numbers a bit rapidly could serve our rapidly increasing needs/threat levels.

@ON please Check your Inbox

OLE nkarei
i still think Kenya plays a big role in UN military activity..and right now there are more than 100 to 200 kenyan experts working in UN observer missions in all trouble spots in the world.
actually Kenya is listed the number six worldwide out off 90 countries that contribute to UN military missions and is ranked third to second from Africa after Ghana and Nigeria.
LT GENERAL NGONDI is the latest Kenyan general to be priced to command a UN mission....even though some skeptics think he was shood away to stop being the imminent man to replace General Karangi who has been given an extension in service by president kibaki to his term which was ending next year.
seems the Tonje rules will now be buried for ever.

ole Nkarei wrote:@Jasiri

You propose a "Continental Power" posture for KDF that projects a typically American Gun-boat hegemony enforcement . Not only has America acknowledged the inadequency of this post WWII Strategy progressively over the past three decades, and its inappropriateness to American Future Global challenges, but also that American present and future Global Strategic posturing is premised on building Strategic Synergy with Regional Blocks. Kind of like winning the Trust and Favor of the Village Belle by repetitive assurance of common interests rather that parading an MBT past her hut every morning.

The Old Man has driven just such a Strategic Policy in Kenyana - shared Security, Socio, Economic Matrix in a Region with shared synergy. And persuasively getting Nations in Kenyana to buy into that Matrix out of individual Nation's own volation. And of course the perception of Strength both Economic and Military are vital components if this - as has been perceptions of the benign intentions in the projection of these strengths (as opposed to a sledgehammer threat projection to force hegemony). This approach will not change much regardless the winner of March 4th 2013.

So, force-projectiion in what you refer to AOI interest will ride on Regional Concordance as opposed to unilateralism by Kenya. Therefore the Nature of KDF will be so defined. As indeed has been the evolution of the American Military away from unilateral force-projection of their Gun-boat tyrannical years.

What i am proposing is a continental power, affirm, but not an American type posture..more like a Brazilian posture. We can not afford to be the regional bully. East Africa is just too rich a land for one nation to be the belligerent and get away with it. What im proposing is a military that recognises that while they have a responsibility to protect the sources of Kenya's wealth, they SHOULD NOT dive head first in a brazen fashion into every conflict that springs up in the region. They blend in and Africa is less suspicious about their intentions. They good part here is that as you have stated below, the brass has considered that and taken it into account. Expansion of specialised units that can discreetly be inserted at host nations request (and at our own will) fits well into this new order. However one must also foresee that this may not always work and a more robust approach may be needed. If it comes to this, a force with overwhelming focused fire power may be all that is needed to instill 'respect'. To this end, prolonged warfare should be discouraged at all costs. It is expensive, bad for the image and wears out the 'respect' and 'awe' that will be as much an objective as the actual victory.

Highly compartmentalized, quick-insertion/extraction (air,land,sea) Elements.

Intel - Tactical and Strategic

Mechanized Rapid deployment-capable, fully integrated, capacity - IFV, Arty, Recce. Comms, etc

SpecOps Integrated.

Offensive and defensive Airborne Platforms - Tactical and Strategic

Hammerhead Armored Corps with an integrated Anti-armor Offensive / Defensive clenched fist / shield.

Air-lift capacity for massed troops and stores / ordnance delivery and SpecOps insertions / extractions.

Amphibian Ops and the Support component - tactical delivery, beachhead fire support, blockade enforcement, extractions / exfiltration etc

Na kathalika.

We lack anytime soon the capacity to enforce generalised Hegemony in Kenyana by Military means. And it iw certainly not what informs Strategic Planning either. Few of the member-Nations in Kenyana will willingly be bullied into a Kenyana and all have the Resource-base to effectively resist duress in the long run. It must be a nexus between the intellectual Force of the Argument (socioeconomic benefits) for integration and the Physical Force for integration (shared securityderiving from perceptions of Military Capacity - if Kabila requests, does Kenyana manifest Force-projection Capacity to ensure sanctity of Katana Province?)


