After independence, the Darawishta merged with the former British Somaliland Scouts and new recruits to form a 5,000 strong Somali National Army.^[1] The new military's first commander was Colonel Daud Abdulle Hirsi, a former officer in the British military administration's police force, the Somalia Gendarmerie.^[2] Officers were trained in the United Kingdom, Egypt, and Italy. Despite the social and economic benefits that military service brought, the Somali Armed Forces began to suffer chronic manpower shortages only a few years after independence.^[3] After the 1969 Somali coup d'état, most Ministers of Defence were drawn from the Supreme Revolutionary Council until 1990-91. Major General Muhammad Ainanshe, a member of the SRC, lost his portfolio of Minister of Defence on 10 April 1971 before his arrest on 4 May 1971.^[4]

The subsequent outbreak of the Somali Civil War from the late 1980s led to the armed forces disintegrating totally.

Somalia's armed forces were gradually reconstituted after the establishment of the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) in 2004. After the creation of the Transitional Federal Government in 2010, several ministers succeeded each other. Abdihakim Mohamed Fiqi, a former Somali diplomatic with service in Washington, became Minister of Defence in mid-November 2010. While he had known that Al-Shabaab occupied the Ministry of Defence building at the time, he had not realised the weaknesses of the interim MOD premises in the privately owned Jidda Hussein building.^[5] There, the ministry had only two rooms, without internet or electricity. Thus the handshake transfer of responsibility - there was nothing more to hand over - took place in the palace, in the living room of the Somali Armed Forces commander.

In September 2014, a Somali government delegation led by Prime Minister Abdiweli Sheikh Ahmed attended an international conference in London hosted by the British government, which centered on rebuilding the Somali National Army and strengthening the security sector in Somalia. Ahmed presented to the participants his administration's plan for the development of the Somali Armed Forces, as well as fiscal planning, human rights protection, arms embargo compliance, and ways to integrate regional militias. The summit also aimed to arrange funding for the armed forces. British Prime Minister David Cameron said that the meeting sought to outline a long-term security plan to strengthen Somalia's army, police and judiciary.^[6]

In April 2015, the federal Ministry of Defence launched its new Guulwade Plan (Victory Plan), which provided a roadmap for development of the (federal) Somali Armed Forces. It was formulated with technical support from the United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM). The framework stipulates that international partners are slated to provide capacity-building as well as assistance for joint operations to 10,900 Somali national army troops, with these units drawn from various regions in the country.^[7]

As of April 2015, UNSOM coordinated international security sector assistance for the SNA in accordance with Somali federal priority areas. It also provides advice on recruitment of female officers, strictures on age appropriate military personnel, legal frameworks vis-a-vis the defence institutions, and a development strategy for the Ministry of Defence.^[7]

As of May 2015, the federal government in conjunction with UNSOM was working toward establishing a comprehensive, international standards and obligations-compliant ammunition and weapons management system. To this end, capacity-building for the physical management of arms and bookkeeping was being developed, and new storage facilities and armouries for weapons and explosives were being constructed.^[7]

On Sunday 26 December 2021, Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble made a limited cabinet reshuffle, switching the portfolios of the Justice Minister and Defence Minister.^[8][9] Hassan Hussein Haji the previous defence minister was moved to the Ministry of Justice while Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur was moved from Justice to Defence. Immediately afterwards President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed "Faarmajo" suspended Roble; the two had had a stormy working relationship.

• Minister of Defence
  • Deputy Minister
    • Secretary-General
      • Under the Authority of Secretary-General
        • Internal Audit and Investigation Division
        • Somali Armed Forces Council Secretariat
        • Key Performance Indicator Unit
        • Legal Division
        • Strategic Communications Unit
        • Integrity Unit
      • Deputy Secretary-General (Development)
        • Development Division
        • Procurement Division
        • Somali Armed Forces Cataloguing Authority
      • Deputy Secretary-General (Policy)
        • Policy and Strategic Planning Division
        • Defence Industry Division
        • Defence Reserve Depot
      • Deputy Secretary-General (Management)
        • Human Resource Management Division
        • Information Management Division
        • Finance Division
        • Account Division
        • Administration Division
      • Chief of Defence Forces
        • Chief of Army
        • Chief of Navy
        • Chief of Air Force
        • Joint Force Commander
        • Director of General Defence Intelligence
        • Chief of Staff Somali Armed Forces Headquarters

• Library of Congress Country Study, Somalia, The Warrior Tradition and Development of a Modern Army, research complete May 1992.

• Website
• Benadir Regional Administration - Transitional Federal Government of Somalia