Zambia Army

The Zambian Defense Force (ZDF) consists of the army, the air force, and Zambian National Service (ZNS). The ZNS, while operating under the Ministry of Defense, is responsible primarily for public works projects. The ZDF is designed primarily for internal defense. The HIV/AIDS epidemic has hit the ZDF especially hard.

In Zambia, Army barracks have names like Arakan, Burma, Chindwin, Kohima, Tug-Argan, Taungup, Gondar, and Kalewa. These names are not originally from Africa but from across the globe. To be specific, these names are from Asia where the Zambia Army soldiers fought alongside British troops in World War II. The Zambia Army has come a long way, from colonial times when the Army was called the Rhodesian Regiment, to modern times when the Zambia Army is a force to reckon with within the African continent.

The birth of the Zambia Army can be traced to 24 October 1964 when Zambia obtained independence from Britain. The British Army Commander continued to command the Army until seven years later in 1971 when the first indigenous Zambian officer was appointed Army Commander.

The ZDF has contributed to African Union and United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, and in 2005 became a partner in the African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance (ACOTA) program. The first iteration of ACOTA peacekeeper training took place in 2007, but subsequent training sessions have been delayed.

At independence, Zambia inherited a small Army that could not match the magnitude of threats the country faced. The threats came from regimes in other Southern African countries that were not independent like Zambia. The white-settler regimes of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Namibia were some of the threats that Zambia faced. In order to survive as a new nation, Zambia had to redesign and expand its Defense Force. The growth and expansion of the Zambia Army was very important to protect the country’s sovereignty. Zambia embarked on a robust expansion program for its military since its Independence Day. New and more equipment was purchased coupled with unprecedented levels of personnel recruitment and training from Independence Day to 1980.

Order of Battle very uncertain
	1	Commando battalion (special forces)
	6	Light Infantry battalion
1	Armoured Regiment
	1	tank battalion
	1	armed reconnaissance regiment)
1	Artillery regiment
	2	Fire Direction Artillery Battalion
	1	Multiple Rocket Launchers battalion
1	Engineers Regiment

The Zambia Army fought liberation wars against the colonial settlers in South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe. The aim of these wars was to liberate other countries in the Southern African region. At home, the Army fought running battles to counter insurgencies that were waged by white-settler regimes mainly from South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, and Zimbabwe. Zambia hosted freedom fighters from the region including South Africa, Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe.

The country also became the staging point for all liberation movements from the Southern African region. For this reason, the country became a major target by many formidable enemies like the South African apartheid regimes. After independence, the new Republic of Zambia and its young Army had to deal with aggression by numerically superior and better-equipped militaries of the white-settler regimes of Portuguese Angola and Mozambique, Britons in Zimbabwe, and the Boers in South Africa.

Marines

President Edgar Lungu in July 2015 launched the 48 Marine Unit in Nchelenge District in Luapula Province to enhance border security on Zambia's water fronts. The unit has three squadrons based on the Luapula River, Lake Kariba and Lake Mweru in the north. “The deployment of this marine special forces unit in Luapula province marks the beginning of securing of our water bodies across the country. I authorized the establishment of this unit of special forces and with its establishment comes a lot of challenges which we will address. This unit will ensure the effective enforcement of the fishing bans in place in water bodies around the country," Lungu said.

The commando marine unit will be deployed in the waters of Lake Kariba and the Zambezi River to guarantee protection of citizens, Zambia Army Commander Paul Mihova said in December 2015. The deployment of the commandos on the water bodies in Southern Province follows the split of the commando unit to form a marine troop, which was sent to Northern Province. Lieutenant-General Mihova said the splitting of the commando unit was meant to have a group of soldiers to protect Zambian citizens on the country's water bodies shared with other countries.

According to the Fisheries Act number 22 of 2011, it is an offence for any person to fish, be in possession, trade or transport any kind of fish during the fish ban period. In February 2016 Luapula Province Permanent Secretary Boniface Chimbwali advised marine soldiers to refrain from using excessive force when carrying out their patrols during the fish ban. The permanent secretary said the security wings had a right to carry out patrols during the ban, but advised them not to use excessive force when they found people with fish. A few bad elements were perpetrating crime in the area under the guise of being marine personnel stationed in Nchelenge District.

The marine troops would also help Zambia Wildlife Authority officers curb poaching in the crime-prone areas.