The 23rd Infantry Brigade is a

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

n military unit that serves as the

ground force ''Ground Force'' is a British garden makeover television series originally broadcast by the BBC between 1997 and 2005. The series was originally hosted by Alan Titchmarsh, Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh. Production The series was created b ...

component of the

Armed Forces of Liberia The Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL) are the armed forces of the Republic of Liberia. Tracing its origins to a militia that was formed by the first black colonists in what is now Liberia, it was founded as the Liberian Frontier Force in 1908, and r ...

. Commanded by a

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

, it consists of two infantry battalions under the 23rd Infantry Brigade and supporting units.

Structure

* HQ * 1st Infantry Battalion (located at Edward Beyan Kesselly Military Barracks in

Margibi County Margibi is a Counties of Liberia, county on the north to central coast of Liberia. One of 15 counties that constitute the Administrative division, first-level of administrative division in the nation, it has five Districts of Liberia, districts. ...

) *** Headquarters Company *** Alpha Company *** Bravo Company *** Charlie Company *** Combat Support Company * 2nd Infantry Battalion (Also at Edward Beyan Kesselly Military Barracks) ** Headquarters Company ** Alpha Company ** Bravo Company ** Charlie Company ** Combat Support Company

1st Battalion

2nd Battalion

The first commander of the battalion was Lieutenant Colonel Emmanuel Larbi Sarpong Gyadu of

Ghana Army The Ghana Army is the principal land warfare force of Ghana. In 1959, two years after the Gold Coast (British colony), Gold Coast became independent from the British Empire, the Ghana Regiment, Gold Coast Regiment was withdrawn from the Royal West ...

History

The Liberian National Guard Brigade was at the heart of the pre-coup

True Whig Party The True Whig Party (TWP), also known as the Liberian Whig Party (LWP), is the oldest political party in Liberia and Africa as a whole. Founded in 1869 by primarily darker-skinned Americo-Liberians in rural areas, its historic rival was the Re ...

era army. After the

First Liberian Civil War The First Liberian Civil War was the first of Second Liberian Civil War, two civil wars within the West African nation of Liberia which lasted between 1989 and 1997. President Samuel Doe's regime of totalitarianism and widespread Political cor ...

; the

Second Liberian Civil War The Second Liberian Civil War was a civil war in the West African nation of Liberia that lasted from 1999 to 2003. The war was mainly caused by transition failures after the First Civil War, especially the peace-building process which would res ...

, the arrival of

UNMIL The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) was a United Nations peacekeeping operation established in September 2003 to monitor a ceasefire agreement in Liberia following the resignation of President Charles Taylor and the conclusion of the ...

, and the

United States State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

's Liberian Security Sector Reform program, run by contractors, the Armed Forces of Liberia was effectively recreated from nothing from 2005. The 23rd Infantry Brigade was formed on August 29, 2008, at the Barclay Training Center in

Monrovia Monrovia () is the administrative capital city, capital and largest city of Liberia. Founded in 1822, it is located on Cape Mesurado on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast and as of the 2022 census had 1,761,032 residents, home to 33.5% of Liber ...

, and the 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Brigade in December that year. Both battalions are currently based at the former Camp Schiefflin, which has now been renamed the Edward Binyah Kesselly Barracks, often known simply as 'EBK Barracks.' As a result of the concentration of troops at EBK, the camp was overcrowded, and disturbances among the soldiers have occurred. As of mid-2009, the Ministry of Defense is attempting to alleviate the problem by relocating some personnel to Camp Tubman in Gbarnga. The two battalions and supporting units went through training and preparation for an assessment exercise, a modified US Army Readiness Training Evaluation Program (ARTEP), which was held in late 2009. The force operates according to slightly modified

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

practices, and uses U.S. doctrine.

"..The first battalion started the United States Army Training and Evaluation Programme, which it will complete in September
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight ...
while the second battalion will complete the programme in December
009 009 may refer to: * OO9, gauge model railways * O09, FAA identifier for Round Valley Airport * 0O9, FAA identifier for Ward Field, see List of airports in California * British secret agent 009, see 00 Agent * BA 009, see British Airways Flight ...
At that time, the United States contractors currently training and equipping the force will hand over to the
Ministry of National Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divide ...
, which will assume responsibility for training and standing up the new army. The United States has indicated that it plans to assign as many as 60 United States serving military personnel to continue mentoring the Armed Forces of Liberia, beginning in January 2010."UN Secretary-General's Report on UNMIL, released 10 August 2009

Operations

The unit was deployed during Operation Restore Hope in June 2012 at the Ivorian border in a Joint Task Force (JTF) with other security agencies like the Liberian National Police (LNP), the Liberian Immigration Service (LIS) and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armed Forces Of Liberia Government of Liberia Military of Liberia 2008 establishments in Liberia