 A decision on which factions were to name chiefs of staff and military regional commanders was announced on 19 August 2003 as the first move in military reform , superimposed on top of the various groups of fighters , government and former rebels . Kabila was able to name the armed forces chief of staff , Lieutenant General Liwanga Mata , who previously served as navy chief of staff under Laurent Kabila . Kabila was able to name the air force commander ( John Numbi ) , the RCD @-@ Goma received the Land Force commander 's position ( Sylvain Buki ) and the MLC the navy ( Dieudonne Amuli Bahigwa ) . Three military regional commanders were nominated by the former Kinshasa government , two commanders each by the RCD @-@ Goma and the MLC , and one region commander each by the RCD @-@ K / ML and RCD @-@ N. However these appointments were announced for Kabila 's Forces armées congolaises ( FAC ) , not the later FARDC . Another report however says that the military region commanders were only nominated in January 2004 , and that the troop deployment on the ground did not change substantially until the year afterward . 
