The Army in Egypt

 

The army in Egypt has undergone a series of changes in recent years. In 2010, it implemented changes to its Officer Education System, which is the basis for training the next generation of field grade officers, such as Lieutenant Colonels and Majors. These officers are responsible for planning and executing full-spectrum military operations.

The Egyptian Army has a large and varied arsenal of weapons. Its Second Army focuses on the Sinai Peninsula while the Third Army is located west of the Suez Canal. Other elements of the Egyptian Army include the Egyptian Armored Corps, Infantry/Mechanised forces, Artillery Corps, Sa’ka Forces, Signal Corps, Engineering Corps, and Reconnaissance Corps. Additionally, the Egyptian Army also has a Supply Corps and Quartermaster Corps. The Army is also thought to have a Chemical Warfare Corps.

During the reign of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Egyptian army became increasingly regimented and professional. It separated recruits from civilian life and instilled an impersonal sense of law on them. Muhammad Ali Pasha also tried to create an army of Mamluks and slaves, but most of them died from the intense military training. The Egyptian army also enforced conscription in 1822, which shifted Egyptian farmers into the ranks of the military.

After the war, the United States established a mission in Egypt, which supervised the British lend-lease program in the Middle East. The mission’s headquarters was opened in Cairo in November, and Brig. Gen. Russell L. Maxwell took command of the operation there. The Americans had already opened a military mission in China two months before Maxwell arrived in Egypt. These events led to the introduction of American air power in the Middle East.