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The Uzbek Ground Forces are the land component of the
Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan The Armed Forces of the Republic of Uzbekistan (), is the name of the unified armed forces of Uzbekistan, consisting of the Ground Force and the Air and Air Defence forces under the defence ministry. Paramilitary units include the National Gua ...
. Operating since the collapse 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 ...
in 1991, the army is made up of former
Soviet Army The Soviet Ground Forces () was the land warfare service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces from 1946 to 1992. It was preceded by the Red Army. After the Soviet Union ceased to exist in December 1991, the Ground Forces remained under th ...
units that were in the territory of Uzbekistan. As of 2006, it had around 40,000 active personnel. Much of the equipment it uses is also old Soviet material, and the
government of Uzbekistan The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan (, Uzbek Cyrillic: Узбекистон Республикасининг Ҳукумати) exercises executive power in the Republic of Uzbekistan. The members of the government are the President of ...
has not given much effort to replace it with modern equipment.


History

The armed forces were created in 1992, and along with the army, the air and air defense forces,
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. ...
, and border service were created.
Islam Karimov Islam Abduganiyevich Karimov (30 January 1938 – 2 September 2016) was an Uzbek politician who served as the first president of Uzbekistan, from the country's independence in 1991 until his death in 2016. He was the last First Secretary of the ...
, the then
President of Uzbekistan The president of the Republic of Uzbekistan () is the head of state and executive authority in Uzbekistan. The office of President was established in 1991, replacing the position of Chairperson of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Uzb ...
, began calling native Uzbeks in 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 ...
back to Uzbekistan to fill the ranks of the newly created ground forces, though many refused to return and renounced their citizenship.
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
s made up the majority of the officer corps, while the enlisted personnel were mainly Uzbek. Uzbekistan then became the only Central Asian state that did not allow
Russian Federation 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 ...
citizens to serve in the army, and began to replace the
Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...
officers with ethnic Uzbeks. At independence, Slavic officers made up the command of the army, and thus an effort was made to give Uzbeks higher positions, giving Slavics lower ranks. The Slavs who stayed in Uzbekistan accepted
Uzbek passport The Uzbekistan passport, being the property of the Republic of Uzbekistan, is issued to the citizens of Uzbekistan for international travels. An ordinary international passport can be issued to an infant at birth and must be renewed after 2 yea ...
s. Three major Soviet military academies, the
Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School The Tashkent Higher All-Arms Command School () was a military academy of the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan. It was previously known as the Tashkent Higher Combined Arms Command School named after Vladimir Lenin (). It was one of the oldest m ...
, the
Chirchiq Higher Tank Command and Engineering School The Chirchiq Higher Tank Command and Engineering School (), formerly the Tashkent Order of Lenin Higher Tank Command School named after Pavel Rybalko (), is a military academy of the Ministry of Defense of Uzbekistan, responsible for training arm ...
, and the Samarkand Higher Military Automobile Command School, were located in Uzbekistan. This caused the government to not send Uzbek officers to Russia for training. In 1994, they established the joint Armed Forces Academy, to train officers of all branches. Though the Uzbek language was becoming more in use by the army,
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
remained the main language used in training officers, due to the fact that most manuals were in Russian and that the Central Asian Turkic languages did not have proper military vocabulary. In 1997, the United States CENTRASBAT program paid over $5 million to fund a training exercise between Uzbek and American troops that were going to be stationed in the country. Later in 1998, a US general attended an Uzbek base that had a unit which took part in the training. Most Uzbek soldiers leave the service when their mandatory conscription ends. The US forces have found this to be the case in
Kyrgyzstan Kyrgyzstan, officially the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia lying in the Tian Shan and Pamir Mountains, Pamir mountain ranges. Bishkek is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Kyrgyzstan, largest city. Kyrgyz ...
and
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...
as well. The army was similarly run to the Soviet one, in terms of command, service, and equipment. Senior commanders gave strict orders that allowed little freedom of decision. In 2003, the defense ministry announced that the conscription time was lowered from 18 months to 12, and those who attended officer schools only had to serve nine months. It was encouraging higher ranking personnel to serve longer. Many young Uzbeks bribed recruitment officials to not draft them into the army, as
dedovshchina ''Dedovshchina'' (, ) is the informal practice of hazing and abuse of junior conscripts historically in the Soviet Armed Forces and today in the Russian Armed Forces, Internal troops, and to a much lesser extent FSB, Border Guards, as well a ...
was widespread.


Organization


Districts

The Army includes five military districts, the Northwest at Nukus, the Southwest Special Military District at
Karshi Qarshi ( ; ) is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It has a population of 278,300 (2021 estimate). It ...
, the Central Military District at Dzhizak, and the Eastern Military District at Ferghana. In 2001, the Tashkent Garrison was transformed into the Tashkent Military District.


