The Armed Forces of Turkmenistan (), known informally as the Turkmen National Army () is the national military of

Turkmenistan Turkmenistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia bordered by Kazakhstan to the northwest, Uzbekistan to the north, east and northeast, Afghanistan to the southeast, Iran to the south and southwest and the Caspian Sea to the west. Ash ...

. It consists of the

Ground Forces An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by p ...

, the Air Force and Air Defense Forces,

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

, and other independent formations (etc. Border Troops, Internal Troops and

National Guard National guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. ...

History

Beginnings

After the fall of the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, significant elements of the

Soviet Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, also known as the Armed Forces of the Soviet Union, the Red Army (1918–1946) and the Soviet Army (1946–1991), were the armed forces of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republi ...

Turkestan Military District The Turkestan Military District (, ''Turkestansky voyenyi okrug (TurkVO)'') was a military district of both the Imperial Russian Army and the Soviet Armed Forces, with its headquarters at Tashkent. The District was first created during the 1874 R ...

remained on Turkmen soil, including several motor rifle divisions. From V.I. Feskov et al. 2013 and Michael Holm's data, it appears that the three divisions were the 58th, 88th, and 209th District Training Centre (former 61 Training MRD) at Ashkhabad. In June 1992, the new

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

n government signed a bilateral defense treaty with

, encouraging the new Turkmen government to create its own armed forces but stipulating that they were to be placed under joint command. The United States

Library of Congress Country Studies The Country Studies are works published by the Federal Research Division of the United States Library of Congress, freely available for use by researchers. No copyright is claimed on them. Therefore, they have been dedicated to the public domain ...

said that 'the Treaty on Joint Measures signed by Russia and Turkmenistan in July 1992 provided for the Russian Federation to act as guarantor of Turkmenistan's security and made former Soviet army units in the republic the basis of the new national armed forces. The treaty stipulated that, apart from border troops and air force and air defense units remaining under Russian control, the entire armed forces would be under joint command, which would gradually devolve to exclusive command by Turkmenistan over a period of ten years. For a transitional period of five years, Russia would provide logistical support and pay Turkmenistan for the right to maintain special installations, while Turkmenistan would bear the costs of housing, utilities, and administration.' The

Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies The Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies (CAST); ) is an independent, for-profit Russian think tank located in downtown Moscow. CAST conducts research and analysis on Russian conventional arms trade, Russia's defense industry, mi ...

's ''Moscow Defence Brief'' said that in 1992–93 Turkmenistan attempted to create a small national armed force based on the former Soviet 52nd Army, which was located in the country and depended on support from Russia. Of the 300 formations and units, numbering 110,000 people, 200 were transferred to the command of Turkmenistan, 70 remained under Russia's jurisdiction, and 30 were either withdrawn or demobilized.' In 1994, the chief of staff and first deputy minister of defense was Major General

Annamurat Soltanov Annamurat Soltanovich Soltanov () was a Turkmen general who served as the first chief of the general staff of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. Early life and career He was born in Mary Region in 1943. In 1961, he worked as a livestock specialis ...

, a career officer who had served in

Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

and Afghanistan; another deputy minister of defense, Major General Begdzhan Niyazov, had been a law enforcement administrator prior to his appointment. Russian commanders included Major General

Viktor Zavarzin Viktor Mikhailovich Zavarzin (; born 28 November 1948) is a former officer in the Soviet Ground Forces and later the Russian Ground Forces with the rank of colonel general. Biography He attended the Frunze Academy in 1981 and the General Staff ...

, chief of staff and first deputy commander of the Separate Combined-Arms Army of Turkmenistan, and commander of the Separate Combined-Arms Army of Turkmenistan and deputy minister of defense Lieutenant General

Nikolai Kormiltsev Nikolai Viktorovich Kormiltsev (; born 14 March 1946) was Commander-in-Chief of the Russian Ground Forces from 2001 to 2004, before being replaced by Alexey Maslov. Biography Kormiltsev was born on 14 March 1946 in Omsk, joining the Soviet ...

. Russian Major General

Vladislav Shunevich Vladislav ( (', '); , ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав, ) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav''. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Cr ...

served together with Turkmen Major General

Akmurad Kabulov Major General Akmurad Nazarovich Kabulov (, ) is a Turkmen general and politician. Biography He was born in 1942 on the Bolshevik collective farm of the Moscow Raion of the Lebap Welayaty. In 1963 he graduated from the Turkmen Agricultural Ins ...

as joint commanders of the border troops in the Turkmen Border Guard. Under a 1993 bilateral military cooperation treaty, some 2,000 Russian officers served in Turkmenistan on contract, and border forces (about 5,000 in 1995) are under joint Russian and Turkmenistani command. Altogether, about 11,000 Russian troops remained in Turkmenistan in mid-1996.'

Military policy of Niyazov

Turkmenistan's military is considered to be the most neutral of all former republics of the

. The country's military did not sign the Tashkent Treaty in May 1992, becoming an observer in the

Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS The Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS () is a working body in the Commonwealth of Independent States responsible for military policy of the CIS. It coordinates military cooperation of the CIS member states, and develops military and def ...

. Turkmenistan's first military doctrine was adopted in 1994 enforcing this. The neutral policy of Turkmenistan was also emphasized in relation to the 1996 Afghan War, maintaining an even relationship with both the

Taliban , leader1_title = Supreme Leader of Afghanistan, Supreme leaders , leader1_name = {{indented plainlist, * Mullah Omar{{Natural Causes{{nbsp(1994–2013) * Akhtar Mansour{{Assassinated (2015–2016) * Hibatullah Akhundzada (2016–present) ...

and the

Afghan government The government of Afghanistan, officially called the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan and informally known as the Taliban government, is the central government of Afghanistan, a unitary state. Under the leadership of the Taliban, the government is ...

. Following the

September 11 terrorist attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

, coalition troops did not appear on Turkmen territory. President Niyazov refused to provide the

German government The Federal Government (, ; abbr. BReg) is the chief executive body of the Federal Republic of Germany and exercises executive power at the federal level. It consists of the Federal Chancellor and the Federal Ministers. The fundamentals o ...

with a base to store German aircraft, arguing that the country intends to continue to follow the principles of neutrality. In 2002, a "

labor army The notion of the Labor army (трудовая армия, трудармия) was introduced in Soviet Russia during the Russian Civil War in 1920. Initially the term was applied to regiments of Red Army transferred from military activity to lab ...

" was created by Niyazov's orders which saw the creation of specialized labor military units. Soldiers in these units began to be sent from military units to enterprises, construction sites and hospitals as cheap labor, being removed from the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense.

Since 2006

Jane's Information Group Janes is a global open-source intelligence company specialising in military, national security, aerospace and transport topics, whose name derives from British author Fred T. Jane. History Jane's Information Group was founded in 1898 by Fred T. ...

said in 2009 that "Turkmenistan's military is, even by the standards of Central Asia, poorly maintained and funded." Weeks after he was inaugurated for a first term, President

Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov Gurbanguly Mälikgulyýewiç Berdimuhamedow (born 29 June 1957) is a Turkmen politician and former dentist who is currently the chairman of the People's Council of Turkmenistan. He previously served as the second president of Turkmenistan fr ...

announced his decision to endorse the country's second military doctrine, officially declaring neutrality and stating that the border with

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

will be a national security priority. In 2016, a new military doctrine was adopted by Berdimuhamedov. In November 2018, President Berdimuhamedov reiterated this at a session of the State Security Council.

Military hierarchy

State Security Council

Defense Ministry

The

Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian mi ...

is a government agency of the armed forces which is the executive body in implementing defense policies in Turkmenistan. It was founded in January 1992 with the assistance of the

Russian Armed Forces The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, commonly referred to as the Russian Armed Forces, are the military of Russia. They are organized into three service branches—the Russian Ground Forces, Ground Forces, Russian Navy, Navy, and Russi ...

. Most of the original employees were retired Soviet officials in the

Communist Party of the Turkmen SSR The Communist Party of Turkmenistan (; ) was the ruling communist party of the Turkmen SSR which operated as a republican branch of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. From 1985, it was led by Saparmurat Niyazov. On 16 December 1991, as ...

