About Defence

Defence Organisation

The headquarters of the Ministry of state for Defence (MOD) is in Ulinzi House, Nairobi .

MOD is both a policy Department of State – like any other government Ministry as well as being the highest level military headquarters in Kenya providing political control of all military operations. It controls resources for the Kenya Armed Forces and civilian personnel who work closely together to deliver Kenya 's defence.

Ministry of State for Defence Organisation chart

Key

C IN C- Commander In Chief.

CGS- Chief Of General Staff.

VCGS -Vice Chief of General Staff.

DMI -Directorate of Military Intelligence.

AIB -Audit Inspection Board.

ACGS OPD &T -Assistant Chief of General Staff in Charge of Operations,Plans,

Doctrine and Training.

ACGS P & L -Assistant Chief of General Staff in charge of personnel and Logistics.

Comd KA -Commander Kenya Army.

Comd KAF -Commander Kenya Air Force.

Comd KN -Commander Kenya Navy

PS -Permanent Secretary.

DS -

CFO -Chief Financial Officer.

C Pr O -Chief Procurement Officer.

AD/HRM -Administration,Human Resource Management.

CE -Chief Economist.

Minister of State for Defence

The ministry of Defence is headed by the Minister of State for Defence who is responsible to the President and Commander in Chief for the formulation and conduct of defence policy.

The principal Advisers

The Defence Ministers have two principal adviser: One Military, the Chief of General Staff CGS, and one civilian, the Permanent Secretary. Neither of these is subordinate to the other. They share responsibility for much of the Department's business, reflecting the input that both military and civilian personnel make to policy, financial, administrative and operational matters.

The CGS is the professional head of the Armed Forces and the principal military adviser to the Minister and the C in C as the Government's principal civilian adviser on Defence(PS), has primary responsibility for policy, finance and administration in the Department. AS MOD's Principal Accounting Officer, the Permanent Secretary is also personally accountable to Parliament for the expenditure of all public money provided for defence purposes.

Directorate of Operations,Plans,Doctrine and Training

The directorate is under the ACGS and it comprises of :

Operations branch .
Doctrine and Training branch .
Strategic Plans and Policy branch.
Systems Programmes and Procurement branch.

Responsibilities

Formulation of Defence Policy.
Actual or potential commitment of forces.
Formulation and reviews of Armed Forces Doctrine and Training Policies.
Development and execution of Strategic,Contigency and Operational plans.
Formulation of operational requirements, and specifications for Military Equipment.

Directorate of personnel and Logistics

This Directorate is under an ACGS and comprises of :

Personnel Branch.
Logistics Branch.
Medical Branch.
Legal Branch.

The directorate is charged with the responsibility of formulation of policy on:

Personnel issues.
Financial systems and regulations.
Co-ordination with the PS.
MOD resource allocation.

Directorate of Military Intelligence

This Directorate is under a director.

Function is to formulate and implement policies on:

Collection.
Production.
Co-ordination.
Dissemination.

Audit and Inpectorate Branch

This branch is under the Chief of Audit and Inspectorate.

It is responsible for the formulation and implementation of:

Audit policies.
Ensuring the maintenance of standards on:

operational readiness.
efficiency.
effective utilization of resources.

The Civilian Personnel Branch

This is under the PS.It is responsible for:

Formulation of policy and manages the DOD civilian staff and support functions.
Interpretation and guidance on Goverment Policy as it affects the Armed Forces.
Preparation and submission of budgetary estimates to the Treasury and the Office of the President.
Co-ordination with other goverment/civilian agencies and instituition.

Managing Defence

Managing Defence is a complex business and the minister, military officers and civilians officials work together to provide effective direction. A number of senior committees underpin the management of defence. The most important committee in the MOD is the Defence Council. The Defence Council is the senior Departmental Committee chaired by the Minister of State.It provides the formal legal basis for the conduct of Defence and Service Commander committees.

MOD main committees

a. Defence Council

Policy matters,senior offficers' promotions and appointments as well as overall control and direction of the Armed Forces.

b. No.1 Board

Recommendations to the Defence Council on officers' promotions,appointments and retirements etc.

c. Service Commanders committee(scc)

Approval or recommendation to the Defence Council on new or changes on policy matters,and the co-ordination of all matters pertaining to the running of the three services of the Armed Forces.

d. Budget Committee

Preparation of the Armed Forces estimates and supplementary budgets which are eventual submitted to the Treasury.

e. Equipment Approval Committee

Approval of all new equipment purchased by the Armed Forces.

f. Financial Management Committee

Preparation of the Armed Forces estimates and supplementary bids.It also examines all expenditures for the purpose of control.

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