Guyana Defence Force

The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) is the military of Guyana, established in 1965. It has military bases across the nation. The Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Force is always the incumbent President of Guyana. The branches include the Army, Air Force, and Coast Guard.

Although a small nation, Guyana's recent petro wealth has destabilized the region, re-igniting border disputes with Venezuela inherited from the colonial era.

The nation of Guyana became independent in the 1960s, before that defense was the responsibility of the United Kingdom. A modest defense force for small country, is back-dropped by alliances with major regional players including the United States, the United Kingdom, and Brazil. Guyanese forces participated in the multinational 1994 mission to Hati.

The GDF was formed on 1 November 1965. Members of the new Defence Force were drawn from the British Guiana Volunteer Force (BGVF), Special Service Unit (SSU), British Guiana Police Force (BGPF) and civilians. Training assistance was provided by British instructors.

A survey party sent by the Surinamese government, which at the time was still under Dutch colonial rule, was sent to the Tigri Area in late 1967 as part of Suriname's "Operation Grasshopper", prompting the GDF to confiscate their weapons and expel them from the territory on December 12.

On January 2, 1969, the Rupununi uprising by native Pemon and Wapishana led by Valerie Hart, with reported support from Venezuela, began with an attack against Lethem, the capital of the Upper Takutu–Upper Essequibo region, resulting in the deaths of five police officers and two civilians and the destruction of Guyanese government buildings. The rebels locked townsfolk in their homes, blocked airstrips in the area, and took Guyanese government officials into their custody. Guyanese forces mobilized from the nearest unblocked airstrip and in two days the insurrection was quelled, with many rebels fleeing into Venezuela and Brazil, with Hart fleeing to the former. Accusations of massacres by Guyanese forces of native Amerindians have been put forth, which the Guyanese government denied and the Guyanese government accused the rebels of being backed by Venezuela and attempting to cede themselves to Venezuela.

In mid–August 1969, patrolling GDF forces discovered a Surinamese camp and partially completed airstrip in the Tigri Area. This discovery prompted the GDF to launch an operation on August 19, 1969 against the camp and airstrip, resulting in the expulsion of Surinamese forces from the area.

A platoon of GDF soldiers, part of a contingent of Caribbean Community troops, were involved in the 1994 US-led intervention Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti.