Chilean Army

Chilean Army Ejército de Chile
Army of Chile
Active	1603[1] – present
Country	Chile
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	36,500 (9,200 conscripts) [2]
Part of	Ministry of National Defense (Chile)
General HQ	Santiago
Patron	Our Lady of Mount Carmel
Motto	Siempre vencedor, jamás vencido (English: Always Victorious, Never Defeated)
Colors	Red, Grey
March	Los viejos estandartes (English: Old War Flags)
Anniversaries	September 19 (Army Day)
Engagements	War of Arauco Chilean War of Independence Freedom Expedition of Perú War of the Confederation Chincha Islands War War of the Pacific 1891 Chilean Civil War Beagle conflict
Website	http://www.ejercito.cl/
Commanders
Current commander	Gen. Humberto Oviedo Arriagada
Notable commanders	Bernardo O'Higgins, José Miguel Carrera, Manuel Bulnes, Manuel Baquedano, Carlos Ibáñez del Campo, Augusto Pinochet

The Chilean Army (Spanish: Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 36,500-strong army (9,200 of which are conscripts)^[2] is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade.

In recent years, and after several major reequipment programs, the Chilean Army has become one of the most technologically advanced and professional armies in the Americas.^[3][4]

The Chilean Army is mostly supplied with equipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States, Israel, France, and Spain.

History

19th Century

The Army of the Kingdom of Chile was created on December 2, 1810 by order of the First National Government Junta of Chile.^[5] The army was actively involved in the Independence War, which was fought against royalist troops in battles such as Yerbas Buenas, San Carlos, Quechereguas, Rancagua, Chacabuco and Maipú. During this period, national figures such as José Miguel Carrera, Bernardo O'Higgins and Argentinian General José de San Martín commanded the army toward definitive victory over the Spanish forces, ultimately achieving independence for the country. The Army's first commander-in-chief was José Miguel Carrera. After obtaining independence from Spain, the newly formed Republic reorganized its military structure by creating the Military Academy of Chile, which was founded by General O'Higgins in 1817.

Guardia Nacional

Diego Portales set up a civil militia, the Guardia Nacional, to end one of the worst stages of militarism in Chilean history. The militia was created in 1825 but Portales developed this parallel army to compensate the army's might.^[6] The Chilean Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional.^[7]

War of the Confederation

Araucanía

War of the Pacific

Military emulation 1885-1914

During the War of the Pacific, many high-ranking officers won valuable insights into the state of the army and became aware that the army required rebuilding. Losses, material destruction, and organizational flaws regarding strategic planning and officer training, were noted by officers like Emilio Sotomayor and Patricio Lynch, who approached President Santa María arguing the need of good schools and technical departments for the military. Other factor that supported the emulation^{[Notes 1]} was the danger of war with Argentina. The emulation was backed by a broad coalition of civil and military leaders.

Chile hired a French military training mission in 1858,^[8]:129 and the Chilean legation in Berlin was instructed to find a training mission during the War of the Pacific in 1881. But the large-scale emulation based on the Prussian Army began in 1886 with the appointment of Captain Emil Körner, a graduate of the renowned Kriegsakademie in Berlin. Also appointed were 36 Prussian officers to train officer cadets in the Chilean Military Academy. The training occurred in three phases; the first took place from 1885 to 1891 during the presidency of Domingo Santa María, the second was the post-civil-war phase, and the third was the 1906 reorganization.^[8]:128-

The emulation was focused in armaments, conscription, officer recruitment and instruction, and general staff organization as well as military doctrine (adopted 1906). It was extended also into military logistics and medical services, promotions, retirement, salary regulation and even uniforms (adopted 1904), marching styles, helmets, parades, and military music.

Armaments: Prior to 1883, the army was equipped with a variety of rifles, mostly French and Belgian origin. From 1892 to 1902, the Chilean-Argentine Arms Race, marked the peak of Chilean arms purchase. 100,000 Mauser rifles and new Krupp artillery was bought for 3,000,000 DM in 1893, 2,000,000 DM in 1895 and 15,000,000 DM in 1898. Ammunition factories and small arms manufacturing plants were established.^[8]:134

Conscription: Like others armies in South America, Chile had had a small army of long-term service officers and soldiers. In 1900, Chile became the first country in Latin America to enforce a system of compulsory military service, whereby training, initially five to eighteen months (Germany: three years), took place in zones of divisional organization in order to create a solid military structure that could be easily doubled with well-trained and combat-ready reserve forces. Budgetary restrictions prevented the full impact of the law: the service fell disproportionately on the lower classes, no more than 20% of the contingent was incorporated annually, and the periodic retraining of enlistees wasn't done.^[8]:137

Officer education and training: The beginning of the German mission were dedicated almost exclusively to the organization and implementation of a standardized, technically-oriented military education with the essence of Moltke's German military system of continuous study of artillery, infantry, cartography, history, topography, logistics, tactics, etc., for a modern, professional and technically trained officer corps. In 1886, the "Academia de Guerra" (War Academy) was founded "to elevate the level of technical and scientific instruction of army officers, in order that they be able, in case of war, to utilize the advantages of new methods of combat and new armaments". The best alumni were candidates for general staff service. By the mid-1890s Körner organized the courses for a Noncommissioned Officers' School (Escuela de Suboficiales y Clases).^[8]:139

During the 1891 Chilean Civil War, Körner was removed from duty by José Manuel Balmaceda. He and his disciples set sail north to join the Congressional forces in Iquique. He became chief architect of the new army and though Estanislao del Canto formally was commander-in-chief, it was Körner who led the rebel forces in the major clashes of the civil war.^[8]:145

