for the armed forces. In October 1997, Captain Steven Lungu seized control of the national radio station and announced a coup d'état. Lungu dismissed the chiefs of the army and police and announced that he was forming a new Government of National Redemption. He gave President Chiluba an ultimatum of three hours to surrender or face death. Loyal ZDF troops responded by storming the radio station, capturing Lungu and five other coup plotters. In early August 2022, the government announced that it would recruit up to 5,000 military personnel by October of the same year. Command In 1976 Zambia adopted a unified command system, in which the three Service Chiefs reported to a Commander of the 'Zambian National Defence Force' (ZNDF). The Commander of Zambia Air Force at the time, Air Commodore Peter Zuze, was promoted to Lieutenant-General and appointed as Deputy Commander of the ZNDF. However, the Zambia Air Force and Zambia National Service resented this system because Army officers filled most senior appointments in the ZNDF and the system was ended in 1980. The country then reverted to the command system inherited at independence where Service Chiefs report to the Head of State through a Minister of Defence. The current (2021) Command is: - President and Commander-in-Chief: Hakainde Hichilema (from 24th August 2021) - Defence Minister: Ambrose Lwiji Lufuma (from 27 August 2021) - Permanent Secretary for Defence: Norman Chipakupaku - Commander Zambia Army: Lieut.-General Dennis Sitali Alibuzwi (from 29th August 2021) - Deputy Commander Zambia Army: Major-General Geoffrey Zyeele (from 29th August 2021) - Commander Zambia Air Force: Lieut.-General Collins Barry ((from 29th August 2021) - Deputy Commander Zambia Air Force: Major General Oscar Nyoni - Commandant Zambia National Service: Lieut.-General Patrick Kayombo Solochi - Deputy Commandant Zambia National Service: Major-General Reuben Mwewa - Commandant Defence Services and Staff Training College: Brigadier General Benson Musonda. Zambia Army Organisation The current Army organisation is: Three infantry brigades - 1 Brigade, Lusaka 2 Brigade, Kabwe (during July 2016 the Brigade Commander was Brigadier Martin Banda) 3 Brigade, Ndola (during March 2017 the Brigade Commander was Brigadier Laston Chabinga) With the following units: 64 Armoured Regiment (tank). U.S. State Department International Military Education and Training records from FY-2006 indicate a Zambian officer attended from 64 Armoured Regiment at Mikango Barracks, east Lusaka. 17 Cavalry Regiment (armoured reconnaissance) 10 Medium Regiment, Kalewa Barracks, Ndola (also given as an artillery regiment/brigade of