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Tajik Ground Forces

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Tajik Ground Forces
Нерӯҳои заминии Тоҷикистон
Founded23 June 1993; 31 years ago (1993-06-23)[1][2]
Country Tajikistan
TypeArmy
Size9,000
Part ofArmed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan
Garrison/HQDushanbe
ColorsGreen
AnniversariesArmed Forces Day
EngagementsTajikistani Civil War
2021 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes
2022 Kyrgyzstan–Tajikistan clashes
Insignia
Identification
symbol		TJ/TJK
Aircraft flown
Helicopter12
Attack helicopter7
Trainer helicopter2
Trainer7
Transport2

The Tajik Ground Forces (Tajik: Нерӯҳои заминии Тоҷикистон), known officially as the Ground Forces of the Ministry of Defense of Tajikistan are the land forces of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Tajikistan. Formed during the Tajik Civil War, it makes up about 70 percent of the country's Armed Forces.[3]

History

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Tajikistan is the only former Soviet republic that did not form its armed forces from old Soviet Army units. Instead, the Russian Defense Ministry took direct command of the Soviet units there, forcing the Tajik government to raise an army from scratch. The government began assembling the armed forces in February 1993. That summer, on 23 June, the ground forces were officially created.[3]

It was originally established by the Ministry of Defense as the Armed Forces Department, and its first units were formed early in the year from skilled teams loyal to the Popular Front of Tajikistan. The personnel of the entire army saw the deployment of the following military units of that time: 13483, 07017, and 23441.[4] By the mid 1990s, the ground forces numbered to around 3,000, with the majority of the officer corps being Russian, mostly veterans of the war in Afghanistan.

As of 1997, the ground forces had two motorized rifle brigades (one of them is a training brigade), a special operations brigade and detachment, as well as units and sub units that provide operational, technical and logistic support. The army benefited from several United Tajik Opposition units that were experienced from fighting government forces during the civil war, but as of 2006, were poorly maintained and funded. At that time the army had 44 main battle tanks, 34 armored infantry fighting vehicles, 29 armored personnel carriers, 12 pieces of towed artillery, 10 multiple rocket launchers, 9 mortars, and 20 surface-to-air missiles. The ground forces in 2007 had two motorized rifle brigades, one mountain brigade, one artillery brigade, one airborne assault brigade, one airborne assault detachment, and one surface-to-air missile regiment.

In the wake of the withdrawal of United States troops from Afghanistan, 20,000 reserve servicemen of the Ground Forces were sent to the border between Tajikistan and Afghanistan.[5]

On October 28, 2021, China announced that it will finance the construction of a new base for Tajik commandos with another base near the Wakhan Corridor for Chinese troops.[6]

Training

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It is frequently trained by personnel from Russia, China, France, India, and the United States. American trainers have worked on setting up a non-commissioned officer corps within the army to train enlisted personnel.[7] Currently, more than 500 of servicemen are trained in Russia, and up to 1,000 junior specialists are trained annually at the Russian 201st Military Base.[8]

Commanders

[edit]
  • Emomali Sobirzoda (2010-2015)
  • Colonel Nazar Safarov (circa 2015)[9]
  • Bobojon Saidzoda (24 November 2015[10] - 9 February 2018)[11][12][13]
  • Bakhtiyor Mumin Muminzoda (4 November 2018 - ?)[14]
  • Khusrav Bobozoda (? - 28 February 2024)
  • Rahmonali Safaralizoda (28 February 2024 - present)[15]

Structure

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The Ground forces make up 70 percent of the Tajik National Army. It consists mainly of infantry, tank and artillery units. Many units are former militias, including several that fought the government during the Tajik civil war as part of the United Tajik Opposition. The following units are part of the Ground Forces:[16]

  • 1st Motorized Rifle Brigade (Bokhtar)
  • 3rd Motorized Rifle Brigade (Khujand)
  • 12th Artillery Brigade (Dushanbe)
  • 183rd Separate Reconnaissance Battalion (Dushanbe)
  • 17th Separate Reactive Battalion (Khujand)
  • 75th Separate Medical Battalion
  • 74th Separate Company for Chemical and Biological Protection
  • 38th Separate Company of Electronic Warfare
  • 7th Separate Rifle Battalion
  • Military Unit 15426 (Murghob District, Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region)[17]
  • Military Unit 08010 (Dushanbe), it serves as a training center for the training of specialists in armored vehicles BMP and BTR, T-72 tanks, anti-aircraft platoon, communicators and cooks. In this military unit, more than 60 percent of soldiers are from Sughd region.[18]

7th Separate Rifle Battalion

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Unit 13483 was one of the first military units to be established, forming in October 1993 and being renamed to the 7th Separate Rifle Battalion, or Unit 08014. It is located on the Tajik-Afghan border, and performs its duties in conjunction with the Tajik Border Troops. On 13 August 1997, by the order of the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant Colonel Sherali Mirzo was appointed its commander. Currently, the commander of the military unit is Colonel Abdulhamid Safarzoda. It has been awarded the "Traveling Flag" and the "Mobile Flag".[19] The unit is based in the Vose' District.[17]

