Trinidad and Tobago - Armed forces

The Trinidad and Tobago Defense Force numbered an estimated 2,700 in 2002. The army, which numbered around 2,000, consisted of two infantry battalions and one support battalion. The coast guard of 700 operated 12 patrol and coastal combatants, and had an air wing of 50 personnel. Under lend-lease agreements with the UK signed early in 1941, the US acquired several Caribbean bases, including one on Trinidad, on a 99-year lease. After local agitation over a number of years, Trinidad reclaimed the last remaining foreign base in June 1967. Military expenditures in 1999 amounted to $90 million, or 1.4% of GDP.