Opinion Letter ; A Cry from Within the Ranks: The Hidden Crisis in the Gambia Armed Forces

Dear Editor,

We write this letter with a deep sense of duty and patriotism, not out of malice or disrespect for our commanders, but out of concern for the future of the Gambia Armed Forces and the security of our nation.

We have chosen Jarra News because we know your editor was once one of us. He served in the ranks alongside many of us for six years during the era when the “buddy system” fostered discipline, trust, and genuine comradeship. We therefore believe this newspaper will treat our concerns with fairness and a sense of national responsibility.

For years, a serious personnel crisis has been quietly unfolding within the Gambia Armed Forces. Unfortunately, we believe the true extent of this crisis has not reached the ears of His Excellency President Adama Barrow, the Commander-in-Chief. Those entrusted with providing honest military assessments appear more concerned with preserving appearances than confronting reality.

The most alarming problem is the severe shortage of junior soldiers. While the army appears adequately staffed on paper, the reality inside the barracks tells a different story. The force has become top-heavy, with an excessive number of officers and senior non-commissioned officers but an insufficient number of private soldiers to perform the basic operational duties upon which every professional army depends.

In several companies, there are multiple Regimental Sergeant Majors, numerous Staff Sergeants, and an unusually high number of Sergeants occupying positions that should never exist simultaneously in a properly structured military unit. This distortion is not merely an administrative inconvenience—it has fundamentally weakened military regimentation and disrupted the chain of command.

The consequences are visible every day. Duties traditionally assigned to private soldiers are increasingly being performed by Sergeants. Guard posts that should be manned by junior soldiers are now staffed by senior NCOs. Such practices are inconsistent with accepted military standards and reveal the extent to which the personnel structure has become unbalanced.

This problem did not emerge overnight. It is largely the legacy of indiscriminate promotions during the previous administration, when rank inflation became commonplace without corresponding recruitment at the lower levels. Today, the institution continues to struggle under the weight of those decisions.

Another issue rarely discussed publicly is the growing loss of trained personnel. Young recruits join the army with enthusiasm but soon become discouraged by low salaries, limited welfare support, and poor career incentives. Many save enough money to abandon military service altogether and embark on the dangerous irregular migration route to Europe in search of better opportunities.

The result is predictable: the army continues losing the very soldiers it desperately needs while recruitment fails to keep pace with attrition.

There are also concerns about personnel management. Administrative appointments, which are generally less physically demanding, are too often occupied by individuals with family or personal connections to senior officers. Meanwhile, those without such connections remain in demanding operational roles for extended periods. Whether intended or not, this perception undermines morale and confidence in the fairness of the institution.

Perhaps most troubling is the widening gap between ordinary soldiers and the Commander-in-Chief. Many soldiers feel that senior commanders have become gatekeepers, limiting direct engagement between the President and the rank and file. We believe this unintentionally prevents the President from receiving an accurate picture of conditions within the armed forces.

Let us be absolutely clear: the loyalty of the ordinary soldier to the Republic and to President Adama Barrow is unwavering. We stand ready, as soldiers have always done, to defend our country and its constitutional leadership with our lives if called upon. Our concerns arise not from disloyalty but from our commitment to strengthening the institution we proudly serve.

We respectfully urge the Commander-in-Chief to make unannounced visits to military barracks, interact directly with soldiers, inspect operational units, and hear firsthand the realities on the ground. Such engagement would provide an unfiltered assessment of morale, manpower, welfare, and military readiness.

The solutions are neither complicated nor impossible. The government should undertake a comprehensive manpower audit, embark on sustained recruitment of junior soldiers, improve salaries, introduce meaningful operational allowances—including risk, field, and feeding allowances—and restore merit-based personnel management. These recommendations echo principles long advocated by military professionals, including the Nigerian Army Training Team that advised the Gambian government during the First Republic.

We offer these observations in good faith because silence serves neither the military nor the nation. A professional army cannot be built on inflated ranks, declining morale, and shortages of frontline soldiers. Addressing these challenges today will strengthen the institution tomorrow.

We trust that this appeal will be received in the constructive spirit in which it is offered and that those entrusted with safeguarding our national defence will place institutional reform above personal comfort or administrative convenience.

Yours faithfully,

Concerned Serving Members of the Gambia Armed Forces