Albanian Land Force
Forca Tokësore
Founded	2000; 26 years ago (2000)
Country	Albania
Type	Army
Role	National Defense
Mottos	Fatherland, Honor, And Duty
Commanders
President of Albania	Bajram Begaj
Minister of Defense	Pirro Vengu
Chief of the Albanian General Staff	Lt. Gen. Arben Kingji
Commander of the Land Forces	Maj. Gen. Petrit Çuni
Insignia
Identificationsymbol
Flag

TheAlbanian Land Force (Albanian:Forca Tokësore të Republikës së Shqipërisë) is the land force branch of theAlbanian Armed Forces.

The Albanian Land Force's main mission is the defense of the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of theRepublic of Albania, participation in humanitarian, combat, non-combat and peace support operations.^[1]

Land Force is a priority unit in the structure of the Armed Forces. Land Force was established on August 29, 2000, and included military units with traditions and rich multi-year activity, spread across the territory of theRepublic of Albania. In 2000 the Land Force included five infantry divisions with 55 brigades and 300 battalions deployed in 167 different regions of the country. During its continuous reform, the Land Force underwent new changes. In 2006 it was dissolved and the Joint Force Command was established. In the context of the ongoing transformation of the Armed Forces, based on the concept of an army small in number, operational and professional, on 9 December 2009 the Land Force was re-established on the basis ofRapid Reaction Brigade and Commando Regiment.

Based on the constitutional mission, the Land Force was involved in a process of profound transformation according to Western military concepts, and with the transition of the entire force from a conscript military service into a professional army, its operational level has increased. The structures of Land Force have been engaged in Peace Support Operations inBosnia-Herzegovina,Iraq,Chad,Herat andKandahar,Afghanistan. Land Force has the major share in peacekeeping operations in the framework ofNATO,UN andEU. The Land Force is managed by young qualified leaders educated in military schools ofNATO countries, as in the United States, Italy,Turkey, Germany, United Kingdom, Austria, etc., based on cooperation projects with these countries.

Land Force is engaged in civil emergency operations to help the community in cases of natural disasters, such as floods and blocked roads, and aid in distribution in cases of heavy snowfalls, fire suppression operations etc.etc.

Since its establishment the Land Force has been led by experienced commanders. From 2000 to 2006 it was headed by Maj. Gen. Kostaq Karoli; from 2006 to 2008 it was led by Brig. Gen. Shpëtim Spahiu; from 2008-August 2012 by Brig. Gen. Viktor Berdo. From August 2012 to November 2013 it has been commanded by Maj. Gen. Zyber Dushku. Since 11 November 2013, Maj. Gen.Jeronim Bazo has been Chief of Staff.

Structure

[edit]

Main article:Structure of the Albanian Armed Forces

Organizational divisions of the land force include:

• Albanian Land Force, inZall-Herr^[2]
  • Staff Support Company, in Zall-Herr
  • Northern Infantry Regiment, inVau i Dejës
    • 1st Battalion, in Vau i Dejës
    • 2nd Battalion, inKukës
    • 3rd Battalion, inBurrel
  • Southern Infantry Regiment, inPoshnjë
    • 1st Battalion, in Poshnjë
    • 2nd Battalion, inBerat
    • 3rd Battalion
  • Special Operations Regiment, in Zall-Herr
    • Special Operations Battalion, in Zall-Herr
    • Commando Battalion, in Zall-Herr
  • Light Infantry Battalion, in Zall-Herr (assigned toNATO Response Force)
  • Combat Support Battalion, in Zall-Herr
  • "Zall-Herr" Garrison, in Zall-Herr
  • Training Center, in Zall-Herr

NATO code	OF-10		OF-9		OF-8		OF-7		OF-6		OF-5		OF-4		OF-3		OF-2		OF-1
Albanian Land Force[3] v t e
					Gjeneral lejtant		Gjeneral major		Gjeneral brigade		Kolonel		Nënkolonel		Major		Kapiten		Toger			Nëntoger

NATO code	OR-9						OR-8		OR-7		OR-6						OR-5						OR-4				OR-3		OR-2						OR-1
Albanian Land Force[3] v t e
	Kryekapter						Kapter		Rreshter		Tetar						Nëntetar						Ushtar IV				Ushtar III		Ushtar II						Ushtar I

• 
  Albanian soldiers withVHS rifles
• 
  Albanian, U.S. and Romanian soldiers in a joint drill
• 
  Albanian soldiers react to rioters, roleplayed by US forces, during KFOR
• 
  Albanian army convoy on patrol
• 
  Albanian and US soldiers dismounting a M2 Bradley during Combined Resolve II
• 
  Albanian Land Force in Combined Resolve III

• Royal Albanian Army
• Albanian Air Force
• Albanian Navy

• Ministry of Defence of Albania
• Albanian Armed ForcesArchived 2006-05-02 at theWayback Machine
• Mission of Albanian land forces
• Specific tasks of Albanian land forces
• http://www.aaf.mil.al/english/index.php/land-force/126-historiku-i-forces-tokesoreArchived 2015-04-02 at theWayback Machine History of Albanian land forces
• [1]Archived 2015-04-02 at theWayback Machine Heavy armoured and tanksAlbanian Armed Forces
• [2]Archived 2015-04-02 at theWayback Machine Mortar

• Albanian Land Forces
• 2000 establishments in Albania
• Military units and formations of Albania
• Military units and formations established in 2000

• CS1 Albanian-language sources (sq)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Articles containing Albanian-language text
• Webarchive template wayback links