| Military of Bolivia |
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|---|---|
| Service branches | Army (Ejército Boliviano), Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana, Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Boliviana), National Police Force (Policía Nacional de Bolivia) |
| Manpower | |
| Military age | 18 |
| Available for military service |
1,949,267, age 15–49 (2000 est.) |
| Fit for military service |
1,269,228, age 15–49 (2000 est.) |
| Reaching military age annually |
86,863 (2000 est.) |
| Active personnel | 55,500[1] |
| Expenditures | |
| Budget | $147 million (2006) |
| Percent of GDP | 1.9% (2006) |
| Industry | |
| Foreign suppliers | Venezuela Brazil Russia United States |
The Bolivian Armed Forces are the military of Bolivia.
Contents |
The Bolivian Army has around 55,500 men. There are six military regions (regiones militares—RMs) in the army. The Army is organized into ten divisions. The Army maintains a small fleet of utility aircraft, primarily to support headquarters.
RI 12 Manchengo (ranger) Montero, RI 16 Jordan (special forces)Riberalta, RI 24 M.Arcos (ranger)Challapata.
Army aviation company 291 (La Paz), army aviation company 292 (Santa Cruz).
The Bolivian Army has six military regions (regiones militares—RMs) covering the various Departments of Bolivia:
The army was organized into ten territorial divisions, each of which, with the exception of Viacha, occupied a region generally corresponding to the administrative departments, with some overlapping. Their division headquarters were located in:
RI: infantry regiment RC: cavalry regiment RA: artillery regiment Bat.Ing.: battalion engineer
Army organized has ten divisions controlling the following units:
The Army maintains a small fleet of utility aircraft, primarily to support headquarters.
| Bolivian army equipment[2] | |
| Tanks | 36 SK-105 Kurassiers |
| Reconnaissance vehicles | 24 EE-9 Cascavel |
| Armoured Personnel Carriers | 50 M113 armored personnel carriers with local upgrades], 24 EE-11 Urutu APC,24 M9 Semiorugas APC, 10 Cadillac Gage Commando V-150, 20 Mowag Roland local upgraded (Used |by the military Police) |
| Artillery pieces and mortar | 18 Type 54 122mm howitzers, 6 M101 105mm howitzers, 10 Pack 75mm howitzers, 6 Bofors L/40 M-1935 75mm howitzers. Mortars:
M 120 120mm, M30 107mm mortars, 250 M29 81mm mortars,FM 81mm,W87 81mm, M-224 60mm mortars AA artllery: 16 2×37mm Type 65,80 2×20mm Oerlikon K20,50 MANPAD HN-5 AT weapons:rocket launchers RPG-7,RL 200 66mm M-72A3 LAW,RL 90mm M 20A1,recoilless cannon 90mm M-67,RCL 82mm Type 65/78,RCL 106mm M40A1,40 portable AT missile HJ 8AiB Red Arow |
| Transport | TRANSPORT:DongFeng EQ 2081/2100,FEW C A1122J,Stayer 1491,16 Ford F-750,Unimog 416Dodge M-37 2½ ton trucks, Engesa EE-15 trucks, Engesa EE-25 trucks, FIAT IVECO 619 5 ton trucksTACTICAL TRANSPORT VEHICLES:30 M988 HMMWV,40 Koyak local productionUTILITY TRANSPORT VEHICLES:Ford M151 MUTT jeep,CJ-5,CJ-7,Chrysler jeeep Wrangler,BJ 2020VJ, horses (still used by the Bolivian cavalry units) [2] |
| Small Arms | HANDGUNS: FN-35,glok 17,Ber.mod. 92F,S@M mod.10 all 9mm,M1911A1 11,43 SMG: FMK 3,UZI,MAT 49 all 9mmRifle:Galil AR,M-16A1,M4A1,Steyer AUG A1,SA 80, all 5,56, FN-FAL,SIG-542,SIG_510-4, all 7,62mm,Type and 56–2(ak-47),SNIPER:Dragunov SVD,Mauser mod.86SR,Steyer SSG-69P1AM Rifles:Steyer HS 50 12,7mmMG:M 60,FN-MAG 60–20,SIG MG710-3 all 7,62mm,Type 56 LMGGl:Type 87 35mm,MM −1,m 79,M 203 all 40mmShotguns:Regminton 870 and 11–87. |
Army officers, NCOs, and enlisted personnel wear generally gray or, for tropical areas, gray-green service uniforms. Army fatigue uniforms were olive green, and combat uniforms were of US woodland pattern camouflage. The standard headgear for enlisted personnel is the beret bearing the national colors of red, yellow and green. Paratroops (paracaidistas) were distinguished by black berets, and Special Forces by green berets.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[3] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beechcraft King Air | United States | Staff transport | Model 90 Model 200 |
1 1 |
|
| Cessna 206 Stationair | United States | Utility | 4 | ||
| Cessna 421 Golden Eagle | United States | Staff transport | Cessna 421B | 1 | |
| CASA C-212 Aviocar | Spain | transport | 1 | Center of instruction of special troops |
The Bolivian Air Force ('Fuerza Aérea Boliviana' or 'FAB') has nine air bases, located at La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Puerto Suárez, Tarija, Villamontes, Cobija, Riberalta, and Roboré.
