Military branches:
Royal Barbados Defense Force: Troops Command, Barbados Coast Guard (2011)
Military service age and obligation:
17 years of age for voluntary military service (younger volunteers require parental consent); no conscription (2009)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 73,820
[see also: Manpower available for military service - male country ranks ]
females age 16-49:
73,835 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 58,125
[see also: Manpower fit for military service - male country ranks ]
females age 16-49:
58,016 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 1,842
[see also: Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually - male country ranks ]
female:
1,849 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures: Military - note:
0.8% of GDP (2009)
country comparison to the world: 144
[see also: Military expenditures country ranks ]
the Royal Barbados Defense Force includes a land-based Troop Command and a small Coast Guard; the primary role of the land element is island defense against external aggression; the Command consists of a single, part-time battalion with a small regular cadre deployed throughout the island; the cadre increasingly supports the police in patrolling the coastline for smuggling and other illicit activities (2007)