Captain Faris Zwei, among military officers in the east who had joined the opposition to Muammar Gaddafi, told Reuters there were more than 10,000 volunteers in Ajdabiyah, about 800 km (500 miles) from the capital which was still held by forces loyal to the Libyan leader.
"We are reorganising the army, which was almost completely destroyed by Gaddafi and his gang before they left," he said. "We are reforming, as much as we can, the army from the youth that took part in the revolution."
He added: "We're currently waiting for Tripoli to free itself, and we will give them time to have this honour."
"In Ajdabiya, we have more than 10,000 volunteers, not including official soldiers," he said.
Other military officials have said they needed to train volunteer recruits first before making a push west.
The officers and other witnesses reported that an air force plane bombed close to a munitions store near Ajdabiyah on Monday.
The aircraft returned to attack the Haniyeh base a second time, striking close to a storage bunker inside the walls, they said.
"There was bombing here last night, but nothing was hit," said Jumah Sayed, one of the civilians who had volunteered to guard the base. "If one of these bunkers were hit, everything would be destroyed for miles around."
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