Armed Forces of Haiti: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 12:09, 8 July 2024

Armed Forces of Haiti
Forces Armées d'Haïti (French)
Emblem of Haiti
Founded	18 May 1803^[1]
Current form	17 November 2017
Service branches	Haitian Army Haitian Aeronautical Corps (Corps Aéronautique des FAd'H) Haitian Navy (Marine Haitienne)
Headquarters	Port-au-Prince, Haiti
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Lt. Gen Jodel Lesage
Personnel
Military age	18–25
Available for military service	5,534,135, age 15–49
Active personnel	2000 (2023)
Expenditure
Percent of GDP	1.2
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Taiwan Brazil Mexico
Related articles
History	Military history of Haiti
Ranks	Military ranks of Haiti

The Armed Forces of Haiti (French: Forces Armées d'Haïti; FAd'H) are the military forces of the Republic of Haiti, currently consisting of the Haitian Army, which has about 2000 active personnel as of 2023^[2].

The Haitian military originated during the Haitian Revolution as the Indigenous Army (Armée Indigène) that fought for independence, which was formally declared on 1 January 1804.^[1] Haiti became a militarized country over the next several decades to protect its independence from a possible return of French troops, and as a result the military dominated the government and administration,^[3] with the emergence of a military elite that held the political and economic power in the country.^[4] The military was reorganized in the 1880s, being divided between a small active army that underwent the reform, and a much larger reserve army consisting of the old forces. There was also a small navy.^[5] Between 1804 and 1915, all except one of Haiti's 26 heads of state were military officers.^[6]

The Indigenous Army was disbanded during the United States occupation of Haiti in 1915 and replaced by the American-trained and -led Gendarmerie (Gendarmerie d'Haïti). In 1934, it was renamed the Garde d'Haiti and returned to Haitian command, before being renamed the Army of Haiti in 1947.^[7] Finally, it was changed to the Armed Forces of Haiti in 1958 during the rule of François Duvalier.^[8] After years of military interference in politics, including dozens of military coups and attempted coups, Haiti disbanded its military in 1995.^[9] The Haitian National Police was established that same year to take over security.^[10]

On 17 November 2017, the armed forces were restored by President Jovenel Moise. The Army was reestablished in 2018. The President suspended the previous executive orders by then President Jean-Bertrand Aristide who suspended and disbanded the armed forces on 6 December 1995.

As of 2023, an infantry battalion with 700 soldiers is in the process of being formed and there is also a small coast guard with 50 personnel,^[11] though the Coast Guard is part of the Haitian National Police.^[10]

History[edit]

Origins[edit]

The origins of Haiti's military lie in the Haitian Revolution. A decade of warfare produced a military cadre from which Haiti's early leaders emerged. Defeat of the French demonstrated Haiti's considerable strategic stamina and tactical capabilities, but Haiti's victory did not translate into a successful national government or a strong economy. Lacking a strong constitution, Haiti was usually ruled by force. The armed forces, who had been united against the French, fragmented into warring regional factions. The military very soon took control of almost every aspect of Haitian life. Officers assumed responsibility for the administration of justice and for municipal management. According to a Haitian diplomat, the country was in its earlier days "an immense military camp." Without viable civilian institutions, Haiti was vulnerable to military personalities, who permanently shaped the nation's authoritarian, personalist, and coercive style of governance.

19th century[edit]

Haiti's defense fell victim to political vagaries. A readiness for battle and the initiation of defense-related engineering projects in the early 19th century turned out to be costly preparation for conflict against phantom armies. The engineering projects included construction of the citadel of La Ferrière in northern Haiti. Soon afterward, Haiti turned its attention toward the rest of the island of Hispaniola (La Isla Española), which Haiti controlled between 1822 and 1844. Controlling the whole island, however, drained the national treasury and induced torpor in the battle-hardened veterans of the wars of independence.

During the mid-19th century, prolonged instability weakened the military. By the end of the 19th century, Haiti's military had become little more than an undisciplined, ill-fed, and poorly paid militia that shifted its allegiances as battles were won or lost and as new leaders came to power. Between 1806 and 1879, an estimated 69 revolts against existing governments took place; another twenty uprisings, or attempted insurrections, broke out between 1908 and 1915.

