Military forces:
Djibouti Armed Forces (FAD): Djibouti National Army (includes Navy, Djiboutian Air Force, National Gendarmerie); Djibouti Coast Guard (2019)

Military service age and obligation:
18 years of age for voluntary military service; 16-25 years of age for voluntary military training; no conscription (2012)

Maritime threats:
the International Maritime Bureau reports offshore waters in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden remain a high risk for piracy; the presence of several naval task forces in the Gulf of Aden and additional anti-piracy measures on the part of ship operators, including the use of on-board armed security teams, contributed to the drop in incidents; there was one incident in the Gulf of Aden and none in the Red Sea in 2018; Operation Ocean Shield, the NATO/EUNAVFOR naval task force established in 2009 to combat Somali piracy, concluded its operations in December 2016 as a result of the drop in reported incidents over the last few years; the EU naval mission, Operation ATALANTA, continues its operations in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean through 2020; naval units from Japan, India, and China also operate in conjunction with EU forces; China has established a logistical base in Djibouti to support its deployed naval units in the Horn of Africa