More later

And hence the need for a program of defence indeginasation. It is sad to note that as of this day, the only military craft we can say is locally made is the Mamba MRAP. Even then, it is only recent. I do not understand for example why the military factory in Eldoret can not accquire machining tools and purchase a licence for local manufacture of our forces' rifles. We have gone over this before but i bring it up again. Our navy should at least be able to manufacture its own patrol boats. Remeber the ultimate goal of V2030 is industrialisation. Going into the future, our armed forces, police force etc will need more and more equipment. This is a very expensive venture and the only way to somewhat offset this cost is to ensure that maximum amount of funds to this end is consumed by Kenyan companies. Expertise gained by these companies also helps to project soft power across the region. It is useless to pretend to be the elder brother when we do not contribute a thing to our younger ones. 'Gifts' now and then and supply of military hardware (not neccesarily MBT's and Fighter Jets) not only ties us and the recipient nation at the hip but also endears us to their people.

It must be clear that there is synergy between the capacities of the thr Arms of the KDF and any other such as the Marine Expeditionary Force that is in the pipeline, to facilitate their correspondence in National Defense.

It doesn't appear that we face a Sea borne Intercontinental Threat anytime soon. Our threat board is preponderantly Continental - from Vectors without shared Boundaries with us. The Deep Sea HydroCarbons harvesting don't present a greater threat profile.

and as you can see by the composition of my fleets, they are tailored to littoral combat although advocating for ships that are sufficiently capable to also conduct anti-ship operations should the shit hit the fan. This is what i foresaw when i called for at least 2 battalions of ready-to-go Marine force. They will need landing ships, landing ships need protection that can come as close as possible to the shore with them. Landed troops need to support, a navalised air calv and ship to shore arty support. Funny how in the end we arrive at the same conclusion. You see the manpower side of it, i see the equipment side of it. An intercontinetal naval threat is primarily held back by guided missile frigates, destroyers and a healthy squadron of subs. We dont need that. This is why i ask for only 4 Frigates. This will be a launch platform for tageting those rebel camps (when asked) and for showing the flag in bilateral exercises with allies e.g Angola, Tanzania, Madagascar (straddles an important trade route) Congo.

countersniper wrote:OLE nkarei
i still think Kenya plays a big role in UN military activity..and right now there are more than 100 to 200 kenyan experts working in UN observer missions in all trouble spots in the world.
actually Kenya is listed the number six worldwide out off 90 countries that contribute to UN military missions and is ranked third to second from Africa after Ghana and Nigeria.
LT GENERAL NGONDI is the latest Kenyan general to be priced to command a UN mission....even though some skeptics think he was shood away to stop being the ijmminent man to replace General Karangi who has been given an extension in service by president kibaki to his term which was ending next year.
seems the Tonje rules will now be buried for ever.

The CDF extension of Commission has nothing to do with our fractious politics and neither with Gen. Tonje Rules being "conveniently" broken - laws/ rules are subject to local interpretations convenient to each situation. On such a landmark year to Kenya and East Africa, continuity must both be real and perceived. On the National Security Council more than any other - you must have sensed he concerns about change of guards at Kenya Police prior to the General Elections?

There are KDF Elements on UN peacekeeping tasking in 6 (six) African Countries and 2 (two) outside the Continent. Peacekeeping is not Soldiering and corrupts the fighting ethos of any Army - why do you imagine the First and Second World Professional Armies never take UN Peacekeeping jobs? A Peqcekeeper is a UN Civil Servant in Uniform and a side-arm strapped to his Belt. KDF long moved away from this UN corruption no matter how nobly packaged. Peace-enforcement is the module in use.

When you are at Corps Command Level and they mention your name with UN Peacekeeping - your KDF career has reached the furthest point possible no matter your public image. It could be a regrettably loss to KDF - but to replace the Army Commander, for instance, there are nearly thirty equally competent MajGen waiting in the wings in competition. The Military Edifice determines who moves and in what direction - the political oversight ratifies the movements - obviously against criteria and justifications furnished bynthe Military.

