How To Join The Ghana Armed Forces (Step-By-Step Guide)

If you are interested in joining the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), we’ve got you covered. In this post, we will show you the process of joining the Ghana Armed Forces both as a graduate or a WASSCE holder.

So, if you have been wondering what it will take you to join the Ghana Armed Forces, just read on. This guide contains the GAF recruitment requirements and application procedures for recruit, officers and special medical intake.

Contents

About Ghana Armed Forces

The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Ghana Army (GA), Ghana Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force. The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is supervised by the Ghanaian Ministry of Defence.

The President of Ghana is the Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces and also the supreme military commander of the President’s Own Guard Regiment (POGR) and of the Border Guard Unit (BGU). The supervision of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) is managed by the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff.

Ranks in the Ghana Armed Forces

The Ghana Armed Forces is divided into different ranks. The Army, Air force and Navy have different ranks.

Ghana Army Rank Structure

Just like every other military organization, the Ghana army is divided into two categories, the Officers, and Enlisted Officers.

  • The Officers:  are the managers, problem solvers, key influencers and planners who lead Enlisted Soldiers in all situations. They are responsible for leading and training enlisted.
  • Enlisted Officers: There are military officers who are given authority by an officer, but he or she is not technically considered to be in command.

Ghana Army Ranks for Officers

The Ghana army has 10 ranks for officers which General is the highest rank and Second Lieutenant is the lowest rank. Below is the complete list of GA commissioned officers ranks:

  1. General – ★★★★★ [5 Stars]
  2. Lieutenant General – ★★★★ [4 Stars]
  3. Major General – ★★★ [3 Stars]
  4. Brigadier General – ★★ [2 Stars]
  5. Colonel – ★ [1 Stars]
  6. Lieutenant Colonel
  7. Major
  8. Captain
  9. Lieutenant
  10. Second Lieutenant – [Lowest Rank]

Ghana Army Ranks for Enlisted Officers

There are 9 ranks in the Ghana Army for Enlisted officers. They are listed below:

  1. Chief Warrant Officer
  2. Warrant Officer Class I.
  3. Warrant Officer Class II.
  4. Staff Sergeant.
  5. Sergeant.
  6. Corporal.
  7. Lance-corporal.
  8. Private.
  9. Recruit – [Lowest Rank]

Ghana Navy Rank Structure

Just like the army, the Ghana Navy is divided into two categories, the Officers, and rating Officers.

  • The Officers:  are the managers, problem solvers, key influencers and planners who lead Rating Officers in all situations. are responsible for leading and training ratings.
  • Rating Officers: is a military officer who is given authority by an officer, but he or she is not technically considered to be in command.

Ghana Navy Ranks for Officers

The GN officers in descending order of seniority:

  • Admiral
  • Vice-Admiral
  • Rear-Admiral
  • Commodore
  • Captain
  • Commander
  • Lieutenant Commander
  • Lieutenant
  • Sub-Lieutenant
  • Acting Sub-Lieutenant

Ghana Navy Ranks for Rating Officers

The GN ratings in descending order of seniority:

  • Master Chief Petty Officer
  • Fleet Chief Petty Officer
  • Chief Petty Officer Class I
  • Chief Petty Officer Class II
  • Petty Officer Class I
  • Petty Officer Class II
  • Leading Seaman
  • Able Seaman Class I
  • Able Seaman Class II
  • Ordinary Seaman

Ghana Air Force Rank Structure

The Ghana Air Force is broadly divided into two categories the officers and the airmen officers.

  • The Officers:  are the managers, problem solvers, key influencers and planners who lead Airmen Officers in all situations. are responsible for leading and training airmen.
  • Airmen Officers: is a military officer who is given authority by an officer, but he or she is not technically considered to be in command.

How to Join the Ghana Armed Forces

To be an officer of the Ghana Armed Forces (GAF), there are certain requirements that you must meet before applying. So, we’ll be looking at the Ghana Armed Forces recruitment general requirements for officers enlistment, recruit and special medical intake.

GAF General Recruitment Requirements for Officer Cadets

Eligible applicant should:

  1. Be a Ghanaian citizen by birth.
  2. Be of good character.
  3. Not be less than 20 years and not more than 26 years for Regular Commission and  Short Service Commission applicants.
  4. Be medically fit by Ghana Armed Forces standard.
  5. Be not bonded.
  6. Be not married (for Regular Officer Candidates only).
  7. Be of minimum height of 1.68m (5’6’’) for males and 1.60m (5’ 4”) for females.

For Military Police only; the minimum height for male applicants should be 1.75m (5’9”) and 1.70m (5’ 7”) for females.

Must have the following:

BECE.  Must have Six (6) Passes including English and Mathematics.

 WASSCE.  Must have Six (6) Credits (Not less than C6) including Core English and Core Mathematics.

                                                                        Or

  •  SSSCE.  Must have Six (6) Credits (Not less than D) including Core English and Mathematics.

                                                                        Or

  •  GCE ‘O’ Level.  Must have Five (5) Credits (Not less than 6) including English and Mathematics.

