The Rwanda Defence Force (RDF) was previously a liberation force known as the Rwanda Patriotic Army (RPA). The Law No 19/2002 of 17/05/2002 renamed the RPA as the Rwanda Defence Force.
Since 2002, the RDF adopted a Joint Structure with a Chief of Defence Staff at the helm of the Defence Force. He is the Joint Commander. The Structure and Force design offer flexibility required to respond to a variety of contingencies.