Guinea

Republic of Guinea

The Republic of Guinea (République de Guinée) was formerly French Guinea, and is sometimes referred to as Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbor Guinea-Bissau. The region was claimed as a colonial territory of France in the 1890s, part of a greater region known as French West Africa. The nation was granted independence in October of 1958, and has since been governed by autocratic rulers.

The Republic of Guinea Armed Forces (Forces Armées Guinéennes) consist of the Army, Navy, Air Force, the Republican Guard, and the National Gendarmerie. There are nearly 20,000 active duty personnel among the five branches. The military has been directly involved in regime changes several times since the late 1960s, with the latest coup d'etat in 2008 effectively placing Captain Moussa Dadis Camara in power with an expectation of presidential elections in 2010. The Milices Populaires (Popular Militia) act as a counter-balance to the armed forces, providing security against coup d'etat and greater protection for individual villages. There are reputedly 100 militia members in each of the country's 4,000 villages. There are no indigenous Guinean camouflage patterns, and personnel have always worn designs developed by other nations.

Camouflage Patterns of Guinea

• One of the earliest documented camouflage designs worn by this nation was a variation of the classic French tenue du leopard with a grey colorway. Some versions appear on video footage to have a more greenish tinge. The pattern is most likely either of Cuban or Yugoslavian origin. Use of this design was documented during the 1984 coup d'etat, but may have been in use considerably earlier.

• The Chinese woodland camouflage design was worn previously by some units, possibly only the airborne battalion.

• US m81 woodland camouflage uniforms have been in circulation with many units from the 1990s into the present.

• Also in circulation with Guinean armed forces is the US-designed tricolor desert pattern.

• A copy of the French CE woodland design is also worn, as is the Daguet desert design.

• In 2010, some members of the Gendarmerie were observed wearing ex-German Army flecktarn pattern camouflage uniforms.

• Also recently documented, members of the National Police and armed forces have worn a copy of the USMC temperate MARPAT camouflage pattern.

• The Sécurité Présidentielle (Presidential Security Unit) wears a garish camouflage-type pattern, consisting of blotches in black, dark olive, lime green and royal blue on a white background tinged with yellow.