The Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces are the armed forces of Sierra Leone, responsible for the territorial security of Sierra Leone's borders and defending the national interests of Sierra Leone, within the framework of the 1991 Sierra Leone Constitution and International laws. The armed forces were formed after independence in 1961, on the basis of elements of the former British Royal West African Frontier Force, then present in the Sierra Leone Colony and Protectorate. Circa 2010, the Sierra Leone Armed Forces consisted of around 13,000 personnel. Before Sierra Leone gained independence in 1961, the military was known as the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force. The armed forces seized control in 1968, bringing the National Reformation Council into power. On 19 April 1971, when Sierra Leone became a republic, the Royal Sierra Leone Military Force was renamed as the Republic of Sierra Leone Military Force (RSLMF). The RSLMF remained a single service organisation until 1979 when the Sierra Leone Navy was established. It then remained largely unchanged for 16 years until in 1995 when Defence Headquarters was established and the Sierra Leone Air Wing formed. The RSLMF was then renamed the Armed Forces of the Republic of Sierra Leone. The Sierra Leone Armed Forces is headed by the Chief of Defence Staff, who is legally the most senior military officer in the Sierra Leone Army. The President of Sierra Leone has the constitutional authority to dismiss the Chief of Defence Staff of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces at any time. The current Chief of Defence Staff of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces is Major General Brima Sesay. He was appointed by President Ernest Bai Koroma. Major Sesay succeeded Major General John Milton was removed as Chief of Defence Staff of the Sierra Leone Armed Forces on 30 November 2017. President Ahmad Tejan Kabbah announced in January 2002 that the Sierra Leone Army would be unified with the tiny Sierra Leone Air Force and the moribund Sierra Leone Navy to form a reconstituted force known as the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces. During the state of emergency announced in the country due to the 2014 West Africa Ebola outbreak, the Armed Forces aided in protecting quarantine zones for those infected with the virus. Leadership The President of Sierra Leone is constitutionally the commander in chief of the military. The Sierra Leone Ministry of Defence and National Security is in charge