page_title: Rwanda Defence Force
section_title: Land Forces
hierarchical_section_title: Rwanda Defence Force / Land Forces
caption_attribution_description: United States Army Africa U.S. Army Africa Soldiers Assist Rwandan Airlift For Peacekeepers In Darfur By Rick Scavetta U.S. Army Africa Public Affairs When a U.S. Air Force officer saw Rwandan soldiers marking equipment and loading gear onto a C-17 cargo plane at Kigali International Airport, he asked Staff Sgt. Brian Ruse if that was okay. Ruse and 1st Lt. Charlie Jones, both Soldiers with U.S Army-Africa, had been training the Rwandan Defense Force to do the job. “It’s all right, sir,” Ruse told the officer, “They got it.” Ruse, 31, of Summerville, SC, and Jones, 25, of San Diego, deployed to Rwanda in early January. Around that time, the U.S. government announced U.S. Africa Command would support the international peacekeeping mission in Darfur by airlifting Rwandan peacekeepers’ equipment into the war-torn region of the Sudan. That day, Ruse and Jones were already headed to Africa. They learned about the airlift mission when the arrived in Rwanda. “We were there to train members of the Rwandan Defense Force to U.S. standards for airlifting cargo,” Jones said. “We ended up partnering with an African nation to help get their mission done.” The Soldiers’ assignment began Jan. 7, when 36 Rwandans gathered in the third-floor classroom in the Kigali airport terminal. Jones covered the role of a unit movement officer and the basics of loading military gear onto aircraft. Ruse then explained how to handle and mark hazardous material for shipment. “The RDF is a very professional military,” Jones said. “The students were very attentive and eager to learn the material and they did not hesitate to ask questions.” Soon, RDF soldiers were building shipping pallets and preparing equipment for air movement. Their first test was to load and unload wooden pallets from a MI-17 helicopter from the Rwanda Air Force. They also learned how to prepare vehicles to load on planes. On Jan. 14, when a U.S. Air Force C-17 landed in Kigali, the Rwandan team was prepared to do its first mission, loading their equipment onto American planes. “We were helping the RDF with materials that they needed airlifted to their peacekeeping mission in Dafur,” Ruse said. “We helped make sure it was done right, so there weren’t any hiccups with the Air Force” Senior Rwandan military leaders and the local press were on hand to see the planes loaded, Jones said. “There were high expectations, but everything went well,” Jones said. “We made sure that our command has a good name in Rwanda and set the standard for future missions.” In December 2008, Southern European Task Force (SETAF) began its transformation to become the Army component to U.S. Africa Command. The mission Jones and Ruse accomplished is part of an ongoing U.S. effort to build strong partnerships with African nations. Both Soldiers relied on knowledge from previous assignments. In 2008, Jones returned from a yearlong combat deployment in Jalalabad, Afghanistan with the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, where he gained valuable logistics experience - especially preparing equipment for airlifts. “I had been through that process with the brigade, so when got back from deployment, they asked me to train others in Africa,” Jones said. Ruse, a tracked vehicle mechanic who served six months in Iraq with the 3rd Infantry Division, arrived at SETAF in Nov. 2007. A 12-year veteran, Ruse serves as a platoon sergeant and shop foreman at the headquarters company motor pool. Ruse is also an expert in handling dangerous materials. Not only can he package such things as chemicals, fuel and ammunition, he is certified to train others. Jones and Ruse made their first trip to Africa in July 2008 to train Ugandan soldiers in Entebbe, Uganda. The Rwanda mission allowed Ruse and Jones to further explore African culture. A Rwandan captain even invited Ruse and Jones to his home, where they met his family and enjoyed a home-cooked meal of fish, meat and rice. “It reminded me of back home,” Ruse said. “They were very friendly and welcoming.” On the tarmac though, the RDF were all business. The Rwandans quickly put the skills they learned during training into practice, beating the standard U.S .Air Force loading times, Jones said. Both Jones and Ruse assisted their Rwandan partners during the upload, but mostly credit the RDF Soldiers for their motivation. “For us, this was rewarding. They learned really well and took charge,” Ruse said. “For them, it was a mission accomplished.” U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Brian Ruse and 1st Lt. Charlie Jones United States Army Africa These images are cleared for release and are considered in the public domain. Request credit be given the US Army and individual photographer. Official Website Follow USARAF on Twitter Official YouTube Channel (Video)
context_page_description: The Rwanda Defence Force is the national army of Rwanda. The country's armed forces were originally known as the Rwandan Armed Forces, but following the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in the country's civil war in 1994, a new organization, the Rwandan Patriotic Army, was created. Later, it was renamed to its current name.
