The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces (Khmer: កងទ័ពយុទ្ធពលខេឞរភូមិន្ទ, Kangtrop Yothipol Khemarak Phumin) (RCAF) are the national military forces of Cambodia. The Commander-in-Chief is HM King Norodom Sihamoni, and consists of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Special Forces.
The armed forces currently operate under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of National Defence. Under the constitution the RCAF is in charged of protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Cambodia from external threats.
The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces consists of three branches:
- Royal Cambodian Army
- Special Forces
- Royal Cambodian Navy
- Royal Cambodian Marine Corps
- Royal Cambodian Air Force
- Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia
The RCAF was created in 1993 by the merger of the Cambodian People's Armed Forces and the two non communist resistance armies. At the time, there were also resistance forces opposing the Government comprising the Khmer Rouge and a separate royalist resistance movement (also known as the National United Army or NUA). The forerunner of the Cambodian Armed Forces is the Division 125. It was established in 1978 by Hun Sen (now is Prime Minister) and the Vietnam People's Army's support.
The Royal Cambodian Army is the largest force with troops stationed in each province of the country. The Royal Cambodian Navy is the second largest force and operates at sea, along the Mekong and Bassac rivers and in the Tonle Sap Lake. The military police force numbers around 7,800 employees and runs parallel to the civilian police force.
The military police have posts in every province and municipality across the country. The Royal Cambodian Air Force is the smallest of the three forces and has around 1,000 employees. The air force operates in every province with an airport.
Read more about Royal Cambodian Armed Forces: Regions, Strength and Demobilization, Re-establishment of The Royal Cambodian Armed Forces, Royal Gendarmerie of Cambodia, See Also
Famous quotes containing the words royal, armed and/or forces:
“a highly respectable gondolier,
Who promised the Royal babe to rear
And teach him the trade of a timoneer
With his own beloved brattling.”
—Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (1836–1911)
“What man dare, I dare.
Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear,
The armed rhinoceros, or the Hyrcan tiger;
Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble. Or be alive again
And dare me to the desert with thy sword.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)
“The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces upon us the manufacture of the hydrogen bomb. We do not choose our problems, we do not choose our products; we are pushed, we are forced—by what? By a system which has no purpose and goal transcending it, and which makes man its appendix.”
—Erich Fromm (1900–1980)