[quote=]I totally totaly agree with you. Protest, blame and
anger should be targeted to Parliament and not Police or KDF. They are to blame
for passing inflexible laws especially that Executive should seek parliamentary
approval before deploying KDF in any theatre. I know POTUS has authority to
deploy assets in any theatre of national interest without Congress approval and
such be sought within 90 days or withdraw. This takes care of emergences or hot
spot zones esp when congress is on recess or election mode. What is KDF doing
in Lodwar if they can't be utilized? The Kenyan society has always persecuted
police force in the worst possible way without recognizing how vulnerable these
guys are. They need legal and social protection to combat such raids. Look,
over 40 officers died recently and that seems to be "police problem"
with nothing to say to politicians from these areas who probably know raiders
by name. Counter banditry is not only police and kdf problem but politicians
and county leadership and with my experience in NEP/Garrissa zone in the 90s, I
know the power these guys hold. It is time as a Nation we lock together to end
this menance or soon there will be bandits with APCs and SAMs. If anything they
are said to operate GPMGs at the moment.[/quote]


The police should actually not bear the blame for being inefficient, because they actually are inadequately equipped to deal with the growing insecurity. I also do not think laws from parliamentarians will save the situation. We might have the best laws in the world and yet the police may fail to be reliable when they are required. These bold attacks on 40 of our officers and those conducting the operations might have sensed and sought to exploit the absences of solid governance and vacuum that has existed in those areas for a long time. As usual more preferences are given to the urban areas, because they have the necessary infrastructure . In these troubled areas, there seems to be no active policing systems, devices that would help to combat crime, officers or records to keep law and order, which again is not the police’s fault, and which makes the police reaction to these challenges to be forced by necessity.

The civilian leadership within the police can be changed on a yearly basis but is not enough to remove the rot in there. It is equally disheartening if the police force will keep playing the blame game with parliamentarians for being inadequate much as they deserve to be blamed. Out of over nearly 50 explosions that have taken place, there are still no prosecutions and the culprits are yet to be found. What is needed is the police to change the philosophy of operation which could have been inherited from the colonial legacy. They always are waiting to work on orders from certain quarters. And Just like the military, the police force need to come up with an impressive and independent five star martial plan for security. They need to be pro-active. This the only way that they can stem the rising insecurity. Right now the situation on the ground is helpless given the sorry state of security in the nation.

May i take this opportunity to thank you all guys for the knowledge i have gained from this blog! To be honest i never cared about anything military in my life. But through this blog i have become a great admirer of our military especially The KDF. Being a civilian who lives outside the country, i hope you will welcome me into the club. As my user name suggests I'm one of those die hard Franco fans looking forward for serious discussions on matters military.

Happy New Year to all and Karibu sana Tre Impoli!

I am glad you chose to swim along. I am confident the other members share similar sentiments.

Now, I find this fledgling topic of a KDF Marine Expeditionary Force quite intriguing.

As a civvy (please correct me if I am wrong), my understanding is that this will be "a heavily mechanized, rapidly -deployable amphibious Ranger Strike Force with an integrated air cavalry"... to put it crudely.

So, has this been in the pipeline for a while or is it precipitated by lessons learned during the recent chai town amphibious assault.

What specific tactical, strategic and/or deterrence gaps is such a MEF intended to fill? Possible deployment theaters?
I am not sure how unsettling some of these questions are so a general discussion will still suffice.

Sammy's Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) though effective, seems a rather expensive, expansive and ungainly monster due to its configuration. Consequently, I would reservedly adopt that model wholly.

BTW...is the 20th para still active or the 40RSF is now the primary KDF airborne element?

tres impoli wrote:May i take this opportunity to thank you all guys for the knowledge i have gained from this blog! To be honest i never cared about anything military in my life. But through this blog i have become a great admirer of our military especially The KDF. Being a civilian who lives outside the country, i hope you will welcome me into the club. As my user name suggests I'm one of those die hard Franco fans looking forward for serious discussions on matters military.

Welcome home,Tres'. Hope auna tabia mbaya as the song goes(if you know entire Luambos poem). If I could ask God for a miracle, is to resurrect Le grand maitre and secondly to bring peace to that burning belt.

@Batian. I think the next revolution in that precious land should be sancrotising supremacy in the rule of LAW. I envision the rule of LAW and its application being made SUPREME regardless of tribal affiliation or leadership. If the rule of law is able to protect "watch"/police/prosecutors and civil society, alongside an independent body to safeguard abuse, then we are most likely to have efficient policing not just by uniformed guard but also civil society willing to risk giving information and execute arrest within the safeguard of law that is SUPREME. Certainly,perpetrators of heinous killings will live whereas dozens of lives are lost. How about laws that do not fade with time? I mean why not presecute 50yr old raider for the kill at Suguta valley when he was 19yrs? In my 2 cents, I believe we urgently need laws that are above political machinations. @Mogen, thank you for the link. ON is truly kenyana ethusiasist. But how can we achieve kenyana dream with such things happening? No wonder K man is dining with the boers right now.....

