[7] The United States Library of Congress Country Studies said that 'the Treaty on Joint Measures signed by Russia and Turkmenistan in July 1992 provided for the Russian Federation to act as guarantor of Turkmenistan's security and made former Soviet army units in the republic the basis of the new national armed forces.

The treaty stipulated that, apart from border troops and air force and air defense units remaining under Russian control, the entire armed forces would be under joint command, which would gradually devolve to exclusive command by Turkmenistan over a period of ten years.

The Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies's Moscow Defence Brief said that in 1992–93 Turkmenistan attempted to create a small national armed force based on the former Soviet 52nd Army, which was located in the country and depended on support from Russia.

Of the 300 formations and units, numbering 110,000 people, 200 were transferred to the command of Turkmenistan, 70 remained under Russia's jurisdiction, and 30 were either withdrawn or demobilized.

[8] In 1994, the chief of staff and first deputy minister of defense was Major General Annamurat Soltanov, a career officer who had served in Cuba and Afghanistan; another deputy minister of defense, Major General Begdzhan Niyazov, had been a law enforcement administrator prior to his appointment.

The country's military did not sign the Tashkent Treaty in May 1992,[10] becoming an observer in the Council of Ministers of Defense of the CIS.

[13][14] Jane's Information Group said in 2009 that "Turkmenistan's military is, even by the standards of Central Asia, poorly maintained and funded.

"[15] Weeks after he was inaugurated for a first term, President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov announced his decision to endorse the country's second military doctrine, officially declaring neutrality and stating that the border with Afghanistan will be a national security priority.

[29] The Congressional Research Service, citing the International Institute for Strategic Studies, reports a number of six patrol boats.

[23] The International Institute for Strategic Studies reported in 2007 that Turkmenistan intended to form a navy and had a minor base at Turkmenbashy with one USCG Point class cutter and five Kalkan-class patrol vessels.

[30] The Special Task Force "Türkmen Edermen" (Valiant Turkmen in English) is a composite military unit drawn from the armed forces and national law enforcement agencies such as the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the State Border Service, and the Ministry for National Security.

Established in November 1990, it is a directly reporting body of the President of Turkmenistan and not part of the Ministry of Defense.

The main tasks of the service include the following: protecting of the national border of the country, combating international terrorism and drug trafficking, targeting illegal migration and human trafficking, and protecting oil and gas platforms and pipelines in the Caspian Sea.

The head of the service is a member of the Council of Border Guard Commanders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS).

It aides the Turkmen National Police in its everyday activities, being organized similarly to the ground forces.

[47] In 2016, Senior Lieutenant Jahan Yazmuhammedova became the first female paratrooper in the Armed Forces, serving in the 152nd Independent Air Assault Battalion.