Combined military services of Colombia
The
Military Forces of Colombia
(Spanish:
Fuerzas Militares de Colombia
) are the unified
armed forces
of the
Republic of Colombia
. They consist of the
Colombian Army
, the
Colombian Navy
and the
Colombian Aerospace Force
. The
National Police of Colombia
, although technically not part of the military, is controlled and administered by the
Ministry of National Defence
, and national
conscription
also includes service in the National Police, thus making it a
de facto
gendarmerie
and a branch of the military. The
President of Colombia
is the military's commander in chief, and helps formulate defense policy through the Ministry of National Defence, which is in charge of day-to-day operations.
The Military Forces of Colombia have their roots in the Army of the Commoners (
Ejercito de los Comuneros
), which was formed on 7 August 1819 ? before the establishment of the present day Colombia ? to meet the demands of the
Revolutionary War
against the
Spanish Empire
. After their triumph in the war, the Army of the Commoners disbanded, and the
Congress of Angostura
created the
Gran Colombian
Army to replace it, thus establishing the first military service branch of the country.
The Colombian military was operationally involved in
World War II
and was the only Latin American country to send troops to the
Korean War
. Ever since the advent of the
Colombian Conflict
, the Colombian military has been involved in combat, pacification,
counter-insurgency
, and
drug interdiction
operations all over the country's national territory. Recently it has participated in counter-piracy efforts in the
Horn of Africa
under
Operation Ocean Shield
and
Operation Atlanta
.
The military of Colombia is the third largest in the
Western Hemisphere
in terms of active personnel and has the fourth largest expenditure in the
Americas
, behind the
United States Armed Forces
, the
Canadian Armed Forces
and the
Brazilian Armed Forces
respectively.
[3]
[4]
Services
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The
Colombian Constitution
includes two overlapping definitions of what could be defined as 'armed forces' in English:
- The Public Force (
La Fuerza Publica
): Includes the Military Forces proper
and
the National Police (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 216)
- The Military Forces (
Las Fuerzas Militares
): Includes only the 3 major military service branches: Army, Navy and Aerospace Force (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 217)
This is a subtle yet important distinction, both in terms of emphasizing the civil nature of the National Police, but also adapting the national police to function as a paramilitary force which can perform military duties as a result of the
Colombian Conflict
. This has led to some of the most important police units adopting military training and conducting special operations alongside the Colombian Army, Aerospace Force, and Navy. Therefore, the functions of the Colombian Police in practical terms are similar to those of a gendarmerie, like the
Spanish Civil Guard
and the
Carabineros de Chile
, which maintain military ranks for all police personnel.
Personnel
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The Colombian armed forces consist of:
Military Forces:
And,
Public Force strength as of April 2014.
[5]
Force
|
Service
|
Officers
|
Total
|
Military
|
Colombian Army
|
10,094
|
246,325
|
Military
|
Colombian Navy
|
2,481
|
33,824
|
Military
|
Colombian Aerospace Force
|
2,679
|
13,928
|
Public
|
Colombian National Police
|
6,924
|
176,557
|
Total
|
22,178
|
470, 634
|
Military strength
Dependencies
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- Military Medical Corps ('
Sanidad Militar
') ? Medical and Nurse Corps
- Indumil
(
Industrias Militares ? INDUMIL
) ? Military Industry Depot
- Military Sports Federation (
Federacion Deportiva Militar ? FEDECODEMIL
)
- Military Printing (
Imprenta Militar
)
- Military Museum (
Museo Militar
) ? History of the Armed Forces of Colombia
- Superior War College (
Escuela Superior de Guerra (Colombia)
ESDEGUE)
Funding
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In 2000, Colombia assigned 3.9% of its GDP to defense.
[6]
By 2008 this figure had risen to 4.8%, ranking it 14th in the world.
[7]
The armed forces number about 250,000 uniformed personnel: 145,000 military and 105,000 police. These figures do not include assistance personnel such as cooks, medics, mechanics, and so on. This makes the Colombian military one of the largest and most well-equipped in Latin America. Many Colombian military personnel have received military training assistance directly in Colombia and also in the United States. The United States has provided equipment and financing to the Colombian military and police through the military assistance program, foreign military sales, and the international narcotics control program, all currently united under the auspices of
Plan Colombia
.
World factbook statistics
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]
- Military manpower ? military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation ? 24 months (2004)
- Military manpower ? availability:
- males age 18?49: 10,212,456
- females age 18?49: 10,561,562 (2005 estimate)
- Military manpower ? fit for military service:
- males age 18?49: 6,986,228
- females age 18?49: 8,794,465 (2005 estimate)
- Military manpower ? reaching military age annually:
- males age 18?49: 389,735
- females age 18?49: 383,146 (2005 estimate)
Rank Insignia
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See also
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]
References and notes
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]
- ^
Includes 435
sub-officers
Spanish
:
Suboficiales
and 3,125
agents
Spanish
:
Agentes
- ^
Includes 123,125 executive personnel
Spanish
:
Nivel Ejecutivo
and 23,562 Auxiliary conscript
Spanish
:
Auxiliares
External links
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]
Wikisource
has original text related to this article:
Other Links
[
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]
Bibliography
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]
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Service Branches
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Army
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Navy
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Aerospace Force
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Wars and Conflicts
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Related dependencies
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