Major commands included the following:
The Bolivian Naval Force (Fuerza Naval Boliviana in Spanish), formerly Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana) is a naval force about 5,000 strong in 2008.[4] Although Bolivia has been landlocked since the War of the Pacific in 1879, Bolivia established a River and Lake Force (Fuerza Fluvial y Lacustre) in January 1963 under the Ministry of National Defense. It consisted of four boats supplied from the United States and 1,800 personnel recruited largely from the army. Bolivia's naval force was renamed the Bolivian Naval Force (Fuerza Naval Boliviana) in January 1966, but it also has been called the Bolivian Navy (Armada Boliviana). It became a separate branch of the armed forces in 1963. Bolivia has large rivers that are tributaries to the Amazon which are patrolled to prevent smuggling and drug trafficking. There is also a Bolivian Naval presence on Lake Titicaca, the highest navigable lake in the world, across which runs along the Peruvian frontier.
Landlocked Bolivia has not become reconciled with the loss of its coast to Chile, and the Navy exists to keep the hope of recovering its coast alive by cultivating a maritime consciousness. The Bolivian Navy takes part in many parades and government functions, but none more so than the Día Del Mar (Day of the Sea) in which Bolivia, every year, asks for the coast territories lost to Chile during the War of the Pacific (fought between Peru and Bolivia against Chile) from 1879 to 1884. This is still a sore point for Bolivia, influencing many modern-day political actions and trade decisions.
The Navy is organized into ten naval districts, with flotilla headquarters in Guaqui, Guayaramerín, Puerto Suarez, Riberalta, and San Pedro de Tiquina, and bases in Puerto Busch, Puerto Horquilla, Puerto Villarroel, Trinidad, and Rurrenabaque.
Naval vessels include several dozen boats, dozen or more of which are for riverine patrol, including the piranias, and riders, which are powerful river boats. In addition, Bolivia has several seagoing vessels, including the Santa Cruz de la Sierra (PR-51), and several flagged ships that sail with the permission of the "Capitanias Navales" Naval Registration Office. The Libertador Simón Bolívar, a ship acquired from Venezuela, use to navigate from its home port in Rosario, Argentina on the River Paraná. In 1993, the Navy was formally renamed the Naval Force (Fuerza Naval) and moved with the Bolivian Army under a single military authority.
Most of the officers are often educated in the Naval Academy where they graduate with a BS in Military and Naval Science, diploma accredited by the Military University and then they do other studies at the bachelor’s degree and master’s level. Argentina has their Naval Military Group in Bolivia advising at the highest level in naval strategy and tactics. Many Bolivian officers practice ocean sailing in Argentinean big naval ships. The Bolivian Navy has several Special Forces units to address both internal and external conflicts. La Fuerza Naval Boliviana cubre el extenso territorio fluvial y lacustre boliviano dividiendo sus funciones entre los siguientes Distritos Navales, nótese que los nombres de estas unidades derivan de la cuenca fluvial o región en la que operan: Bolivian Naval Force covers the extensive river and lake Bolivian territory divided between the following functions Naval Districts, note that the names of these units are derived from the basin or region where they operate:
The Marine component of the FNB originated with the creation of the Marine Battalion Almirante Grau in the early 1980s.This unit of 600 men is based on Tiquina naval base on Lake Titicaca.Later changes name to Marine Battalion Independence, based in Chua (Not to be confused with the Independence RI17 EB).At present this battalion maintains a similar number of troops including premilitares. Staff of this unit is part of Task Force Blue Devils or are stationed in various naval bases.There are currently seven infantry battalions which are distributed as follows:
This specialty is essentially similar to its counterpart in the Army, carrying out operations such as Important Persons Protection (IPP) Physical Security (SEF) or Patrol Facility (PAT), with additions such as signals or naval protocol.There Naval detachments of PM in all district headquarters or FNB Naval Area.But only have the following units at the Battalion:
The Bolivian Navy has a total of 173 vessels, mostly stationed on Lake Titicaca:
Bolivia's navy operates two utility aircraft for the use of headquarters.
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Versions | In service[3] | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cessna 206 Stationair | United States | Utility | 206G | 1 | |
| Cessna 402 | United States | Utility | 402C | 1 |
Training installations include the Garras International Antinarcotics Training School (Escuela Garras del Valor) is a military training facility located in Bolivia, which trains military and law enforcement personnel from Bolivia and other Latin American countries in counternarcotics, intelligence, and counterinsurgency techniques.[5][6][7]
This article was adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000.
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