A cabinet meeting on Wednesday approved the retirement of 79 soldiers, including 33 commissioned officers. It also discharged 642 junior non-commissioned officers and troopers of the Rwanda Defence Forces (RDF) who had served out their contracts, according to a statement.Commissioned officers range from the rank of Second Lieutenant up to General and their retirement is sanctioned through a presidential order. Senior non-commissioned officers range from the rank of Senior Sergeant up to Warrant Officer One. The statement did not identify those who were retired.Brig Gen Joseph Nzabamwita, the defence and military spokesperson, also declined to give details, only saying that it was a routine procedure.Nzabamwita said, "All commissioned officers can be retired when they reach the retirement age, just like other civil servants”.According to the law, a soldier can be retired on other grounds other than age.The retirement age for military personnel varies. Its 55 years for a General Officer (highest ranking category), 50 for a Senior Officer (middle category), and 45 for a junior officer or senior non commissioned officer, according to the RDF statute. Also there were no further details about the soldiers who were discharged, whose contract, according to the Cabinet statement, had expired.On successful completion of training, an RDF soldier signs a five-year contract with the State renewable twice except for those with special skills whose contract can be renewed more than twice. According to the RDF Statute, troopers and junior non commissioned officers serve on contract terms only. This category includes servicemen and women from the rank of sergeant down to private. Soldiers with higher ranks, otherwise referred to as senior non commissioned and commissioned officers, have the option to serve either on contract or career basis until retirement age.