In mid-October 2015, the Armed Forces of Malta organised an Open Day to celebrate what it described as its ‘45-year anniversary’.

But is the year 2015 the 45th or 50th anniversary of the formation of independent Maltese armed forces?

Records show that the Malta Land Force, MLF (as the Armed Forces of Malta was called at the time) was formed in April 1965 and consisted of three Territorial Regiments, namely the 3rd and 11th Light Air Defence Regiments RMA (T) – which both merged into 3/11 Regiment RMA (T) in June 1966 – and the King’s Own Malta Regiment (K.O.M.R.).

Major General J.D Frost was the first commander of the MLF, followed by Major General A.R. Leakey for a few months in1967.

In November 1967 Brigadier George V. Micallef was appointed the first Maltese commander of the MLF, a position he held until September 1972.

On October 1, 1970, the regular forces consisting of the 1st Regiment RMA, the Royal Engineers Malta and the Royal Signals were transferred from the British army to the Malta Land Force and in March 1972 the two territorial regiments were disbanded.

In April 1973 the name of Malta Land Force was changed to Armed Forces of Malta, a name it has retained to this day.

What has happened to the first five years, six months between April 1965 and September 1970? Were the regiments and individual officers and soldiers (regular or territorial), offering their respective services to Malta’s armed forces ‘in limbo’ during this initial period?