General Staff

Structure

* Land Forces Command * Department of the Missile Forces and Artillery * Department of the Air Force and Air Defense Forces Command * Department of Communication Troops * Department of Engineering Troops * Department of training specialists for the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan * Department of Specialized Formations

List of Chiefs of Staff

The Chief of the General Staff of Turkmen Armed Forces is the highest-ranking military officer in the military, being responsible for maintaining the operational command of the military and its three major branches.

Military organization

The territorial Armed Forces of Turkmenistan are divided into 5 military districts in accordance with the administrative division of the country into 5

regions In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

: * Ahal Military District *

Balkan The Balkans ( , ), corresponding partially with the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throug ...

Military District * Dashoguz Military District * Lebap Military District *

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

Military District Each military district includes district military command and control bodies, military units, individual military units and subunits, military commissariats of etraps and cities with etrap rights. The Territorial Defence Troops of Turkmenistan also serve regional purposes.

Ground Forces

The

Turkmen Ground Forces The Turkmen Ground Forces () is the army branch of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. The ground forces include the 2nd Training Motor Rifle Division "Alp Arslan", 2nd, 3rd, 11th Motor Rifle Division "Sultan Sanjar", 11th, and 22nd Motor Rifle Div ...

inherited several motor rifle divisions from the

, forming the basis for the branch. Among them was the 58th Motor Rifle Division at

Kyzyl-Arvat Serdar (also known as Gyzylarbat and formerly Kyzyl-Arvat or Gyzylarbat and Farāva) is a city subordinate to a district in Turkmenistan, located north-west of the capital, Ashgabat on the M37 highway to the Caspian Sea. The population of Gyzylar ...

. Today the ground forces include the

2nd A second is the base unit of time in the International System of Units (SI). Second, Seconds, The Second, or (The) 2nd may also refer to: Mathematics * 2 (number), as an ordinal (also written as ''2nd'' or ''2d'') * Minute and second of arc, ...

, 3rd, 11th, and 22nd Motor Rifle

Divisions Division may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication * Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting of 10,000 t ...

.Vad777
Turkmenistan
The

11th Motor Rifle Division "Sultan Sanjar" The 11th Motor Rifle Division " Sultan Sanjar" is a unit of the Turkmen Ground Forces. It descends from the 88th Motor Rifle Division of the Soviet Army, first formed in May 1957. It is currently based out of Serhetabat (formerly Kushka). Histor ...

is the former Soviet 88th Motor Rifle Division, with its headquarters at Kushka/Serhetabat. It was reported in January 2007 that on the

Caspian Sea The Caspian Sea is the world's largest inland body of water, described as the List of lakes by area, world's largest lake and usually referred to as a full-fledged sea. An endorheic basin, it lies between Europe and Asia: east of the Caucasus, ...

and the coastal zone to a depth of 350 kilometers, and on the Turkmen-Iranian border is located about 90% of the Army (22nd Motorized Division on the Caspian coast, 2nd and 3rd motorized divisions on the Turkmen-Iranian border, 11th Motorized Division on the Tajik-Afghan border). The number of vehicles is around 2,000, the number of tanks is around 700 and the number of artillery pieces is around 560. Turkmen ground forces equipment includes 702

T-72 The T-72 is a family of Soviet Union, Soviet main battle tanks that entered production in 1973. The T-72 was a development based on the T-64 using thought and design of the previous Object 167M. About 25,000 T-72 tanks have been built, and refu ...

, and 10

T-90 The T-90 is a third-generation Russian main battle tank developed from, and designed to replace the T-72. It uses a 125mm 2A46 smoothbore main gun, the 1A45T fire-control system, an upgraded engine, and gunner's thermal sight. Standard p ...

, ordered in 2009 for approximately $30 million. AIFV / APC include

BTR-60 The BTR-60 is the first vehicle in a series of Soviet Union, Soviet eight-wheeled armoured personnel carriers (APCs). It was developed in the late 1950s as a replacement for the BTR-152 and was seen in public for the first time in 1961. BTR (vehi ...

BTR-70 The BTR-70 is an eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier () originally developed by the Soviet Union during the late 1960s under the manufacturing code GAZ-4905. On August 21, 1972, it was accepted into Soviet service and would later be widely exp ...

