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Military Reform – 2007

The United States contracted another private corporation – Pacific Architects and Engineers – to help with the restructuring of the armed forces. The duties of the restructuring process were split between the two companies involved, with DynCorp handling the recruitment and basic training of personnel and PAE providing advanced training and construction/renovation of facilities.¹
After completing basic training, the first batch of 110 recruits that graduated in November 2006 began advanced individual training. Training for a second recruitment batch, which had been scheduled to begin in January, was postponed until July. This batch of 502 recruits graduated from basic training on 7 September 2007. The Armed Forces of Liberia will be composed of two infantry battalions, an engineering unit, a military police unit, a military band and medical personnel. The first three infantry companies in the first battalion, composed of 128 men each, were activated on 19 December 2007. Though the companies were activated, they would require further training before they were fully operational.²

1. “Liberia: Key Facts on the Armed Forces of Liberia,” Refugee International, September 18, 2007, http://www.refintl.org/content/liberia-key-facts-armed-forces-liberia.
2. “Liberia; AFL Initiates First Infantry Companies,” Africa News, December 19, 2007.