@Tres Impolis - karibu sana Kaka. And yea, that was music for the African Soul no doubts.

@ole Sidai - we must define ourselves going forth and greater than what we are. Our playing field, our sphere of vital national influence, our strategic partners, our strategic adversaries. We cannot grow unless we dominate more than we are. Kenyana has been a Planners Reality in GoK for over a decade - LAMU port was conceived fourty years ago. These petty squabbles about tribes will vanish when more Kenyans can effectively conceptualize and buy into Kenyana - and the sooner the better.

@Kepler Euler - once a Military Unit has its Colors and is commissioned, it takes very deliberate convoluted processes to kill it - and certainly not self-serving sanctimonious noises from Governments whose documented and scandalous conduct of their Militaries has absolutely no comparisons in recent history. And so, due to Congressional censure, the Americans refused to expand and equip the 20th Paras Bat and conveniently accepted to do exactly the same with the RSF - whose nursery was the 20th Batt! The 40th is Sammy's Child. 30rh remains Johnny's - 20th Paras Bait a fully functional facet of the KDF= where does it fit between the 30th and the 40th? Hehehe! Progression in size and purpose - Squad, Platoon, Coy, Batt, Regiment, Brigade, Division, Corps.

Marine Expeditionary Force - the concept is a Amphibious Force that has a integrated capacity to "multi-task". The extent it does is entirely upon whoever configures it. As usual, Sammy takes a hammer to kill Mosquitoes - that doesn't create a global standard for us all. The French have the better applicable Module - for our nascent pretensions to Regional Power. Obviously every audacious forward concept attracts skepticism and cynicism too - we set a realistic goal and work progressively towards it. Twenty years ago when the D-Platoon of the 20th Batt started off, the cynics in the Military outnumbered the civilian cynics. Today we have the beginnings of a fully compliant Special Forces Regiment that Cross-trains and fights globally with their mother-Unit (not Sammy).

Possible Theater of Deployment / Tactical or Strategic Tasking?! - despite present rapproachments in Kenyana, thiis Region has very old fissures on multiple fronts that are probable causes of future Armed Conflict. Further exacerbated by the energized drive to exploit shared hydrocarbons and minerals and the increasing hunger for this with our traditional puppet-masters. Today's bosom buddies may be tomorrow's implacable enemies - short, crisp, localized and bloody Armed Contacts. If JWTZ with UPDF were theoretically inbthe future to make a double pronged entry into Kenya, an Amphibious landing in-force below Dar in Tandem with Armoured and Airborne Corps Deployments through towards Tanga and Arusha might get people to a talking table before too much damage was done by everybody.

We identify an ideal - and work progressively towards it.

Future KDFis - Smaller, Compartmentalized rapidly deploy-able, highly skilled and equipped and trained Elements, with greater capacity to integration. Large formations are soon to be extinct unless in the event of general warfare. We are making some progress along this path.

@Kepler Euler - once a Military Unit has its Colors and is commissioned, it takes very deliberate convoluted processes to kill it - and certainly not self-serving sanctimonious noises from Governments whose documented and scandalous conduct of their Militaries has absolutely no comparisons in recent history. And so, due to Congressional censure, the Americans refused to expand and equip the 20th Paras Bat and conveniently accepted to do exactly the same with the RSF - whose nursery was the 20th Batt! The 40th is Sammy's Child. 30rh remains Johnny's - 20th Paras Bait a fully functional facet of the KDF= where does it fit between the 30th and the 40th? Hehehe! Progression in size and purpose - Squad, Platoon, Coy, Batt, Regiment, Brigade, Division, Corps.

But how 11KR died though the conditions were obviously not so pleasant! Very few of us remember that there was such a unit no? How about the Women Service Corps? well on a development note, the girls have merged so well with some even giving ground commands to risasi while another sits behind the controls of Yankee One Two! @ON Rwanda has just deployed 3 Mi's to S.Sudan under UN mandate. you cant believe the sense of pride in the tiny hilly country at the moment, they are to deploy 3 more! I didn't know they had such chest or will they receive more courtesy of the UN? Are they were we were in the 80's as you pointed that UN deployments are good for branding but not necessarily for force development?