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
Geography of the Gambia Natural resources: fish, clay, silica sand, titanium (rutile and ilmenite), tin, zircon Land use: <br>"arable land:" 43.48% <br>"permanent crops:" 0.49% <br>"other:" 56.03% (2011) <br>"total:" 0.09 km/yr (41%/21%/39%) <br>"per capita:" 65.77 m/yr (2005) Current issues: deforestation, desertification, prevalence of water-borne diseases, drought (rainfall has dropped by 30% in the last 30 years) Environment - party to international agreements on: This is a list of the extreme points of the Gambia, the points that are farther north, south, east or west than any other location. Geography of the Gambia The Gambia is a very small and narrow country with the border based