During the second half of the 19th century, the army either failed to protect the central government or directly caused the government's collapse. Rural insurgent movements led by piquets and cacos limited the central government's authority in outlying areas. These groups carried on war into the 20th century; they were finally put down by the United States Marine Corps in 1919.

At the beginning of the 20th century, Haiti's political instability provoked interference of the great powers (France, Germany, and the United States). The increasing American interest in Haiti prompted the United States Navy to deploy to the country's ports fifteen times between 1876 and 1913 in order to protect American lives and property, and the United States Marines to occupy the whole country from 1915 to 1934.

The Haitian Navy was created in 1860 with the commissioning of a single gunboat. Two additional gunboats entered service in 1875 followed by a corvette ten years later. By 1900 three British and French-built gunboats had been launched. In 1902 the Haitian gunboat Crête-à-Pierrot had a brief engagement with a German warship. The Admiral of the Haitian fleet, Hammerton Killick, scuttled his ship rather than surrender.

20th century[edit]

United States occupation[edit]

The United States Marines disbanded Haiti's army, which consisted of an estimated 9,000 men, including 308 generals. In February 1916, the Haitian Constabulary (Gendarmerie d'Haïti) was formed. United States Marines and United States Navy officers and non-commissioned officers (NCOs) commanded the group. The Gendarmerie attempted to secure public safety, initially by subduing the cacos; to promote development, particularly road construction; and to modernize the military through the introduction of a training structure, a health service, and other improvements.

The United States occupation of Haiti brought order and resulted in some economic and social development. At the same time, the United States overhauled Haiti's disintegrated military infrastructure. The Gendarmerie became the Garde d'Haïti in 1928; the Garde formed the core of Haiti's armed forces after the United States administration ended. The United States sought to establish a modern, apolitical military force in Haiti. On the surface, it succeeded; the organization, the training, and the equipment of the Garde all represented improvements over the military conditions existing before the occupation.

After the United States occupation ended, the Haitian military was given the responsibility to ensure domestic law and order. This concern with internal, rather than with external security, endured throughout the 20th century.

Post-occupation period[edit]

The Haitian Coast Guard was created in the late 1930s. The Haitian Air Force was created in 1943.

Haiti became a party to a number of international agreements, including the Inter-American Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance (the Rio Treaty), the Charter of the Organization of American States, and the earlier Act of Chapultepec (1945). The nation's security concerns regarding neighboring Cuba and the Dominican Republic have been viewed since World War II within the broader framework of United States strategic interests in the Caribbean. The fact that the FAd'H deployed relatively few of its units along the Dominican border, despite a history of conflicts with its neighbor, reflects Haiti's limited national security concerns.

Duvalier period[edit]

After the establishment of the Duvalier regime in 1957, various external threats have had little impact on Haiti's security. The Duvaliers' tight control eliminated all Marxist influences in the country, thus minimizing the effects of the Cuban Revolution. It was not until 1986 that a communist party, the Unified Party of Haitian Communists (Parti Unifié Communiste Haïtien, PUCH), openly operated in the country. Cuba helped some Haitian refugees travel to Florida in the 1980s, but its overall interest in Haitian affairs has been unclear. The severity of Haiti's political and economic crises, along with the high profile of the United States in the region, has limited involvement by other countries in Haitian affairs.

Threats to Haiti's internal security, however, have been numerous during the past four decades. Between 1968 and 1970, the government repulsed three invasions supported by exiled Haitians. In 1970 the Coast Guard mutinied. The Coast Guard's five ships, low on fuel and ammunition, went into exile at the United States military base at Guantánamo, Cuba. In the early 1980s, Haitian military forces and members of the Volontaires de la Sécurité Nationale (VSN) defeated a small exile force on the Ile de la Tortue (Tortuga Island). An airplane dropped a bomb on the National Palace in 1982, and a car bomb exploded nearby in 1983. Exile groups, however, never posed a significant military challenge to the army and the VSN. The real challenge to these forces came in the popular domestic disturbances that developed after 1984.

