# Army of the Derg

The Army of the Derg emerged from several army officers in the imperial army of Ethiopia, which was chiefly consisted of four central divisions, the Division I (the imperial guard), Division II (Eritrea based unit), Division III (a mechanized unit in Harar) and Division IV (Addis Ababa-based unit to supervise the situation in southwestern Ethiopia).
Evolved from the 1960s student movement, the army force was similar to the imperial military with three sociopolitical classes used for revolution: the Military Upper Class, the Military Middle Class and the Rank and File and NCOs. The Derg army officers were merely made of mostly Amharas (over 80% of generals and over 65% of colonels), followed by Tigreans of Eritrea, Oromos, Gurage and other ethnicities, while few handful Muslim members also existed.

## Background

The Derg army emerged from several army officers divisions splintered from the Ethiopian Empire Army. By 1960s, these divisions were based in Debre Zeyit (Air Force) and small naval unit in Asmara. The Division I, also known as the imperial guard was based in Addis Ababa, safeguarding the imperial Haile Selassie's officials; Division II – based in Asmara – tasked to subdue Eritrean separatists; Division III – a mechanized Harar unit – used to combat Somali forces in the east; and the Division IV was based in Addis Ababa to supervise the situation of southwestern Ethiopia.
During the 1960s student movement, the armed force of the empire had three identifiable sociopolitical classes that led pivotal role for the revolution:
* The Military Upper Class – led by colonel, the supreme unit.
* The Military Middle Class – made of junior and intermediate colonel. Officers were general at the age of twenties and early thirties who functioned as civil intelligentsia.
* The Rank and File and NCOs – Deals with the increasing socioeconomic challenges.

## From 1974

In February 1974, so-called the "February Movement", the non-commissioned officer, although lack of institutional revolution, began protesting with little effective for power struggle. On 25 February, the Eritrean private and NCOs Division II arrested the government high ranking officers, ensued by the Addis Ababa Division I and IV. Massawa-based naval forced Admiral Iskinder Desta to flee to Djibouti and later to Addis Ababa. The Division III of Harar was inactive during the period.
In June 1974, the Coordinating Committee of the Armed Forces, Police and Territorial Army, also called the Derg, emerged from several divisions from the Army of the Ethiopian Empire by group of police officers led by General Aman Andom. The Derg army was challenged by internal divisions and lack of support from Ethiopia's external enemies. The army was then recruited by the peasants. Taking advantage from the 1973 economic recession, the NCOs monthly salaries was raised by $200–300 free tax. This concerned the raising prices, food security, pension and injustice system. According to Derg's booklet published in 1975, these officers took oath as the emperor told not to reveal secret. The secrecy continued to be kept in the Derg regime.
From the events of the Ethiopian Revolution, the army rapidly grew within three years as their high rank army officers emerged during the World War II. Military personnel and officers were mostly consisted of Amharas, followed by Tigreans of Eritrea, Oromos, Gurage and other ethnicities, while few handful Muslim members also existed. By the 1980, the army exceeded to 250,000 troops, costing about 50-70% of Ethiopia's national budget since 1978. After the Derg fell in 1991, the military had about 45,000 troops that were disintegrated shortly.