Bangladesh military 57th most-powerful in the world

Bangladesh has been ranked the 57th most powerful military power in the world in the Global Fire Power Index 2017.

•  According to the index, the US ranked first, followed by Russia, China, and India, while Pakistan ranked 13th and Myanmar ranked 31st in the list of 133 countries. France, Germany, UK, Japan and Israel were also among the top 15 countries. 
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• The report enables a comparison between the militaries of Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, and India, while overlooking the strategic forces of any country such as nuclear weapons. 
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• Bangladesh’s defence budget of $1.59bn is dwarfed by the $161.7bn spent annually by China and the $51bn of India. Pakistan’s budget of $7bn and Myanmar’s of $2.4bn were closer to home.
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•  According to the index, Bangladesh has an active military of 160,000 personnel. By comparison, China has 3,712,500, India has 1,362,500 and Pakistan has 637,000 military personnel. The Bangladesh Air Force has 166 aircraft, consisting of 45 fighters, 45 attack aircraft, and 76 transport, training aircraft and helicopters. China has 2,955 aircraft, India has 2,102, Pakistan has 951, and Myanmar has 249. 
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• According to the report, the Bangladesh Army has a total of 534 combat tanks, 942 armoured fighting vehicles, 18 self-propelled artillery guns, and 32 rocket projectors. China owns a total of 6,457 combat tanks while India has 4,426 and Pakistan has 2,924.
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•  The report also says Bangladesh has a total of 89 Naval assets. The country owns six frigates, four corvettes, 28 patrol craft and five mine warfare vessels, but has no aircraft carriers, destroyers or submarines.

Lt Gen Aziz Ahmed made new army chief

He is serving as the quartermaster general of the army at present

• Lieutenant General Aziz Ahmed has been appointed as the new chief of staff of Bangladesh Army.
• He will be promoted to the rank of general and is set to take office on June 25, succeeding General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq, according to a statement issued by the Inter Services Public Relation (ISPR) Directorate on Monday.
• It said he will serve for a tenure of three years in his new capacity.
• Lt Gen Aziz is serving as the quartermaster general of the army at present. 
• Previously, as a major general, he served as the director general of the Border Guard Bangladesh for four years until 2016.
• Before that, he was the GOC of the 33rd Infantry Division of the army in Comilla Cantonment.

Bangladesh Army gets its first female major general

 Dr Susane Giti had joined the Army Medical Corp as a captain in 1986

• She was adorned with the major general’s badge by Chief Army Medical Corp’s Dr Susane Giti has become the first woman in the country’s history to become a two-star general in Bangladesh Army.of Army Staff Gen Aziz Ahmed and Quartermaster General Lt Gen Md Shamsul Haque at the Army Headquarters in Dhaka on Sunday, according to a media statement issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) Directorate.Other senior military officials were also present at the function.
• With her promotion, which the ISPR dubbed a new era in Bangladesh Army, haematology specialist Maj Gen Giti will take over the command of Armed Forces Institute of Pathology as its commandant.
• A 1985 Rajshahi Medical College graduate, Dr Giti joined the Army Medical Corp as a captain in 1986.
• In 1996, she became the first woman to receive an FCPS degree in haematology, according to the ISPR.
• Maj Gen Giti, who currently heads the pathology department at the Armed Forces Medical College, has also served as a pathology specialist in various UN peacekeeping missions and military hospitals, it said.
• Her husband Brig Gen (retd) Asadullah Md Hossain Saad was also a successful army doctor.
• Dr Giti’s promotion was a step further in Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s attempt to attain gender equality, read the ISPR statement.