October 21, 2006: Cambodia is trying to revive it's armed forces, and turn them into something more modern and effective. Currently, there are about 110,000 men in uniform, organized into twenty divisions. The force has already lost about 30,000 troops over the last few years, through downsizing. But the new army will only 70,000 troops, and will be organized into twelve infantry brigades. Officers are being sent abroad to get up-to-date training. The country is poor, and cannot afford a lot of new equipment. But these changes will try and sweep away the old Soviet/Red Chinese style of organization and tactics. Troops can be trained to be more effective with the weapons they have, and to accomplish this, the officers corps will have to be upgraded, mostly through education.
