MILITARY OF COLOMBIA

The 'military of Colombia', officially the 'Military Forces of Colombia' (Spanish: ''Fuerzas Militares de Colombia'') is the armed forces of Colombia. It consists of:

★ Colombian National Army ''Ejército Nacional de Colombia''

★ Colombian National Armada ''Armada Nacional de Colombia'' (Marines and Coast Guard attached)

★ Colombian Air Force ''Fuerza Aérea Colombiana''
All these services are under the command of the President of Colombia. All of the services are part of the Ministry of Defense, including the Civil Defense (decentralized) and the National Police (Centralized) which are controlled directly by the Colombian Ministry of Defense.
Its main purpose is to plan and coordinate the Armed Forces for internal and external defense and security. It is composed of an Army, Navy (which includes both marines and coast guard) and an Air Force, all under the leadership of a civilian Minister of Defense.
In 1999, Colombia assigned 3.6% of its GDP to defense, according to the National Planning Department. 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, etc. Many Colombian military personnel has received military training assistance, directly in Colombia and 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 under the Plan Colombia.

Contents

History

Dependencies

World factbook Statistics

Expenditures

See also

References and notes

External links

Other Links

History

The military history of Colombia as an institution goes as far back as the colonial wars of independence fought by the patriot armies of Ecuador, Venezuela and Colombia, leaded by General Simon Bolivar and other important heroes such as Francisco de Paula Santander. It is, however, only with the triumph of the 7th of august in 1819 in Boyacá that the military forces of Colombia establish themselves as a fundamental part of the Colombian Nation.
Narcotics decertification in 1996 forced a temporary halt to U.S. military assistance programs, except for those related to counternarcotics. On August 1, 1997, the U.S. and Colombia signed an End Use Monitoring (EUM) memorandum of understanding which stipulated that U.S. counternarcotics assistance to the Colombian military be conditioned on human rights screening of proposed recipient units. Once equipment is provided, it continues to be subject to end-use monitoring to ensure it is being used for counternarcotics purposes.
U.S. assistance to Colombian military and police forces is provided strictly in accordance with Section 564 of the Foreign Operations Appropriations Act (Public Law 106-113) and with Section 8098 of Department of Defense Appropriations Act (Public Law 106-79). No assistance is provided to any unit of the security forces for which the U.S. Government has credible evidence of commission of gross violations of human rights, unless the Secretary of State is able to certify that the Government of Colombia has taken effective measures to bring those responsible to justice. End-use monitoring also is required in these cases.
Since 2000 the Ministry of Defense (Ministerio de Defensa) and the Joint Staff Command (Comando General de las Fuerzas Militares) started a program to overhaul and improve the performance of the military branches (Army, Navy and Air Force) it was the result of a study (1998-1999) suggesting to improve the military mobility, personnel training and internal organization to allow more flexibility. It is also known that increasing use of Special Forces such as AFEUR (Urban Warfare/CounterTerrorism Units), Lancero units (Jungle Warfare/Ranger like) is suggested by the study.
In addition to its own domestic needs, Colombia also provides troops to international peacekeeping efforts, most notably the Multinational Force and Observers, to whom it has provided a full infantry battalion since 1982 for the Sinai Peninsula.

Dependencies

★ Military Sanity (''Sanidad Militar''):Medical and Nurse Corps)

★ Military Industry (''Industrias Militares'' INDUMIL): Military Industry Depot

★ Military Sports Federation (''Federación Deportiva Militar'' FEDECODEMIL):

★ Military Printing (''Imprenta Militar'')

★ Military Museum (''Museo Militar''): History of the Armed Forces of Colombia.

★ War Superior College (''Escuela Superior de Guerra'' ESDEGUE).

World factbook Statistics

'Military branches:'

Colombian Army (Ejercito Nacional)
Colombian Navy (Armada Nacional, includes Marines and Coast Guard)
Colombian Air Force (Fuerza Aerea Colombiana)

'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 est.)
'Military manpower - fit for military service:'


''males age 18-49'': 6,986,228
''females age 18-49'': 8,794,465 (2005 est.)
'Military manpower - reaching military age annually:'


''males age 18-49'': 389,735
''females age 18-49'': 383,146 (2005 est.)

Expenditures

'Military expenditures - dollar figure:'
$6.3 billion (FY05)
'Military expenditures - percent of GDP:'
3.4% (FY05)

See also

★ Colombia

★ AFEUR

★ Colombian Army

References and notes

External links

★ Ministerio de Defensa de Colombia - Official Ministry of Defense site in Spanish

★ Comando General de las Fuerzas Militares - Official Armed Forces General Command in Spanish

★ Ejército Nacional de Colombia - Official Army site in Spanish

★ Ejército Nacional de Colombia - Official Army site in English

★ Armada Nacional de Colombia - Official Navy site (in Spanish and English)

★ Fuérza Aérea Colombiana - Official Air Force site (in Spanish)

★ Policía Nacional de Colombia - Official National Police site in Spanish

Other Links

★ Colombian Military expenditure