BTR-80 The BTR-80 () is an 8×8 wheeled Amphibious vehicle, amphibious armoured personnel carrier (APC) designed in the Soviet Union. It was adopted in 1985 and replaced the previous vehicles, the BTR-60 and BTR-70, in the Soviet Army. It was first de ...

- 829,

BMP-1 The BMP-1 is a Soviet Union, Soviet Amphibious vehicle, amphibious tracked infantry fighting vehicle that has been in service from 1966 to the present. BMP stands for ''Boyevaya Mashina Pyekhoty 1'' (), meaning "infantry fighting vehicle, 1st ...

BMP-2 The BMP-2 (''Boyevaya Mashina Pekhoty'', , literally "combat machine/vehicle

f the F, or f, is the sixth letter of the Latin alphabet and many modern alphabets influenced by it, including the modern English alphabet and the alphabets of all other modern western European languages. Its name in English is ''ef'' (pronounc ...

infantry") is an amphibious infantry fighting vehicle introduced in the 1980s in the Soviet Union, following on from the BMP-1 of the 1960s. Development his ...

- 930,

BRM-1 This is a complete list of formal variants and designations of the BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle (IFV). It is sorted by country of origin. Many field modifications may exist that are not listed here. Variants Soviet Union Infantry fighting ...

12, and

BRDM-2 The BRDM-2 (''Boyevaya Razvedyvatelnaya Dozornaya Mashina'', Боевая Разведывательная Дозорная Машина, literally "Combat Reconnaissance/Patrol Vehicle") is an amphibious armoured scout car designed and developed ...

- 170. In 2021 Turkmenistan is to receive batch of

Lazar 3 The Lazar 3 is the latest version of the Lazar armored vehicle family of armed personnel carriers, designed for various applications and missions. It is designed and produced by Yugoimport SDPR. History In 2017 Lazar 3 entered service with Ser ...

8x8 armored vehicle from Serbia.

Air Force

The IISS in 2012 said the

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

had 3,000 personnel with 94 combat capable aircraft. The total number of aircraft is around 120. It said there were two fighter/ground attack squadrons with MiG-29/MiG-29UB (total of 24 both types),

Sukhoi Su-17 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32; NATO reporting name: Fitter) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet military. Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to enter Soviet serv ...

Fitter-Bs (65) and two

Sukhoi Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' ( ('' rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Ground Forces. Th ...

Frogfoots (with 41 more being refurbished). It reported one transport squadron with

Antonov An-26 The Antonov An-26 (NATO reporting name: Curl) is a twin-engined turboprop civilian and military transport aircraft, designed and produced in the Soviet Union from 1969 to 1986.Gordon, Yefim. Komissarov, Dmitry & Sergey. "Antonov's Turboprop Twins ...

'Curl' (1), and Mi-8s and Mi-24s (8 and 10 listed in service respectively). Training units had

Sukhoi Su-7 The Sukhoi Su-7 ( NATO designation name: Fitter-A) is a swept wing, supersonic fighter aircraft developed by the Soviet Union in 1955. Originally, it was designed as a tactical, low-level dogfighter, but was not successful in this role. On the ...

Fitter-As (3 listed in service) and L-39 Albatross. Air defence missile units had SA-2, SA-3, and SA-5 Turkmenistan Air Force Antonov An-74TK-200 at Kharkiv Airport

Turkmenistan Air Force Antonov An-74TK-200 at Kharkiv Airport

Units: *99th Aviation Base (former 67th Mixed Aviation Regiment) ( Mary-2 airbase) with MiG-29 and Su-25. *47th Separate Mixed Aviation Squadron ( Аk-Tepe/

Ashkabad Ashgabat (Turkmen language, Turkmen: ''Aşgabat'') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Turkmenistan. It lies between the Karakum Desert and the Kopet Dag, Kopetdag mountain range in Central Asia, approximately 50 km (30 ...

