Gambia Armed Forces defence and security in The Gambia was the responsibility of the Field Force. The Field Force was a paramilitary unit of the police, consisting of roughly 140 men at independence and rising to around 500 in 1980. It has been formed in 1958 following the disbandment of the Gambia Regiment, part of the British Army. There was little concern about security in The Gambia due to its small size and the safety provided by being totally surrounded by Senegal, with which it had signed a mutual defence pact in 1965. This lax attitude to defence changed following the 1981 coup
The Gambia the day-to-day operations of the Gambia Armed Forces. Between 1958 and 1985, the Gambia did not have a military, but the Gambia Field Force existed as a paramilitary wing of the police. The military tradition of the Gambia can be traced to the Gambia Regiment of the British Army, that existed from 1901 to 1958 and fought in World War I and World War II. The Gambia Armed Forces is and has been the recipient of a number of equipment and training agreements with other countries. In 1992, a contingent of Nigerian soldiers helped lead the GNA. Between 1991 and