Equipment

[edit]
A Tajik army tankist.
Name Origin Type In service Notes
Main battle tanks
T-72  Soviet Union Main battle tank 28[20]
T-62  Soviet Union 7[21]
Armoured fighting vehicles
BTR-60  Soviet Union Amphibious armoured personnel carrier 1[20]
BTR-70  Soviet Union 2[20]
BTR-80  Soviet Union 20[20]
BMP-1  Soviet Union Infantry fighting vehicle 8[20]
BMP-2  Soviet Union 15[20]
BRDM-2  Soviet Union Scout car 21 9[22] donate in 2019 and 12 BRDM-2M in 2021[23] by Russia.
Artillery
D-30 122mm howitzer  Soviet Union 10[20]
Multiple rocket launchers
BM-21 Grad  Soviet Union 3[20]
TOS-1  Soviet Union Unknown[24]
Mortars
PM-38 120mm  Soviet Union N/A
Surface to air missiles
S-75 Dvina
S-125 Neva/Pechora
9K32 Strela-2 		 Soviet Union Unknown[20]
Light equipment
Makarov PM  Soviet Union N/A
TT-33  Soviet Union N/A
AK-47  Soviet Union N/A [25]
AKM  Soviet Union N/A
AK-74  Soviet Union N/A [26]
Type 56  China N/A
Type 81  China N/A [27]
RPK  Soviet Union N/A
PKM  Soviet Union N/A
NSV  Soviet Union N/A
DShK  Soviet Union N/A
Dragunov SVD  Soviet Union N/A
RPG-7  Soviet Union N/A
RPG-18  Soviet Union N/A
SPG-9  Soviet Union N/A

References

[edit]
  1. ^ http://www.hfhr.pl/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Attachment-4_2_5-ENG.pdf&ved=2ahUKEwiX2K_H0N_rAhWXtJ4KHZ4dCmYQFjANegQIARAB&usg=AOvVaw0Alg9uJkBG4HVqa2PB-7E7 [dead link‍]
  2. ^ "Открытое письмо командующему сухопутных сил МОРТ | Коалиция гражданского общества Республики Таджикистан против пыток и безнаказанности".
  3. ^ a b "Сухопутные войска Минобороны Таджикистана готовятся отпраздновать очередную годовщину своего образ | Новости Таджикистана ASIA-Plus". asiaplustj.info. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  4. ^ "ҲОКИМИ МАЙДОНИ ҲАРБ". Вазорати Мудофияи Ҷумуҳурии Тоҷикистон (in Russian). 2021-06-29. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  5. ^ "Заседание Совета Безопасности Республики Таджикистан | Президенти Тоҷикистон - President of Tajikistan - Президент Таджикистана - رئيس جمهورية تاجيكستان".
  6. ^ Krishnan, Ananth (28 October 2021). "Eye on Afghanistan, China to build military base in Tajikistan - The Hindu". The Hindu.
  7. ^ John Pike. "Tajikistan- Army". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  8. ^ "Russian Defence Minister holds talks with the head of the military department of Tajikistan : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation". eng.mil.ru. Retrieved 2021-05-01.
  9. ^ "Командующего сухопутными войсками Таджикистана задержали по делу о мятеже генерала Назарзоды". Interfax.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  10. ^ "Указ Президента Республики Таджикистан от 24 ноября 2015 года, № 586 "О назначении Саидзода Б.А. Командующим Сухопутными войсками Вооруженных Сил Республики Таджикистан"". www.adlia.tj. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  11. ^ Вечёрка (2015-11-24). "Назначено новое руководство министерства обороны Таджикистана". Вечёрка (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  12. ^ "Указ Президента Республики Таджикистан от 24 ноября 2015 года, № 586 "О назначении Саидзода Б.А. Командующим Сухопутными войсками Вооруженных Сил Республики Таджикистан"". www.adlia.tj. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  13. ^ "Personnel changes | Президенти Тоҷикистон - President of Tajikistan - Президент Таджикистана - رئيس جمهورية تاجيكستان". president.tj. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  14. ^ "Personnel changes | Президенти Тоҷикистон - President of Tajikistan - Президент Таджикистана - رئيس جمهورية تاجيكستان". president.tj. Retrieved 2021-05-02.
  15. ^ "Рахмон сменил нескольких замминистра обороны и командующих видами войск". Радио Азатлык (in Russian). 2024-02-28. Retrieved 2024-05-30.
  16. ^ "Қувваҳои мусаллаҳи Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон".
  17. ^ a b "В Таджикистане военная прокуратура расследует дело о смерти солдата в Мургабе". Радио Озоди (in Russian). Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  18. ^ "Мақомоти иҷроияи ҳокимияти давлатии шаҳри Хуҷанд - Боздид аз қисмҳои ҳарбӣ". khujand.tj. Retrieved 2021-07-11.
  19. ^ "ЯКЕ АЗ АВВАЛИН ҚИСМҲОИ ҲАРБӢ". Вазорати Мудофияи Ҷумуҳурии Тоҷикистон (in Russian). 2021-02-19. Retrieved 2021-04-28.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i John Pike (21 May 2013). "Tajik-Army Equipment". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 22 September 2013.
  21. ^ John Pike (2013-05-21). "Tajikistan - Army Equipment". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 2013-09-22.
  22. ^ "Russia supplies military technical assets to Tajikistan of more than 320 million rubles : Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation".
  23. ^ "The Russian Ministry of Defense Donates 12 BRDM-2M Military Reconnaissance Vehicles to the Tajikistan Army". 14 September 2021.
  24. ^ "TOS-1A Heavy flamethrower system". military today. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  25. ^ The AK-47: Kalashnikov-series assault rifles. Rottman, Gordon. p. 78. ISBN 978-1-84908-835-0.
  26. ^ Jane's Infantry Weapons 2009/2010. Jones, Richard D. ISBN 978-0-7106-2869-5.
  27. ^ "Why Is The Tajikistan Army Using Chinese-made Weapons?". 21st Century Asian Arms Race. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
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