Mexican Army

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Mexican Military

Components
Mexican Air Force
Mexican Army
Mexican Navy
Ranks
Air Force ranks and insignia
Army ranks and insignia
Navy ranks and insignia
History
Military History of Mexico
Awards
Military decorations of Mexico
Mexican soldiers in 1914.
Mexican soldiers in 1914.
Mexican soldiers on parade in Mexico city 2007.
Mexican soldiers on parade in Mexico city 2007.

The Mexican Army is the land branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defence Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle (The Mondragón rifle) in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue weapons, in 1910. In September 2007, the Secretary of Defense reported that the Mexican Army consists of 3,181,356 men and women serving Mexico (ca. 1.16 per cent of the population), however the IISS Military Balance 2007 listed the active duty force as 183,700.[1]

Since the early 2000s the Army has steadily modernised to become competitive with the armies of other Latin American countries, and to facilitate proactive counter-drugs traffic actions; yet it has much obsolete equipment[2]. An interesting proof of the Army's increased budget is domestic production of the new FX-05 Assault Rifle.

Contents

[edit] Organization

The Army is under authority of the Secretaría de la Defensa Nacional or SEDENA. It has three components: a national headquarters, territorial commands, and independent units. The Minister of Defence commands the Army via a centralized command system and many general officers. The Army uses a modified continental staff system in its headquarters. The President in turn has a military range: Supreme Commander Of Army Forces (Comandate Supremo De Las Fuerzas Armadas).

[edit] Regional organization

Currently, México is divided into twelve (12) Military Regions composed of forty-four (44) sub-ordinate Military Zones [the 2007 ed. of the IISS lists 12 regions, 45 zones], the enumeration is for nominal designation. There is no fixed number of zones in a region, therefore operational needs determine how many or how few, with corresponding increases and decreases in troop strength.

The President of México appoints Military Zone commanders, usually on the secretary of defence's recommendation. The senior zone commander also is commander of the military region containing the military zone. A military zone commander has jurisdiction over every unit operating in his territory, including the Rurales, Rural Defense Force (cf. Rurales) that occasionally have been Federal political counterweight to the power of state governors. Zone commanders provide the national defence secretary with socio-political conditions intelligence about rural areas. Moreover, they traditionally have acted in co-ordination with the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) on planning and resources deployment.

[edit] Tactical units

The primary units of the Mexican army are six brigades and a number of independent regiments and infantry battalions.

The brigades, all based in and around the Federal District (encompassing the Mexico City area), are the only real maneuver elements in the army. With their support units, they are believed to account for over 40 percent of the country's ground forces. According to The Military Balance , published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, the army has six brigades: one armored, two infantry, one motorized infantry, one airborne, and the Presidential Guard Brigade. The Third military police brigade has been transferred to the Federal Preventive Police in 1999. The armored brigade is one of two new brigades formed since 1990 as part of a reorganization made possible by an increase in overall strength of about 25,000 troops. The brigade consists of three armored and one mechanized infantry regiment.

Distinct from the brigade formations are independent regiments and battalions assigned to zonal garrisons. These independent units consist of one armored cavalry regiment, nineteen motorized cavalry regiments, one mechanized infantry regiment, seven artillery regiments, and three artillery and eighteen infantry battalions. Infantry battalions are small and are each composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone. Certain zones also are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or one of the seven artillery regiments. Smaller detachments often are detailed to patrol more inaccessible areas of the countryside, helping to maintain order and resolve disputes.

[edit] Equipment

[edit] Vehicles and other land equipment

[edit] Active combat equipment of The Mexican Army

[edit] Assault rifles

[edit] Submachine guns

[edit] Machine guns

[edit] Sniper rifles

[edit] Pistols

[edit] Grenade Launchers

[edit] MANPADS

[edit] Anti-tank missile systems

[edit] Anti-tank gun

[edit] Anti-tank rocket weapon system

  • B-300 80 mm light anti-tank rocket
  • Blindcide 83antonio lopez is the man martine is my panda bear mm light anti-tank rocket
  • M72 LAW 60mm light anti-tank rocket

[edit] Artillery

[edit] Mortars

[edit] References

  1. ^ IISS Military Balance 2007, p.79
  2. ^ Jornada: report From General Guillermo Galván, Minister of Defense

[edit] See also

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