Albanian Armed Forces
The Albanian Armed Forces were formed after the declaration of independence in 1912. There is the General Staff, the Albanian Army, the Albanian Air Force and the Albanian Naval Defense Forces.[1]
The Albanian Army is helped by the United States, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, the United Kingdom, Greece, Turkey, Switzerland, Denmark and Belgium.
History
Although there were earlier Albanian armies the modern forces were founded in 1912.
In 1928 it had 8.000 soldiers.
The army grew up to 511.000 soldiers during the communist era due to forced conscription.
There are 14,500 troops and 2,000 civilians, trained to NATO standards.[2]
Albanian Armed Forces Media
Albanian soldiers in April 1939, during the Italian invasion of Albania
- American Honor guard holding Albanian Flag.jpg
US Military Honor Guard, Guarding Albanian Flag
An Albanian T-59 tank during the Albania-Yugoslav border incident in May 1999
Albanian soldiers conduct a joint patrol with U.S. soldiers in Iraq on 13 January 2005
Albanian flag patch worn on Army uniforms
References
- ↑ "Gazeta SHQIP // Forcat e Armatosura, struktura e re pa Komandën e Bashkuar" (in shqip). Archived from the original on 2013-05-07. Retrieved 2012-04-19.
- ↑ Koci, Jonilda. "Albania to abolish conscription by 2010". SETimes. Retrieved 4 September 2010.