Gambia

Republic of Gambia

Officially, this nation is the Republic of the Gambia (or simply The Gambia). The region was tributary to the Mali Empire by the 14th century, and many of its people had been converted to Islam by Arab traders seeking gold, ivory and slaves. Great Britain obtained exclusive trade rights to most of the territory in 1588, but vied with the French for exclusive control which was not achieved until 1856. This region was heavily depopulated by the transatlatic slave trade, many of whom ended up in the West Indies and North America. Although Britain outlawed slavery in 1807, it continued amongst the dominant local tribes for the remainder of the 19th century. The Gambia officially became a British Crown Colony in 1889, and was granted self-governance in 1962. In February of 1965, the Gambia achieved full independence as a constitutional monarchy within the Commonwealth of Nations. Five years later it became a republic.

After seeking military assistance from neighboring Senegal in 1981 following a failed coup attempt, Gambia joined briefly with its neighbor to form the Senegambia Confederation, which combined the armed forces and currencies of the two nations and lasted until 1989. In 1994, the Armed Forces Provisional Ruling Council (AFPRC) deposed the legitimately elected government and banned opposition political activity, but announced shortly thereafter a plan to return to democratic civilian government. Finally in December 2001, a new president took the oath of office.

The Gambian armed forces consist of the Army, Republican National Guard, a small Navy and the National Police, with approximately 2300 active duty personnel. During the Liberian civil war, members of the Gambian Armed Forces participated in the ECOMOG effort to stabilize the nation in 1990.

Gambian Camouflage Patterns

• Despite its historical connection to Colonial Britain the earliest use of camouflage by Gambia appears to be a commonly seen uniform throughout Francophone Africa, the tenue de leópard or lizard pattern. These uniforms were observed on many Gambian Army personnel from 1990 onwards, and may have been a result of the country's close connection to neighboring Senegal. Use of lizard camouflage does not appear to have extended in Gambia beyond 1994-95.

• Historically the armed forces wore solid olive green combat uniforms, but the use of camouflage by ground forces gradually gained popularity in the 1990s, and included the adoption of British DPM around 1994. The most widely observed variation incorporates black, brown & blue- green disruptive shapes on a golden-khaki background, although other versions have also been observed in use with Gambian military personnel. This design was still being worn in 2012.

• The Gambian Army began to incorporate use of US m81 woodland camouflage pattern around the time of the 1994 coup d'etat. This would continue as the standard uniform of most armed forces personnel into the early 2000s, when a transition was made to pixelated camouflage designs.

• Members of the Republican National Guard have been documented wearing a copy of the Multicam pattern around 2012-2014. Whether this will remain in circulation remains to be seen.

• A pixelated camouflage design appeared circa 2012 within the Gambian Armed Forces, and appears to be replacing earlier issued camouflage designs as a general issue pattern. Interestingly, the letters "FTGAF" have been embedded into the design.

• The Gambian Navy has also recently issued a four-color pixelated design with a blue colorway, seen here. This pattern also has the letters "FTGAF" embedded into its design.

• The Republican National Guard (RNG) also has its own pixelated camouflage design with a lighter green colorway, seen here.

• Worn by members of the State Guard Battalion, a unit of the Republican National Guard, this digital pattern bears a strong resemblance to the former US Navy Working Uniform (NWU-1) design.