Military and Security Forces
Cameroon Armed Forces (Forces Armees Camerounaises, FAC): Army (L'Armee de Terre), Navy (Marine Nationale Republique, MNR, includes naval infantry), Air Force (Armee de l'Air du Cameroun, AAC), Rapid Intervention Battalion (Bataillons d’Intervention Rapide, BIR), Gendarmerie, Presidential Guard (2021)
Military Service Age and Obligation
18-23 years of age for male and female voluntary military service; no conscription; high school graduation required; service obligation 4 years; periodic government calls for volunteers (2019)
Military and Security Service Personnel Strengths
information varies widely; approximately 40,000 active duty troops; (25,000 ground forces, including the BIR and Presidential Guard; 2,000 Navy; 1,000 Air Force; 12,000 Gendarmerie) (2020)
Military Equipment Inventories and Acquisitions
the FAC inventory includes a mix of mostly older or second-hand Chinese, Russian, and Western equipment, with a limited quantity of more modern weapons; since 2010, China is the leading supplier of armaments to the FAC (2020)
Military Deployments
750 Central African Republic (MINUSCA) (Aug 2021)