Post-Duvalier period[edit]

After the collapse of the Duvalier regime in 1986, the FAd'H developed an agenda to exert national political leadership, to restore public order, and to gain control over the VSN and other paramilitary groups, but carrying out this program proved difficult, given Haiti's political, economic, and foreign policy situations.

The main mission of Haiti's armed forces in the late 1980s continued to be internal security. After 1986, however, this mission regularly conflicted with the national leadership role of the FAd'H. Generational and political differences among officers and a scarcity of resources for the military led to chronic instability that culminated in military coups. These coups caused the government to change hands four times in 1988. A fifth coup in early 1989, however, failed to topple the government. The two most important problems that the FAd'H had to face were, first, a divided senior military command and, second, suspicious junior officers and NCO personnel. These problems became apparent in 1988 when Avril ousted Namphy and subsequently dismissed a number of senior officers. The degree to which NCOs may have been manipulated in this process and the extent to which lower army echelons had begun to shape their own political attitudes caused some observers to doubt the military's future as an institution.

The challenges facing the FAd'H in the late 1980s were more political than military. The largest and most immediate questions revolved around the institution's ability to govern Haiti during a period of political transition and modernization. It remained unclear, in mid-1989, how and when the military planned to transfer power to a legitimate civilian government. Another important problem concerned the personal political ambitions of some army commanders. It was also unclear how the FAd'H would respond to these challenges because the institution had not demonstrated viable national political capabilities. The FAd'H was ill-prepared for this broad new role in national life because François Duvalier had severely limited its role in government affairs.

Other security-related problems included narcotics trafficking. United States officials have expressed concern over Haiti's role as a major transshipment area for narcotics, mainly Colombian cocaine bound for the United States. This role apparently expanded after Jean-Claude Duvalier's fall. The United States Drug Enforcement Administration opened an office in Port-au- Prince in October 1987 to help Haitian authorities control drug trafficking; however, the lack of a professional police force in Haiti hindered these efforts. The FAd'H appeared ambivalent toward the narcotics issue because drug-related corruption reportedly involved hundreds of members of the officer corps and because some officers resented pressure from Washington. Avril, however, attempted to placate United States concerns by dismissing some officers linked to drug trafficking. The most prominent among the dismissed officers was Col. Jean-Claude Paul, a former commander of the Dessalines Battalion, who was indicted in March 1988 by a Florida grand jury on charges of cocaine distribution.^[12] Haiti had signed an extradition treaty with the United States, but the agreement did not cover narcotics-related offenses, so Paul never faced trial on the charges.

Paul's continued service in the army posed a political problem, and Avril asked him to retire. In November 1988, however, Paul died mysteriously, possibly a victim of poisoning. Paul's death removed a major narcotics figure and a potential threat to Avril's political power.

Unstable and unstructured civilian politics and institutions also undermined Haiti's stability. Some Duvalierists sought to use the armed forces completely or partially to restore the ancien régime. At the same time, more democracy-oriented civilian groups, all of which lacked strong institutional bases, continued to be suspicious of the army's political leadership. The weak economy and the international media's criticism of Haitian affairs resulted in financial and public-relations problems for the army; and, because Haiti's political environment remained volatile and because the army did not always appear to be in control of the country, Haiti faced more unrest and the possible development of insurgency movements. On the one hand, Haiti's armed forces was still one of the few institutions of national magnitude, but, on the other hand, the armed forces suffered from serious institutional deterioration and diminished cohesion. In 1989 the military was struggling to provide political leadership at a time when it faced its own disintegration.

