Talk:Armed Forces of Liberia

Note on Ranks
General of the Army is the highest rank possible in the Army of Liberia and exists only on paper. In Liberia's existence, the rank has never been held by an actual person.

Due to the small size of Liberia, the rank of General of the Army would most likely only be bestowed if the country became engaged in a major war involving a massive callup and expansion of the Army. It is also possible that the rank could be taken in the event of a coup, where a future dictator could appoint themselves General of the Army.

The insignia for a Liberian General of the Army is five silver stars worn in a straight row on the uniform collar. This is in contrast to other countries which use stars to denote General of the Army; for in such cases the stars are normally arranged in a pentagon formation. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Buckshot06 (talk • contribs) 18:22, 19 October 2007 (UTC)
 * FYI, Charles Taylor wore this device - see this photograph. Thebiggesthorse (talk) 23:29, 31 December 2008 (UTC)
 * And my copy of Elliot has a picture of Doe wearing a similar but pentagonal five-star insignia. Really I don't think it's too important enough to be mentioned in the article right now given all the other gaps there are in it. Buckshot06(prof) 00:01, 1 January 2009 (UTC)
 * Ah whoops. That's Stephen ELLIS's Mask of Anarchy. Cheers Buckshot06(prof) 00:03, 1 January 2009 (UTC)

Liberian Navy
Buckshot - glad to have another savvy editor providing overwatch on this article. Your deletion of my reference to a Liberian Navy sent me into a bout of self-doubt though, but I did a quick bit of research. It may, admittedly, not be definitive without a trip to the library -- but that confirms that a "Liberian Navy" was created by Doe in 1986 through the passage of the The Liberian Navy Act Of 1986 (see "Ellen Signs Anti-Corruption Act, Commissions Several Officials", The Inquirer (Monrovia), 22 August 2008). Through the Taylor era, the "Navy" consisted of a couple of small patrol boats. According to the UN, one of the boats was captured and scuttled by rebels in Buchanan harbor in 2003. I am pretty familiar with the Liberian military - but I believe there were two separate entities: a Coast Guard initially, and then a Navy and Coast Guard, and soon just a Coast Guard.

I would also like to add a section on the Air Force (disbanded in 2005 as part of SSR but soon to be reconstituted (see this cached article for more info. Look forward to hearing what you think before I proceed. Thebiggesthorse (talk) 22:55, 31 December 2008 (UTC)

Quick review per request
This is just a quick review per the request on my talk page. I believe that this article is looking in very good shape. The content looks good to me (although I'm not a subject expert, in fact I have no knowledge of this topic at all unfortunately), and I think that you've rectified most of the issues that came up at the last A class review.

Some minor points that could possibly be improved:


 * There are still a couple of citation needed tags that need dealing with (one in the Doe Regime section, two in the Taylor Regime section and one in the Rebuilding section). Are any of these covered by citations that come before or after? If so, I'd suggest duplicating the citation with a namedref, then the info will be cited. If not, a source will need to be found otherwise I'd say it won't make it to A class on that basis;
 * The Organisation section: should that use the US spelling 'Organization'? as most of the rest of the article uses US spelling (very minor thing);
 * The block quote in the Rebuilding section from the Wall Street Journal probably needs an in line citation beside it. I think it is covered by # 62, but it couldn't hurt to name the ref and slap down citation 62 at the end of the quote, thus removing any concerns about the quote being uncited;
 * The reference checker tool indicates that there are a few references with the same content that could be consolidated per WP:NAMEDREFS. Some of these could be false positives (e.g. the refs are named, but there is still content outside of the mark up), but I think at least a couple are not (for example # 28 and 31).
 * Be careful with the use of abbreviations for rank in text. I'm not sure, but I seem to recall in other A class reviews that it is preferred that ranks in text are spelt out in full (e.g. Brig. Gen. would be Brigadier General, etc.);
 * There is one dab link (not including the circular redirect we couldn't fix last time)—Liberian Civil War—that possibly needs fixing, but it is a little confusing to me so I didn't touch it;
 * In the text there are a number of quotes which appear to use single quotation marks, while the block quotes use double. I think that they should all use double (e.g. "text" rather than 'text'), but to be honest I'm not sure if this is just my personal preference or if there is a stated policy.
 * Per the link checker, there are a couple of dead external links. Checklinks: Armed Forces of Liberia.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Great work so far, by the way. — AustralianRupert (talk) 05:59, 3 October 2009 (UTC)

Sandbox

 * http://liberia.usaid.gov/node/82

MoU between Liberia and Nigeria
Government denies parading Nigerian soldiers 	  Print   	  E-mail Written by Matthias Daffah Thursday, 16 September 2010

The Defense Ministry says report that two hundred Nigerian soldiers are in the country to beef up the strength of the Armed Forces of Liberia is not true.

The Ministry however clarified five Nigerian soldiers including other West African military personnel are currently working with the AFL under the ECOWAS plan.

Three of the other military personnel are from Ghana, two from Benin and one from Sierra Leone.

Assistant Defense Minister for Public Affairs David Dahn said the soldiers are only serving as mentor to the new AFL and are clearly identified by their national flags.

Assistant Minister Dahn explained on August 27, 2007 Liberia and Nigeria signed a Military and Security Assistance agreement.