                                                                       And

  •  GCE ‘A’ Level.  Must have Credits in all Three (3) subjects (Not less than D) and General Paper

DEGREE.  Must have First Degree (Not below) Second Class Lower from a recognised University

GAF General Recruitment Requirements for Special Medical Intake

Eligible applicant should:

  1. Be a Ghanaian citizen by birth.
  2. Be of good character.
  3. Not less than 18 years and not more than 40 years for Medical Specialists, 35 years for Medical/Dental Officers, 33 years for Nurses and 30 years for Paramedical personnel.
  4. Be medically fit by Ghana Armed Forces Standard.
  5. Be not bonded.
  6. Be of minimum height of 1.68m (5` 6“) for males and 1.57m (5` 2“) for females.
  7. Must have the following:

(1)       BECE. Must have six (6) Passes at BECE including English and Mathematics.

(2)       Six credits. (Not less than C6) including Core English, Core Mathematics and Core Science at WASSCE.

                                                                         Or

(3)       Six credits. (Not less than D) including Core English, Core Mathematics and Core Science at SSSCE.

                                                                         Or

(4)       Five credits. (Not less than 6) including English, Mathematics and Science at GCE ‘O’ Level and not less than D in three subjects at GCE ‘A’ Level.

GAF General Recruitment Requirements for Recruits

An eligible applicant must:

a. Be a Ghanaian citizen by birth.

b. Be of good character.

c. Be not less than 18 years of age and not more than 25 years for Non – Tradesmen and not more than 27 years for Tradesmen.

d. Be medically fit by Armed Forces standards.

e. Be not married.

f. Be not bonded.

g. Be of minimum height of 1.68m (5’6”) for males and 1.57m (5’2”) for females. For Military Police only; be of a minimum height of 1.75m (5’9”) for males and 1.70m (5’7”) for females.

h. Have six (6) Credits (not less than Grade 6)at BECE including English and Mathematics.

i. Have five credits (not less than Grade C6) in WASSCE, including Core English and Core Mathematics or the requisite credits/passes in respective trade qualifications from GESat Intermediate or Advanced Level.

[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]Apart from the GH₵50 paid for the GAF recruitment Scratch card, the Ghana Armed Forces will not demand money to be enlisted into the Army. Ignore every person or organisation seeking money or offering help to join the Ghana Armed Forces.[/perfectpullquote]

How to Apply for Ghana Armed Forces Recruitment

All applicants are required to carefully read through the entry requirements for clarification before application. Take note of all the required data in the subsequent steps.

  1. Acquire a scratch card at FIFTY GHANA CEDIS (GH₵50.00) from selected post offices nationwide (Click here for GAF recruitment scratch card outlet).
  2. Scratch gently to reveal the “PIN” code. The scratch card can be used for three times until a record is successfully submitted.
  3. Log on to the recruitment portal @ http://www.gafrecruitment.com with any of the following browsers:
    • Mozilla Firefox.
    • Google Chrome.
  4. Read through the entry requirements thoroughly.
  5. Ensure your mobile phone’s Cell Broadcast Message Service is turned “ON”. This can be done by going through the following steps on your phone:
    • Messages
    • Message Settings
    • Find “Cell Broadcast/Broadcast Message/CB Activation/Advertisement” depending on your brand of mobile phone.
    • Set activation “ON”.
    • Set all channels to “RECEIVE” and exit message settings.
  6. Then, click on the Apply Now Tab to open the applicant authentication page.
  7. Enter your card Serial Number, PIN code and select your preferred Arm of Service, type of commission and click “Submit”.
  8. Enter your personal details and take note of the following from Pages 1 to 3:
    • Page 1; Select your desired vacancy and provide all other required data.
    • Page 2; Upload a scanned copy of your passport-sized photograph of dimension (170 x 150 pixels), enter a valid e-mail address, personal mobile phone number in the format (233244123456) and enter any other required data.
    • Page 3; Enter the results of only the TWO required core subjects on your WASSCE/SSSCE Certificate, that is; CORE MATHEMATICS AND CORE ENGLISH. Enter your WASSCE or SSSCE Index number, WASSCE or SSSCE Certificate Serial Number. Upload only scanned copies of the following; WASSCE or SSSCE Certificate and Degree Certificate. NB: Each scanned document (Passport picture, WASSCE or SSSCE Certificate, Degree Certificate) to be uploaded, should not exceed 1(One) Megabyte and should be in JPEG picture format only.
  9. Click on the Preview Button to see a summary page of all data provided. Read through this page carefully and click on the back button, if there are any modifications to be made.
  10. Click on the submit button and expect an instant e-mail and text message, which includes your unique system generated Identification Number.
  11. Print and keep a copy of the generated report as you will be required to present it, if you are Qualified. However, if you lose your copy of the final report, go back to the recruitment portal, click on the PRINT SUMMARY Tab, enter your unique identification number sent to you by SMS/E-mail and order a re-print.

NB: Each scanned document (Passport picture, WASSCE/SSCE results slip and First Degree Certificate) to be uploaded, should not exceed 1 Megabytes and should be in JPEG picture format only.

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