  The RDF comprises:
  High Command Council of the RDF
  General Staff of the RDF
  Rwanda Land Force
  Rwanda Air Force
  Individual units
  Army Band of the RDF
  In November 2002 Emmanuel Habyarimana was removed from his post as Minister of Defence, an action which government spokesperson Joseph Bideri attributed to his "extreme pro-Hutu" views. Marcel Gatsinzi became Minister of Defence in succession to Habyarimana.
  After it conquered the country in July 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of April to July 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front decided to split into a political division and a military division, which would serve as the official army of the Rwandan state.
context_section_description: A number of sources, including Gérard Prunier, document U.S. aid to the RPA before the First Congo War. The officially admitted part of the training was Joint Combined Exchange Training. Prunier strongly implies the United States supplied communications equipment, vehicles, boots, and medicines to the RPA before the war began and after it broke out, delivered second-hand Warsaw Pact weapons and ammunition either directly to Goma or by airdrop along the AFDL front lines. He reports that after the war's outbreak, the U.S. Air Force had switched from using C-141 Starlifters and C-5 Galaxys to deliver the non-lethal aid to Kigali Airport and Entebbe Airport, to airdrops by C-130 Hercules aircraft.
  From July 1994 until December 1997 the RPA had six brigades, as designated in the Arusha Accords: 402nd in Kigali and Kigali Rurale Prefecture; 201st in Kibungo, Umatura, and Byumba Prefectures; 301st in Butare, Gikongoro, and Cyangugu Prefectures; 305th in Gitatama and Kibuye Prefectures; and 211th in Gisenyi and Ruhengeri Prefectures. The brigade boundaries mirrored the political administrative boundaries, which often complicated military operations. During the First Congo War the brigade headquarters remained inside Rwanda but directed operations inside the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  Jane's World Armies said in July 2009 that 'the RDF is deployed to protect the country's borders and defend against external aggression. There are four divisions, each deploying three brigades:
  1 Division, based at Kigali, covers the central and east region;
  2 Division, based at Byumba, covers the north and east region;
  3 Division, based at Gisenyi, covers the northwest region; and
  4 Division, based at Butare, covers the southwest region.'
  The Cyangugu Military Camp has been reported to house the 31st Brigade [301 Brigade?] of the 4th Division.
  Brigades mentioned in press reports include:
  Special Forces Brigade (Brig. Innocent Kabanda)
  Artillery Brigade
  201 Brigade (Col. Alex Ngoga Kayumba)
  204 Brigade, Gasabo District, Kigali
  211 Brigade (Col. Jomba Gakumba)
  301 Brigade
  305 Brigade (Col. Paul Nyemazi)
  307 Brigade
  402 Brigade
  408 Brigade, Rusizi District (Brig. Vincent Gatame)
  411 Brigade
  501 Brigade
  503 Brigade
  511 Brigade, Gicumbe District
  Gen. Patrick Nyamvumba has been Chief of Defence Staff since June 2013.
  Many soldiers from the former Rwandan Armed Forces (FAR), the national army under the previous regime, have been incorporated into the RDF since 1994. This process began soon after the genocide in January 1995, when several former FAR officers were given senior positions in the new armed forces: Col. (later Gen.) Marcel Gatsinzi became the Deputy Chief of Staff of the RPA, Col. Balthazar Ndengeyinka became commander of the 305th Brigade, Lt. Col. Laurent Munyakazi took command of the 99th Battalion, and Lt. Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Emmanuel Habyarimana became an RPA Member of Parliament and Director of Training in the Ministry of Defence. Gen. Gatsinzi later became Director of Security and then Minister of Defence in 2002.
  Circa 2000 during the Second Congo War, the Rwanda Patriotic Army unofficially admitted to having 4,000 to 8,000 troops deployed in the Congo, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit, but this was believed to be a substantial understatement. The International Crisis Group estimated that the RPA has between 17,000 and 25,000 troops deployed in the Congo. In April 2001, a United Nations report on the exploitation of the Congo, said the RPA had a minimum of 25,000 troops in the Congo, an estimate the report attributes to "military specialists with a great deal of experience in the region." During the deployment on DRC, Rwandan forces fought the so-called "Six-Day War" against Ugandan forces over the city of Kisangani, leaving at least 1,000 dead.
  On 17 September 2002 the first Rwandan soldiers were withdrawn from the eastern DRC. On 5 October Rwanda announced the completion of its withdrawal; MONUC confirmed the departure of over 20,000 Rwandan soldiers.
  The RDF reentered the DRC twice in 2009; to partake in a join
caption: Rwandan soldiers carrying equipment at Kigali International Airport
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