The invasion of illegal armed formations of the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan into the southern part of the country in 1999 and 2000 served as a catalyst for the intensification of military construction. In order to improve the military organization of the state in threatened areas, border units were created and deployed. Rapid response units were formed within the Southern grouping of troops. However, analysts noted that the units and formations were poorly trained for combat operations in mountainous terrain, lacking aviation, communication means, technical border protection equipment, operational-strategic reserves of weapons, equipment, ammunition, and other material and technical resources, and that military infrastructure was underdeveloped, with intelligence being a weak link.
The ways and means to rectify the situation were outlined in the Military Doctrine of 2002. The main goal of military construction was defined as "the creation of small, mountain, compact, and mobile armed forces equipped with modern weapons and military equipment, provided with material resources for conducting military operations in high-altitude conditions, capable of ensuring the protection of territorial integrity, constitutional order, sovereignty, and the citizens of the state in a short time."
The construction of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic is planned to be carried out in three stages in accordance with the tasks of ensuring military security and the economic capabilities of the state. The first stage, from 2002 to the year planned, involved improving the training of rapid response forces to counter the infiltration of armed groups of international terrorists into the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic. The second stage, from 2004 to 2007, focused on the preparation and maintenance of the Armed Forces capable of independently or as part of Collective Rapid Reaction Forces of the Central Asian region of collective security, performing tasks in local-scale armed conflicts after re-staffing and mobilization. The third stage, from 2008 to 2010, aimed at the preparation and maintenance of the Armed Forces capable of independently or as part of coalition armed forces of the member states of the CSTO, performing tasks in regional-scale armed conflicts.
Structurally, the armed forces consist of general-purpose forces, rapid deployment forces, immediate response forces, and state border protection forces (border service).
General-purpose forces form the backbone of the combat power of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic, maintained in readiness for mobilization and operational deployment as part of pre-established groupings in threatened areas. They are intended to repel aggression from outside and expel the aggressor (large formations of international terrorism) from the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic, either independently or as part of coalition groupings of the armed forces of participating states.
Rapid deployment forces are kept in readiness for re-staffing and operational deployment in threatened areas to enhance the combat capabilities of immediate response forces and state border protection in any scale of border armed conflict, as well as to cover state facilities of significant strategic importance.
Immediate response forces consist of mobile units and special purpose units of the full composition of the Ministry of Defense, Internal Troops of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, National Security Service, Ministry of Emergency Situations and Civil Defense, and the National Guard (NG), and are maintained in constant readiness to perform tasks of covering the state border, ensuring the deployment of other forces, and localizing and destroying armed groups of international terrorists in the border zone in cooperation with state border protection forces.
According to the Military Doctrine, "...the defense of the state is built on the principle of mobilization readiness. It is based on the timely buildup of general-purpose forces in threatened areas, adequately to the level of military threat, through the regrouping of combat-ready troops from other areas, as well as on the basis of partial or full operational deployment of the Armed Forces of the Kyrgyz Republic." In this regard, military-trained resources are prepared during military service by conscription and contract through military departments at civilian higher educational institutions and during military gatherings.