) with Аn-26/24, Mi-24 and Mi-8. *107th Fighter Aviation Regiment ( Ak-Tepe) with 38 MiG-23 and 20 MiG-25 (not operational). *31st Separate Aviation Squadron ( Chardzhou/ Turkmenabad) with MiG-21, Su-7, L-39, Yak-28 and Аn-12 (not operational). Former 366th Independent Helicopter Squadron. *55th Fighter Aviation Regiment (

Balkanabat Balkanabat (), formerly Nebit-Dag and Neftedag, is the administrative centre of Balkan Province, the largest province in Turkmenistan. It lies at the foot of the Balkan Daglary mountain range. Balkanabat is about 450 km west of Ashgabat a ...

) with MiG-23М (not operational). Former 179th Fighter Aviation Regiment. *56th Storage Base (Kyzyl-Arvat) with MiG-23. Former 217th Fighter/Bomber Aviation Regiment. *1st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment 'Turkmenbashi' (Bikrova/

) with

2K11 Krug The 2K11 ''Krug'' (; English: 'circle') is a Soviet Union, Soviet and now Russian medium-range, medium-to-high altitude surface-to-air missile (SAM) system. The system was designed by NPO Novator and produced by Kalinin Machine Building Plant. I ...

. *2nd Radio-Technical Brigade

Naval Forces

The

Turkmen naval forces The Turkmen Naval Forces ( Turkmen: ''Türkmenistanyň Harby-deňiz Güýçleri'') is the naval warfare branch of the armed forces of Turkmenistan. Turkmenistan's Navy Day is celebrated annually on October 9. The naval forces were directed by th ...

are currently directed by the defense ministry and consist of around 700 servicemen and sixteen patrol boats. The

Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...

, citing the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is an international research institute or think tank focusing on defence and security issues. Since 1997, its headquarters have been at Arundel House in London. It has offices on four co ...

, reports a number of six patrol boats. The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported in 2007 that Turkmenistan intended to form a navy and had a minor base at Turkmenbashy with one

USCG Point class cutter The Point-class cutter was a class of 82-foot patrol vessels designed to replace the United States Coast Guard's aging 83-foot wooden hull patrol boat being used at the time. The boats had a mild steel hull and an aluminum superstructure. The C ...

and five Kalkan-class patrol vessels.

Jane's Fighting Ships ''Janes Fighting Ships'' is an annual reference book of each country's warship, navy and coast guard, along with their weapons and aircraft. Included are ship names, construction data, size, speed, range, complement, engineering, armament, a ...

2001-2002 reported that the Point-class cutter was the ''Merjin,'' PB-129, (ex ''Point Jackson,'' 82378), which was transferred on 30 May 2000. The country acquired four

missile boats A missile boat or missile cutter is a small, fast warship armed with anti-ship missiles. Being smaller than other warships such as destroyers and frigates, missile boats are popular with nations interested in forming a navy at lower cost. They a ...

in 2011. In 2014 it acquired 10 Tuzla-class patrol boats which were all delivered by 2015. In 2012, Turkmenistan announced its first naval exercises in the Caspian Sea programmed for early September. Named Hazar-2012 (''Hazar'' is the Turkic name of the Caspian Sea), these tactical exercises came after a summer of somewhat heightened tensions with Azerbaijan over

natural gas field A petroleum reservoir or oil and gas reservoir is a subsurface accumulation of hydrocarbons contained in porous or fractured rock formations. Such reservoirs form when kerogen (ancient plant matter) is created in surrounding rock by the prese ...

s in a contested part of the sea.

Other security forces

Türkmen Edermen

The Special Task Force "

Türkmen Edermen The Special Task Force Türkmen Edermen (Valiant Turkmen in English) is a military unit of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. It is a composite unit drawn from the armed forces and national law enforcement agencies such as the Ministry of Internal A ...

" (Valiant Turkmen in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

) is a composite military unit drawn from the armed forces and national law enforcement agencies such as the

Ministry of Internal Affairs An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the i ...

, the

State Border Service State Border Service may refer to: * State Border Service of Azerbaijan * State Border Service of Turkmenistan * State Border Service of Ukraine The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine ( SBGSU; , ; ) is the border guard of Ukraine. It is an i ...

, and the Ministry for National Security.

