 The commander-in-chief is the President of the Gambia who is currently Adama Barrow, whereas practical control is exercised by the Chief of the Defence Staff who is currently Lieutenant General Masaneh Kinteh.At independence from the United Kingdom in 1965, defence and security in The Gambia was the responsibility of the Field Force.The Field Force was a paramilitary unit of the police, consisting of roughly 140 men at independence and rising to around 500 in 1980.