Specialties

* Motor Rifle Units * Tank Forces * Special Operations Forces * Reconnaissance * Engineering * Chemical units * Signals * Electronic warfare units * Logistics * Topogeodetic


List of Formations

There are four motor rifle brigades,http://www8.brinkster.com/vad777/sng/uzbekistan.htm , accessed late September 2007 and June 2010 and the 17th Air Assault Brigade at
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
(the former 387th Airborne Training Regiment of the
Soviet Airborne Forces The Soviet Airborne Forces or VDV (from ''Vozdushno- desantnye voyska SSSR'', Russian: Воздушно-десантные войска СССР, ВДВ; Air-landing Forces) was a separate troops branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. First formed b ...
). Motorized brigades are located around
Bukhara Bukhara ( ) is the List of cities in Uzbekistan, seventh-largest city in Uzbekistan by population, with 280,187 residents . It is the capital of Bukhara Region. People have inhabited the region around Bukhara for at least five millennia, and t ...
,
Samarqand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek and Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level ...
,
Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...
,
Nukus Nukus ( / / ; / / ) is the sixth-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of the autonomous Republic of Karakalpakstan. The population of Nukus as of 1 January 2022 was 329,100. The Amu Darya river passes west of the city. Administratively, ...
, and
Andijan Andijan ( ), also spelt Andijon () and formerly romanized as Andizhan ( ), is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of . Andijan is the most ...
. The subordinate
brigades A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division. ...
listed below have been attributed to the various military districts either because they are located in the same city as the military district headquarters or are clearly within the military districts' area of responsibility.


Army Headquarters (Tashkent)

* Honor Guard Battalion of the
Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...
Military District * Engineering Brigade * Special Forces Battalion of the Eastern Military District "Lynx"


Regular Army

* Training Regiment ( Chirchik) * 387th Airborne Training Regiment * 17th Air Assault Brigade at (
Fergana Fergana ( uz-Latn-Cyrl, Fargʻona, Фарғона, ), () or Ferghana, also Farghana is a district-level city and the capital of Fergana Region in eastern Uzbekistan. Fergana is about 320 km east of Tashkent, about 75 km southwest of A ...
), accessed late September 2007 and June 2010 - Consists of up to 5000 soldiers, was formerly the Soviet 105th Guards Vienna Airborne Division. * 1st Motor Rifle Brigade ( Chirchik) * 2nd Motor Rifle Brigade (
Samarqand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek and Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central Asia. Samarkand is the capital of the Samarkand Region and a district-level ...
) * 3rd Motor Rifle Brigade (
Termez Termez ( ) is the capital of Surxondaryo Region in southern Uzbekistan. Administratively, it is a district-level city. Its population is 182,800 (2021). It is notable as the site of Alexander the Great's city Alexandria on the Oxus, as a center ...
) * 25th Motor Rifle Brigade (
Karshi Qarshi ( ; ) is a city in southern Uzbekistan. It is the capital of Qashqadaryo Region. Administratively, Qarshi is a district-level city, that includes the urban-type settlement Qashqadaryo. It has a population of 278,300 (2021 estimate). It ...
, Military Unit No.08579) * 37th Motor Rifle Brigade (
Andijan Andijan ( ), also spelt Andijon () and formerly romanized as Andizhan ( ), is a city in Uzbekistan. It is the administrative, economic, and cultural center of Andijan Region. Andijan is a district-level city with an area of . Andijan is the most ...
) * 15th Independent Special Forces Brigade * Tank Regiment ( Ahangaran)


Facilities

* Kattakurgan Training Ground *Gurumsaray Training Ground *Farish Mountain Training Area *Shorsu Training Ground *Angren Training Ground *Nuristan Training Ground *Termez Training Ground *Nukus Training Ground


Exercises

Uzbek troops participated in
Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; ) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust and cooperation between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; 18 states are ...
Exercise Cooperative Osprey '96 at
Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune ( or ) is a United States military training facility in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Its of beaches make the base a major area for amphibious assault training, and its location between two deep-water ports ( ...
in
North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...
, hosted by the
United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...
. They then participated as well in Exercise Cooperative Osprey '98. In September 2004, the (then)
Royal Welsh Regiment The Royal Welsh Regiment was an infantry regiment of the Territorial Army in the United Kingdom. It existed from 1999, until it was re-designated as the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Welsh in 2006. History The regiment was formed in 1999 as part of th ...
(now 3rd Bn The Royal Welsh) of the
British Army The British Army is the principal Army, land warfare force of the United Kingdom. the British Army comprises 73,847 regular full-time personnel, 4,127 Brigade of Gurkhas, Gurkhas, 25,742 Army Reserve (United Kingdom), volunteer reserve perso ...
participated with the Uzbek Army Peacekeeping Battalion in "Exercise Timurlane Express" in the Farish Mountain Training Area. This was a 3-week
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
sponsored
Partnership for Peace The Partnership for Peace (PfP; ) is a North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) program aimed at creating trust and cooperation between the member states of NATO and other states mostly in Europe, including post-Soviet states; 18 states are ...
training exercise.


Equipment

Reportedly, Uzbek armed forces' small arms include the AKM,
AK-74 The AK-74 ( Russian: , tr. ''Avtomat Kalashnikova obraztsa 1974 goda'', lit. 'Kalashnikov assault rifle model 1974') is an assault rifle designed by small arms designer Mikhail Kalashnikov in 1974 as a successor to the AKM. While primarily ...
,
Dragunov sniper rifle The SVD (СВД; ), GRAU index 6V1, is a semi-automatic designated marksman rifle/sniper rifle chambered in the 7.62×54mmR cartridge, developed in the Soviet Union. History The SVD was designed to serve in a squad support role to provide pre ...
,
Makarov PM The Makarov pistol or PM ( rus, Пистолет Макарова, r=Pistolet Makarova, p=pʲɪstɐˈlʲet mɐˈkarəvə, t=Makarov's Pistol) is a Soviet semi-automatic pistol. Under the project leadership of Nikolay Fyodorovich Makarov, it bec ...
pistol and PK.


References

{{reflist *https://www.ng.ru/cis/2018-11-26/6_7448_training.html - training report from 2018 Government of Uzbekistan Military of Uzbekistan