Kwame Nkrumah had become Ghana's first prime minister when the country became independent in 1957. From 1966, the Armed Forces were extensively involved in politics, mounting several coups. Major General Stephen Otu was appointed Chief of Defence Staff in September 1961. The Ghana Armed Forces were formed in 1957. Gold Coast soldiers returning from the Far East carried different perspectives from when they had departed. During the Second World War, the regiment raised nine battalions, and saw action in Kenya's Northern Frontier District, Italian Somaliland, Abyssinia and Burma as part of the 2nd (West Africa) Infantry Brigade. The regiment raised a total of five battalions for service during the First World War, all of which served during the East Africa campaign. The Gold Coast Constabulary was renamed in 1901 as the Gold Coast Regiment, following the foundation of the West African Frontier Force, under the direction of the Colonial Office of the British Government.

War Flag of the Ghana Regiment during the Burma Campaign in the South-East Asian Theatre of World War II. In this guise, the regiment earned its first battle honour as part of the Ashanti campaign. In 1879, the Gold Coast Constabulary was established by personnel of the Hausa Constabulary of Southern Nigeria, to perform internal security and police duties in the British colony of the Gold Coast. The armed forces are managed by the Minister of Defence and the Chief of Defence Staff. The Commander-in-Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is the president of Ghana, who is also the supreme military commander of the Border Guard Unit (BGU). The Ghana Armed Forces ( GAF) is the unified armed force of Ghana, consisting of the Army (GA), Navy (GN), and Ghana Air Force. Georgian–Abkhazian conflict (1989–present).United Nations Operation in the Congo (1960–1964).

Commander in chief of the armed forces