Papua New Guinea Defence Force

The Papua New Guinea Defence Force (PNGDF) is the unified armed forces of Papua New Guinea. It originated from the Australian Army land forces of the territory of Papua New Guinea before independence, coming into being in January 1973 and having its antecedents in the Pacific Islands Regiment. At independence it numbered 3,750 all ranks, while another 465 Australian personnel augmented the force to assist in training and technical support. Today the PNGDF is a small force numbering around 2,100 personnel due to the PNG government's downsizing operation, and consisting of a Land Element, an Air Operations Element and a Maritime Operations Element with steady intakes of recruits to reach the 5,000+ mark by 2018. It is a joint force tasked with defending Papua New Guinea and its territories against external attack, as well as having secondary functions including national-building and internal security tasks. Defence accounts for up to 4% of government expenditure, while also receiving significant assistance and training support from Australia, New Zealand, the United States and other nations.