page_title: Rwanda Defence Force
section_title: Marching style
hierarchical_section_title: Rwanda Defence Force / Characteristics / Marching style
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the Rwanda Defense Force move into formation after arriving in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), Jan. 16, 2014. The Rwandans flew from their home country aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III aircraft. U.S. forces were dispatched to provide airlift assistance to multinational troops in support of an African Union effort to quell violence in the CAR.
context_page_description: The Rwanda Defence Force is the national army of Rwanda. The country's armed forces were originally known as the Rwandan Armed Forces, but following the victory of the Rwandan Patriotic Front in the country's civil war in 1994, a new organization, the Rwandan Patriotic Army, was created. Later, it was renamed to its current name.
  The RDF comprises:
  High Command Council of the RDF
  General Staff of the RDF
  Rwanda Land Force
  Rwanda Air Force
  Individual units
  Army Band of the RDF
  In November 2002 Emmanuel Habyarimana was removed from his post as Minister of Defence, an action which government spokesperson Joseph Bideri attributed to his "extreme pro-Hutu" views. Marcel Gatsinzi became Minister of Defence in succession to Habyarimana.
  After it conquered the country in July 1994 in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide of April to July 1994, the Rwandan Patriotic Front decided to split into a political division and a military division, which would serve as the official army of the Rwandan state.
context_section_description: Despite not being a former British colony, Rwanda has generally used British foot drill during official parades and functions. Since 2019 however, the RDF adopted the Chinese variant of the goosestep, which is today mostly used by countries in Central and Eastern Europe, communist countries, as well as countries with a large Prussian/German influence (Russia, China and Chile all being examples of each). It was first displayed in April during the military parade in honor of the Rwandan genocide's silver jubilee on Liberation Day, in which over 1,500 RDF soldiers and policemen trained by six members of the Beijing Garrison Honor Guard Battalion of the People's Liberation Army's Central Theater Command marched while using the goosestep. It the introduction of the goosestep also saw to use of Mandarin parade commands such as "Look to the Right!" to which the soldiers respond with "One! Two!", which is done similarly in the PLA honor guard Prior to this, only the rebels  utilized the goosestep during the Civil War, as they received military training in the neighboring country of Uganda, which uses the goosestep.
caption: Members of the Rwanda Defense Force move into formation after arriving in Bangui, Central African Republic (CAR), Jan. 16, 2014 140116-A-ZZ999-007
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