According to him, the Memorandum of Understanding calls for the provision of a Command Officer or Chief of Staff by Nigeria to oversee the AFL.

He said article four of the MOU entails that the office of the Command Officer be staffed with three officers and nine clerical staff.

The Assistant Defense Minister said the media publication that foreign troops had been brought in to beef up the strength of the national army was alarming.


 * http://www.starradio.org.lr/content/view/17405/380/


 * Liberia/Jordan - http://www.starradio.org.lr/content/view/17716/59/
 * Liberia: Fans Bloodied, A. Abbas Dulleh, 7 September (New Democrat) also at AllAfrica.com


 * Liberia: AFL 'Widows' On Rampage (H. McCarey Marshall, Analyst), 20 October 2010. Women claiming to be widows of officers, enlisted men, and wartime recruits of the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) yesterday crowded the interception of Benson and Lynch Streets, in demand of the benefits of their spouses reportedly acknowledged by Defense Ministry authorities as missing in action.

First Lieutenants promoted to Captain Sept-Dec 2010
"Those promoted to the ranks of Captain from first Lieutenants were Geraldine Janet George who is said to be the first AFL female captain in post-war Liberia, Prince C. Johnson, Daniel D. Ziankan, Eric Wamu Dennis, and Toe S. Jorel, Davison F. Forleh and Theophilus A. Dana." The New Republic, No Promises - Samukai, December 24, 2010
 * The Daily Observer, Tuesday, August 9, 2016 (pages 1 and 10), reported that Colonel Eric Wayma Dennis, Deputy Chief of Staff of the AFL, died on Monday (August 8) from 'respiratory congestion' at the Duside Hospital in Firestone where he had gone for treatment following a period of illness. He had enlisted with the first SSR recruit class in 2006, and had commanded a platoon, B Company, First Battalion, 23rd Brigade; First Battalion, 23rd Brigade; and then served as Asst Chief of Staff, Training. Appointed DCoS on Armed Forces Day 2013, replacing Colonel Daniel Moore, who was retired. Born Harper 1968; joined AFL 1986; ROTC instructor 1988-2006; signed up with SSR recruit class 2006. Married, with wife Lelia Goodrige, and four children - a girl and three boys. Buckshot06 (talk) 12:22, 9 August 2016 (UTC)

Drop in force size by 300

 * http://theinquirer.com.lr/story.php?record_id=3681&sub=14 Buckshot06 (talk) 21:25, 21 February 2011 (UTC)

Lt Gen Luka Nyeh Yusuf
Former Chief of Army Staff. Born Bara Kagoma. Commissioned, Nigerian Army Corps, Artillery, 1975; Chief of Staff, Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL); Chief of Army Staff, 2007-08.

In February 2008 Yusuf was made to retire from the Army after a scandal involving the sale to militants of arms from the Army Central Command Depot, Kaduna armory which was under his command. These guns were then used to kill soldiers. Yusuf had resisted attempts to get him to step aside, but later conceded when the Army Council okayed the retirement. In June of 2009 Yusuf died at the age of 56, in London, after a long illness.

http://www.africa-confidential.com/whos-who-profile/id/2679/Luka-Nyeh-Yusuf

U.S. Negro units in Liberia during Second World War
http://www.history.army.mil/books/wwii/11-4/chapter20.htm#b3 - 'The Employment of Negro Troops' Buckshot06 (talk) 20:27, 7 May 2011 (UTC)

AFL effectiveness at beginning of First Liberian Civil War
Capabilities and Culpabilities, p 93, note 60: according to a Ghanaian Lt Col, the three battalions of the AFL were still under unified command when ECOMOG arrived, 24 Aug 1990. 157.150.192.237 (talk) 16:52, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Small arms
I have moved this attached list of small arms, completely unreferenced, from the main article to the talk page.

Sidearms:
 * Browning Hi Power 9x19mm
 * Colt M1911 .45 ACP (used during 1980 Liberian coup d'état)

Sub-Machine Guns:
 * Uzi 9x19mm

Rifles:
 * AK-47 7.62x39mm
 * AKM 7.62x39mm
 * Colt M16 5.56x45mm
 * M1 Garand .30-06 (previously used and in storage)
 * Pistol Mitralieră model 1963/1965 7.62x39mm (standard issue)
 * Type 56 assault rifle 7.62x39mm (used during second Liberian Civil War)

Battle Rifles:
 * FN FAL 7.62x51mm
 * Heckler & Koch G3 7.62x51mm

Machine Guns:
 * Zastava M84 7.62×54mmR
 * PKM 7.62×54mmR
 * FN MAG 7.62x51mm

Heavy Machine Guns:
 * M2 Browning .50 BMG
 * DShK 12.7×108mm

Rocket Launcher:
 * RPG-7 Buckshot06 (talk) 16:50, 23 February 2021 (UTC)

Discuss 5 infantry batalions of the arm forces of liberia prior to the civil war and their locations.
When all those illegal act took place 41.191.107.46 (talk) 15:07, 18 October 2022 (UTC)

Flag of AFL
Dear, do you observe the @ symbol at the bottom of one of the pages you have just linked? See for example https://mod.gov.lr/wounded-afl-soldier-receives-un-permanent-disability-benefit/ ??

This is the basis for the claims I have made at the Commons deletion request page. Buckshot06 (talk) 23:14, 1 March 2024 (UTC)