Bangladesh Armed Forces

The Bangladesh Armed Forces (Bengali: বাংলাদেশ সশস্ত্র বাহিনী, Bānlādēśa saśastra bāhinī) is the military of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. It consists of the three uniformed military services: the Bangladesh Army, the Bangladesh Navy and the Bangladesh Air Force. The para-military organization Bangladesh National Cadet Corps (BNCC) is a reserved force and directed by Army, Navy, Air Force. It is under the command of Defence Ministry. The para-military Border Guard Bangladesh (formerly Bangladesh Rifles) and Bangladesh Coast Guard are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs during peacetime, but during wartime they fall under the command of Bangladesh Army and Bangladesh Navy respectively.

The President of Bangladesh is the Commander-in-chief of the military, the Armed Forces Division (AFD) is the principal administrative organization by which military policy is formulated and executed and the Ministry of Defence (MoD) does not exercise any authority over the Armed Forces and is far less powerful than the AFD. Currently, both AFD and MoD are headed by the Prime Minister of Bangladesh. To coordinate military policy with diplomacy both the President and the Prime Minister are advised by a six-member advisory board, three Chiefs of Staff, which includes the head of each of the regular services, Principal Staff Officer of the Armed Forces Division, and Military Secretaries to the President and the Prime Minister. The Director Generals of the NSI, the DGFI and the BGB also serve in an advisory capacity.

The Armed Forces Day is observed on November 21st. Official functions are held at "Bangabhaban", Armed Forces Division Headquarters, Dhaka Cantonment, and at every military installation throughout the country.