The president of Uzbekistan is the commander in chief of the armed forces, and he has authority to appoint and dismiss all senior commanders. The minister of defense and the chief of staff have operational and administrative control. Since early 1992, President Karimov has exercised his supreme authority in making appointments and in the application of military power. The staff structure of the armed forces retains the configuration of the Turkestan Military District. The structure includes an Operational and Mobilization Organization Directorate and departments of intelligence, signals, transport, CIS affairs, aviation, air defense, and missile troops and artillery. In 1996 total military strength was estimated at about 25,000. The armed forces are divided into four main components: ground defense forces, air force, air defense, and national guard.





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Uzbekistan has no formal navy. The country is landlocked, although it does have a border on the Aral Sea. No immediate plans for building a military navy are in place.A small riverine force tasked with patrolling Uzbekistan's river frontier with Afghanistan is being developed under the authority of Uzbekistan's Border Guards. Fourteen boats have been promised by the US military, and plans are in place to procure four Russian-made armed high-speed boats. In October and November 2004, Uzbekistan received two new Gyurza class River Armoured Gun Boats (RAGBs) through financial aid from the US State Department.