Disbandment[edit]

After years of military interference in politics, including dozens of military coups (from two Duvalier-period attempts in 1958 and 1963 to the last one staged in 1991), Haiti disbanded its military in 1995. Haiti's National Assembly created new civilian law enforcement, with the heavily armed Haitian National Police, and the Haitian Coast Guard, with the help of the United States and the United Nations. Yet, to date there has been no official constitutional amendment to abolish the military. The United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) has been authorized to complete the disarmament and demobilization of any remaining militias.^[13]

Without its own military, Haiti relies heavily on United Nations (UN) peacekeeping forces. The multinational force has been responsible for quelling riots and preparing for democratic elections. Before UN forces arrived, a multilateral force made up of troops from Canada, Chile, France, and the United States helped stabilize the country under the interim leadership of President Boniface Alexandre.^[13]

Haiti has no obvious external threats. Tensions have long existed between Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but the current border has been fixed since 1936.^[13]

21st century[edit]

Reformation[edit]

In July 2017 the BBC announced that Haiti's government had launched a campaign to re-establish the army^[14] after MINUSTAH termination. According to the announcement, the government wanted to recruit about 500 men and women, between the ages of 18 and 25, who have passed their secondary education exams. The role of the army would be to help deal with natural disasters and to patrol Haitian borders.^[14]

Members of the Haitian military are being trained and formed through military cooperation with Ecuador^[15], Mexico^[16] and Argentina^[17]^[18]. In 2021, talks were held between Dr. Louis Marie Montfort Saintil, the Ambassador of Haiti in Spain, and Colonel Carlos Sanchez Bas of the Spanish Air and Space Force in the objectives of exploring avenues of cooperation, more precisely in the field of reorganization and modernization of the Aeronautical Corps of the Armed Forces of Haiti^[19]. In April 2024, on in interview on Haitian news outlet Metropole, The ambassador of France to Haiti, Fabrice Mauriès, stated that France was open to military cooperation with Haiti^[20] and that discussions were had with the Haitian government to form servicemembers in their bases in the Antilles. After the Haitian military successfully repelled terrorist attacks on Toussaint Louverture International Airport on the afternoon of March 4th 2024 and helped secure it, the United States Department of State stated, although it had not changed its general policy on the Haitian military, it could provide non-lethal aid to the Armed Forces of Haiti.^[21]

Haitian crisis (2021–present)[edit]

Following the Assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the Haitian President, Haiti has fallen into a political crisis that has greatly destabilized the nation. As of March 2023, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry signaled that he wanted to mobilize the Haitian military to deal with rising gang related violence that has swept much of the country in the wake of the crisis.^[22] After the terrorist attacks on the several prisons, including the Port-au-Prince prison (Pénitencier National), and several police stations the weekend of March 2nd, 2024, the Haitian military was deployed to the Toussaint Louverture International Airport to repel the gang assaults of March 4th, 2024, and defend and secure the airport.^[23]

Former organization[edit]

The army and air force were the better equipped branches of the armed forces, with the navy the least equipped over the years and up to 1994.

Air Force[edit]

Many of Haiti's air force aircraft were donated second hand from the United States and France:

After remobilization of Haitian Air Force by President Jovenel Moïse, Haitian Air Force will purchase military aircraft from Russia, China, Brazil and Israel in 2020 as part of an overall re-equipment plan.

Small Arms/Artillery/Armored vehicles[edit]

The equipment of the last standing army, most of it from the United States, was taken by the US Army in the 1990s during Operation Uphold Democracy:

After remobilization of Haitian Army by President Jovenel Moïse, Haitian Army will purchase military ground vehicles from Russia, China, Brazil, South Korea, and Israel in 2019 as part of an overall re-equipment plan.^{[citation needed]}

Navy[edit]

The Haitian Navy existed in the 19th century and parts of the 20th century. In the 1900s, the fleet mostly consisted of gunboats and other small vessels before the U.S. occupation in 1915, at which point almost all of its ships were sold. After 1915, only two unarmed schooners were kept for the Haitian coast guard.^[24]

The ships from the fleet that existed in the 1980s was handed over to the Haitian Coast Guard following the disbandment of the military.

After remobilization of the Haitian Navy by President Jovenel Moïse, the Haitian Navy will purchase military ships from Russia, China, and South Korea in 2022 as part of an overall re-equipment plan.^{[citation needed]}

Current forces[edit]

The current FAd'H, has upwards of a 1000 members, the exact number is not known. The Headquarters of the Armed Forces of Haiti seats at its historical site^[25] on the Champ de Mars, across from the ground of the National Palace (Palais National). As of 2024, only the Army has been reactivated. The reorganization of the Aeronautical Corps (Corps Aéronautique des Forces Armées d'Haiti) and Navy (La Marine Haitienne) are a work in progress.