Presidential Security Service

The Presidential Security Service () is responsible for ensuring the protection and security of the president. Established in November 1990, it is a directly reporting body of the President of Turkmenistan and not part of the Ministry of Defense. During

state visits A state visit is a formal visit by the head of a sovereign country (or representative of the head of a sovereign country) to another sovereign country, at the invitation of the head of state (or representative) of that foreign country, with th ...

to foreign countries, the service provides at least 10 agents to protect the president. The Presidential Security Service is currently composed of 2,000 employees.

Border Guard

The

State Border Service of Turkmenistan The State Border Service (SBS) (, DSG) also commonly known by its paramilitary force as the Turkmen Border Troops () is a border guard agency of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. It is currently a public service department of the government of ...

is a public service department in the government of the country and is under the command of the Ministry for National Security of Turkmenistan. The main tasks of the service include the following: protecting of the national border of the country, combating

international terrorism Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of violence against non-combatants to achieve political or ideological aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violence during peacetime or in the context of war ag ...

and

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

, targeting illegal migration and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

, and protecting oil and gas platforms and pipelines in the

. The head of the service is a member of the Council of Border Guard Commanders of the

Commonwealth of Independent States The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) is a regional organization, regional intergovernmental organization in Eurasia. It was formed following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991. It covers an ar ...

(CIS).

Internal Troops

The Internal Troops is under the auspices of the

. It is designed to maintain law and order and enforce the

status quo is a Latin phrase meaning the existing state of affairs, particularly with regard to social, economic, legal, environmental, political, religious, scientific or military issues. In the sociological sense, the ''status quo'' refers to the curren ...

in terms of state sovereignty. It aides the Turkmen National Police in its everyday activities, being organized similarly to the ground forces.

Equipment

Personnel

Ranks

Military education

Founded in 1993 and 2007 respectively, the

Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan Military Institute of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan named after Great Saparmurat Niyazov, Saparmurad Turkmenbashy () is higher military educational institution in the national education system of the Armed Forces of Turkmenistan. Histor ...

and the Military Academy of Turkmenistan are the senior most military academies of their kind in

. Other military academies include the Turkmen Police Academy, the Turkmen National Security Institute, and the Turkmen Naval Institute. Border guards are trained at special institutes in military universities.

Personnel awards

* Medal "Edermenlik" * Medal "For impeccable service to the Fatherland" * Medal "Turkmen Edermen" * Breastplate "Valiant Border Guard" * Myalikguly Berdymuhamedov Medal

* Uniforms *

Military uniforms are sewn in the following factories of the Ministry of Textile Industry on the orders of the Ministry of Defense of Turkmenistan: * Ruhabat Textile Complex * Geokdepe Textile Complex * Turkmenbashi Textile Complex * Ahal Sewing Production Association * Bayramali Textile Complex * Turkmen-Kalkan Joint Venture The semi-woolen fabrics that are not produced in Turkmenistan are supplied through the Turkmendokma Foreign Trade Enterprise of the Ministry of Textile Industry.

Conscription

Service in the armed forces is required for all males under 27 years of age. Minister of Defence Dangatar Kopekov stated in 1992 that legislation was drafted to where draft dodgers would face "very severe measures, including criminal responsibility". Despite this, desertion is rampant, and was at a 20% rate in 1994. For many military units, it has often been accepted that commanders extort bribes for an early demobilization of conscripts. There have been reported cases of mistreatment of army conscripts on duty and

Hazing Hazing (American English), initiation, beasting (British English), bastardisation (Australian English), ragging (South Asian English) or deposition refers to any activity expected of someone in joining or participating in a group that humiliates, ...

Women in the National Army

Women under the age of 21 who have a secondary education and have volunteered for military service can qualify for higher educational studies at the military institute. In 2016, Senior Lieutenant Jahan Yazmuhammedova became the first female paratrooper in the Armed Forces, serving in the 152nd Independent Air Assault Battalion. A parade in 2019 was the first parade in which female siblings (Captains Shirin and Aknabat Velikurbanov) took part in the parade as part of the same contingent. The contingent in question was led by Major Nabat Nurgeldyeva, who was in her 16th parade.

References

CIA World Factbook ''The World Factbook'', also known as the ''CIA World Factbook'', is a reference resource produced by the United States' Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) with almanac-style information about the countries of the world. The official print ve ...

, 2003 edition.