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HOW MANY BRIGADES DOES THE SPDF HAVE?

President Michel, as commander in chief of the defence forces under our constitution has elevated Colonel Flo Payet to Brigadier in the Seychelles People’s Defence Forces (SPDF). It appears that Payet will have the accolade of being the only Seychellois so far to have achieved this rank in the military anywhere in the world. Payet is also the Chief of Staff of the SPDF. President Michel, who was the previous Chief of Staff was a mere colonel.

The word brigadier emanates from the word Brigade. A Brigade, according to the Encarta Dictionary (UK version) is a military unit consisting of two or more combat battalions or regiments and associated support units. But according to the US military a brigade is a significantly large unit, consisting of between 1,500 and 3,200 soldiers that can be employed on independent or semi-independent operations. The Brigade is normally commanded by a Colonel, although in some cases a Brigadier General may assume command. The Command Sergeant Major is the principal non-commissioned officer assistant.

Three to five brigades normally compose a Division. There are currently 33 combat (Infantry and Armor/Cavalry) Brigades in the US Army. During combat operations each of these Brigades has a field artillery battalion, engineer battalion and combat service support battalion in direct support. Brigades also exist in combat service and combat service support branches (e.g., Engineer Brigade, Signal Brigade).

Armoured Cavalry units of this size are referred to as Regiments (Armoured Cavalry Regiment). Ranger and Special Forces units are referred to as Groups.

But no one knows how our military is structured nor how many soldiers there are. This is still a state secret despite the fact that we are now a multiparty “democracy” with “transparency” and “accountability”. How many brigades does the SPDF have (to coin a phrase à la communist leader Joseph Stalin about Pope Pius XII) for the Brigadier to lead?