Haitian Army[edit]

Units[edit]

Training and Formation[edit]

The initial troops were formed in Ecuador between 2012 and 2017, during the Michel Martelly administration, as part of a cooperation accord between the two countries dating back to 2010, and revised in 2015^[26]. The soldiers of the Corps of Engineers (Corps du Génie, CORGE), were formed at the "Escuela Superior Militar Eloy Alfaro" in Quito, including 4 commissioned officers. Additionally, in 2015, 40 Commissioned Officers were formed at the "Escuela de Formación de Soldados"inAmbato and 27 enlisted would obtain an 8 months formation at the『Escuela de Formación Militar de Santo Domingo de Los Colorados』in Santo Domingo, Ecuador. ^[27]

As part of the bilateral cooperation accord between Mexico and Haiti, signed on October 7th 2018, 50 Non-commissioned officer of the Armed Forces of Haiti get a formation at the "Escuela Militar de Sargentos"^[28] of the Mexican Army, in Puebla, Mexico.^[29]^[30]^[31]. On August 16, 2019, the first class of servicemembers formed in Haiti, composed of 248 soldiers, 50 NCOs, and 15 officers, would graduate from the recruiting depot at the Anacaona Military Base, in Léogâne.^[32]^[33] That class was trained by Mexican military instructors.

In 2022, 29 NCOs would get trained at the "Centro de Adiestramiento de Fuerzas Especiales" in Temamatla, Mexico to become drill instructors in order to facilitate the formation of new soldiers on Haitian soil ^[34]^[35]. Another company of 150 soldiers would go to Mexico to get a formation by the Mexican Army and Mexican National Guard, in subjects including drone warfare, guerilla warfare, Sniper training, Demolition. That company upon their return to Haiti would become the National Guard Unit (Unité de Garde Nationale)^[36] that was trained ^[37]^[38]^[39]^[40]. In December of that year, the second class of soldiers formed in Haiti, composed of 409 soldiers (92 being women)^[41], swore allegiance as member of the Armed Forces on the grounds of the Military Aviation Base, in the presence of then Prime Minister Ariel Henry. The class was baptized "Dutty Bookman" after one of the originators of the Haitian Revolution.

In 2023, 113 soldiers from the National Guard Unit travelled to Mexico for special operations training, becoming the first Special forces unit of the new FAd'H.^[42]^[43]^[44]

HQ/Bases[edit]

Military Equipment[edit]

Small Arms[edit]

*Records of small arms acquisitions are not publics. The list is a compilation of weapons pictured being carried by soldiers on duty.

Vehicles[edit]

Uniform[edit]

Combat Utility Uniform[edit]

The uniform used by servicemen at work on the field varies, having been introduced at different times. The uniform a soldier wears can generally tell what graduating class that soldier was in.

The first elements of the army wear a variant of woodland MARPAT^[52]^[53]. Later recruits would be issued a solid olive green color uniform^[54]. On January 1st, 2024, during the Independence Day ceremony, newly acquired U.S. Woodland pattern uniform would put on display by troops^[55], worn with green ballistic helmets, OD green plate carriers and combat boots, as part of an acquisition of equipment by the Haitian government.

Service Uniform[edit]

The traditional khaki shirt and pants (skirt optional for women) returned to service, as seen commonly worn by the Chiefs of Staff, with black shoes (or combat boots), and a khaki garrison cap^[56]^[57]. A cap frame with a black visor, khaki cap cover, is also part of the uniform, where officers have a gold strap^[58], and enlisted have a black strap^[59]^[60].

Dress Uniform[edit]

For ceremonies and parades, enlisted member will wear long-sleeved khaki shirts with khaki ties. Officers wear a khaki jacket, with a red blue and red chord on the left shoulder, a white shirt and a black tie.^[61]^[62]