Military of Belize

The Belize Defence Force (BDF) is the military of Belize, and is responsible for protecting the sovereignty of Belize The BDF, along with the National Forensic Science Service, the National Coast Guard, and the Immigration Department, is a department of the Ministry of National Security, which is headed by Carlos Perdomo; the BDF itself is commanded by Brigadier General Dario Tapia. In 2005, the Belizean government spent $1.2 million on the military, constituting 1.87% of the country's gross domestic product (GDP).^[1]

History

The military of Belize dates back to 1817, when the Prince Regent Royal Honduras Militia, a volunteer organization, was founded; this militia became the Belize Volunteer Guard of the British Territorial Army. The BDF was founded in 1978 following the disbanding of the Belize Volunteer Guard and the Police Special Force the year before.^[2]

After Belize achieved independence in 1981 the United Kingdom maintained a deterrent force in the country to protect it from invasion by Guatemala (see Guatemalan claim to Belizean territory). The main British force left in 1994, three years after Guatemala recognised Belizean independence, but the United Kingdom maintains a training presence via the British Army Training and Support Unit Belize (BATSUB) and 25 Flight Army Air Corps.^[2] The BDF Maritime Wing became part of the Belizean Coastguard in November 2005.^[3]

Organization

The BDF consists of:

• Ground Forces
  • First Infantry Battalion
  • Second Infantry Battalion

• Air Wing
  • Troop Transport
  • Freight Transport
  • Search and Rescue (Casualty/Medical Evacuation)
  • Reconnaissance
  • Exclusive Economic Zone Patrol
  • Parachute Resupply
  • Light Ground Attack
  • Showing of the Belizean Flag
  • Air Wing Cadet Corps

• Volunteer Guard
  • Volunteer Battalion

The Belize National Police is a quasi-military unit in Belize.

Equipment

• Browning Hi-Power L-9A-1  Belgium
• Smith & Wesson Model 10  United States
• Sterling submachine gun MK-IV\L-2A-3  United Kingdom
• 400 x M16 rifle M16A1  United States
• 200 x M16 rifle M16A2  United States
• 54 x M4 carbine  United States
• FN FAL L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle  Belgium United Kingdom
• 15 x M14 rifle  United States
• 66 x FN Minimi  United States Belgium
• 28 x M249 light machine gun A2  United States  Belgium
• FN MAG 60-20 Inf.T-6\L-7A-2  Belgium  United Kingdom
• 15 x FN MAG 60-20 L-37A-2  Belgium  United Kingdom
• 10 x M1919 Browning machine gun Vektor MG-4CA (for Eland-90 ARVs)  United States  South Africa
• Bren light machine gun MK-III L4A4  United Kingdom
• 10 x M2 Browning  United States
• 60 x M72 LAW M72A3  United States
• 8 x Carl Gustav recoilless rifle  Sweden
• L16 81mm Mortar  United Kingdom}
• 15 x Fox armoured reconnaissance vehicle Daimler FV721 Fox 30mm L-21 Rarden gun 4x4 ARVs  United Kingdom
• 10 x Eland Mk7 90mm 4x4 ARVs  South Africa  France
• Land Rover Defender 4x4  United Kingdom
• Bedford MK trucks  United Kingdom

Facilities

• Mountain Pine Ridge Training Area
• Price Barracks
• Fairweather Camp
• Orange Walk
• Belizario Camp
• Corozal Training Centre
• Dangriga Training Centre
• Phillip SW Goldson International Airport

Aircraft

Aircraft Inventory as of January 26, 2009

Aircraft	Origin	Type	Versions	In service[4]	Notes
Counter-insurgency
Britten-Norman Defender	United Kingdom	Counter-insugency	BN-2B-21	2	In service since 1983
Trainers
Slingsby T-67 Firefly	United Kingdom	Trainer	T67M-260	1	In service since 1996
Transports
Britten-Norman Islander	United Kingdom	Utility transport	BN-2A	1
Cessna 182J	United States	Utility transport	182J	1	In service since 1996
Obsolete Aircraft
Dornier Do 27	Germany	Utility transport	Do.27	0	1 in service from 1987 to 1990
Beechcraft King Air	United States	Utility transport	A90	0	1 in service from 2004 to 2006
Ayres Thrush	United States	Trainer	S-2R	0	3 were in service
Bell UH-1 Iroquois	United States	Utility helicopter	UH-1	0	1 was in service
Cessna 208 Caravan	United States	Utility transport	208	0	1 was in service
Cessna O-2 Skymaster	United States	Observation aircraft	337\O-2	0	1 was in service

Naval

Personnel: year 2008, 152

• 13 Boats (including 6 Wasp-class PCs  United Kingdom ).

References

1. ^ "Belize", CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bh.html
2. ^ ^{a b} Dion E. Phillips , "The Military of Belize" http://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/bnccde/belize/conference/papers/phillips.html, 2002
3. ^ "Channel 5 Belize", http://www.channel5belize.com/archive_detail_story.php?story_id=15230 December 13, 2007.
4. ^ Aviation Week & Space Technology 2009, 26 January 2009 240. Web.11 August 2009. <http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/sourcebook/content.jsp?channelName=pro&story=xml/sourcebook_xml/2009/01/26/AW_01_26_2009_p0240-112924-14.xml&headline=World%20Military%20Aircraft%20Inventory%20-%20Belize>.

• BDF
• BDF Air Wing info
• [1]

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the CIA World Factbook.