Each component service has its own distinctive uniforms and insignia. At independence Ghana opted to retain the British order of military ranks and corresponding insignia. In the 1990s, Ghanaian ranks are still identical to British ranks and insignia except that Ghana substituted a black star or the Ghanaian coat of arms for the British crown on appropriate
Officers in the army, air force, and navy and enlisted men in the army and air force wear their insignia on the shoulder. Naval enlisted men wear their insignia as cap badges except for leading seamen and first and second-class petty officers, who wear cap badges and shoulder insignia. Field uniforms of the army are olive green, those of the navy are dark blue, and those of the air force are light blue. Service caps are identical with British service caps.
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Ghana Navy Uniform
Navy has three categories of dress uniforms, from least to most formal: service, full, and dinner dress
Service dress
Service dress uniforms are worn for official functions not rising to the level of full or dinner dress. They are also commonly worn when traveling in official capacity, or when reporting to a command. The civilian equivalent is a business suit. Service Dress Blue may be worn year-round, while Service Dress White is reserved for summer or tropical zones. Ribbons are worn over the left breast pocket in all variations of the service dress uniform. An all-weather overcoat or reefer coat may be worn with service dress uniforms in cold or inclement weather.
Dress uniforms. The Navy has three categories of dress uniforms, from least to most formal: service, full, and dinner dress
Ghana Navy History
The nucleus of the Ghana Navy is the Gold Coast Naval Volunteer Force formed during World War II. It was established by the colonial British administration to conduct seaward patrols to ensure that the coastal waters of the colony were free from mines. Following Ghana’s attainment of independent nationhood on 6 March 1957 from the UK, the countries military was reorganized and expanded to meet its new challenges.
A new volunteer force was raised in June, 1959 with headquarters at Takoradi in the Western Region of Ghana. The men were drawn from the existing Gold Coast Regiment of Infantry. They were under the command of British Royal Navy officers on secondment. On 29 July 1959, the Ghana Navy was established by an Act of Parliament. The force had two divisions based at Takoradi and Accra respectively. On 1 May 1962, the British Navy formed the Royal Navy Element of the British Joint Services Training Team, thus changing the nature of its relationship with the Ghana Navy.
The first Chief of the Naval Staff was Captain D. A. Foreman, a retired British Naval Officer. He was granted a Presidential Commission as a Ghana naval officer in the rank of commodore. In September 1961 Nkrumah terminated the employment of British officers in the armed forces: the first Ghanaian to become Chief of the Naval Staff was Rear Admiral David Animle Hansen, who was transferred from the Ghana army to head the navy.
On September 14 1990, the GNS Achimota was hit by NPFL artillery while on a fact-finding mission near Monrovia. As a result, 2 Ghanaian sailors and 3 Nigerian nurses were killed, and the Ghanaian Air Force retaliated with airstrikes
The Ghana Navy command structure consists of the Naval Headquarters at Burma Camp, Accra. There are three operational commands, the Western Naval Command at Sekondi the Eastern Naval Command at Tema and The Naval Training Command at Nutekop-Sogakope in the Volta Region
Western Naval Command
The command comprises the following elements:
- HQ Western Naval Command
- Ghana Navy Fleet
- The Naval Dockyard Complex
- Ghana Navy Stores Depot
- Naval Base, Sekondi – West Command
- The Naval Trade Training School
Eastern Naval Command
Members of the Ghanaian Navy learning maritime law-enforcement tactics
The command comprises the following elements:
- HQ Eastern Naval Command
- Basic and Leadership Training School
- Naval Base, Tema
- Ghana Navy Band, Tema
Departments
The navy is organized into the following departments.
- Operations
- Administration
- Training
- Logistics (Supply)
- Technical
- Intelligence and
- Research and Development
Logistics (Supply)
- Technical
- Intelligence and
- Research and Development