Chile had had a General Staff during the War of the Pacific.^[9] Körner turned his attention to a permanent institution in 1893-94 that should replace the old "Inspector General del Ejército", but with control over military affairs in peacetime and wartime. It had four sections: Instruction and Discipline, Military Schools, Scientific Works (strategic and operational planning), and Administration.^[8]:147-

20th Century

Milicia Republicana

The Guardia Republicana or Milicia Republicana was created after the fall of the Socialist Republic of Chile in order to prevent another Coup d'Etat. On May 7, 20,000 militiamen marched past President Arturo Alessandri in the streets of Santiago. In Las Mercedes' plot, 1933, the Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Pedro Vignola called "to resist the Milicia Republicana by any means" and he was forced to retire from his post.^[10] In 1936, the militia was disbanded.^[10][11]

The Army under Pinochet

On 11 September 1973, in a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile, president Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a coup d’état by the Armed Forces. Paul W. Drake and Ivan Jaksic state in The Struggle for Democracy in Chile:

The armed forces killed, imprisoned, tortured, and exiled thousands of Chileans. The military suppressed, dismantled, and purged not only political parties but also publication, unions, schools, and other bastions of the democratic opposition. Even such privileged constituencies as university professors and students encountered serious limitations on their traditional ability to voice opinions of national, or even institutional relevance. ... The military regime viewed such activities [of the Catholic Church] with distrust, if not hostility. It launched a campaign of harassment against the Catholic Church ...

Once the military had demobilized the polity and society , the regime began implanting its vision of a new order. It set out to replace not only democratic with authoritarian politics but also statist with market-driven economics.^[12]

Patricio Aylwin was elected President of the Republic on December 14, 1989. Although Chile had officially become a democracy, the Chilean military remained highly powerful during the presidency of Aylwin, and the Constitution ensured the continued influence of Pinochet and his commanders.

The Chilean Army today

As a result of tensions with neighbors during the conflict-prone 1970s and early 1980s, the Chilean Army refined existing strategic concepts and eventually formulated a plan to restructure its forces. Though wars were avoided, the threats from the 1970s and 1980s encouraged the army to address more effectively its major defense disadvantage: lack of strategic depth. Thus in the early 1980s it looked outward for a model of army organization that would best advance defensive capabilities by restructuring forces into smaller, more mobile units instead of traditional divisions. The resulting Plan Alcázar envisions three military zones in Chile, with the bulk of forces concentrated in the north, and reinforces the center and south. The plan was implemented in stages, and the first began in 1994. Thus Alcázar, based on threat scenarios of the past, is one of the most durable “lessons” of the past. Even with the resolution of almost all remaining territorial disputes, the restructuring agenda remained on track and structurally reinforces a conflict-based mindset in the army.^[13]

Peacekeeping

1964-2013 UNFICYP 1969 El Salvador-Honduras conflict (OAS mission). 1978-2013 UNIFIL 1989-1992 ONUCA 1991-1992 UNIKOM 1992-1993 UNTAC 1992-1995 ONUSAL 1995-1999 MOMEP (Military Observer Mission in the Ecuador-Peru conflict) 1996-1998 UNSCOM 1997-2002 UNMIBH 2000-2002 UNTAET

2000-2003 UNMOVIC 2000-(2013) UNMIK 2001-(2013) UNFICYP 2002-2003 UNMISET 2003-2006 DPKO 2003-(2013) MONUC 2003-2004 UNAMA 2004-(2013) EUFOR - ALTHEA 2004-(2013) MIFH (Multinational Interim Force for Haiti) 2004-(2013) MINUSTAH 2007-(2013) UNLOG (UN Logistics Base in Brindisi, Italy)

Organization

Order Of Battle

Army General Headquarters, in Santiago.

Land Operations Command, headquartered in Concepcion.

• 1st Army Division: Regions II and III, with headquarters in Antofagasta.
• 2nd Motorized Division: Regions IV, V, VI, VII and Santiago Metropolitan Region with headquarters in Santiago de Chile.
• 3rd Mountain Division: Serving Regions VIII, IX, XIV, and X with headquarters in Valdivia.
• 4th Army Division: Region XI with headquarters in Coyhaique.
• 5th Army Division: Serving Region XII with headquarters in Punta Arenas.
• 6th Army Division: Serving Regions I and XV, with headquarters in Iquique.
• Army Aviation Brigade: with headquarters in Rancagua (Brigada de Aviación del Ejército). It is the Army's aviation force, composed of 4 battalions and a logistics company.
• Special Operations Brigade "Lautaro": with headquarters in Peldehue (Brigada de Operaciones Especiales "Lautaro"). It is the Army's special forces brigade, named after one of Chile's national heroes.

Training and Doctrine Command (Comando de Institutos y Doctrina)

• Army Schools' Division (División Escuelas)
• Army Education Division (División de Educación)
• Army Doctrine Division (División de Doctrina)

Force's Support Command (Comando de Apoyo de la Fuerza)

• Logistics Division, with headquarters in Santiago (División Logística del Ejército)
• Engineers Command
• Telecommunications Command
• Infrastructure Command
• Military Industry and Engineering Command

Army Independent Commands

• General Garrison Command in Santiago, serving the Santiago Metropolitan Region, reports directly to Army Headquarters
• Medical Command in Santiago
• Administration Command

Army General Staff (Estado Mayor General del Ejército)

• Chilean Military Mission to Washington
• Directorate of Intelligence
• Directorate of Operations
• Finance Directorate
• Logistics Directorate

Military Equipment

The Chilean Army has acquired a number of new systems with the goal of having a completely modernized, and largely mechanized army by 2015. The military has also modified the operational structure, creating armoured brigades throughout the entire territory and a new special operations brigade, while preserving the current divisional scheme.

Firearms

Weapon	Caliber	Origin	Notes
Pistols and Submachine Guns
CZ-75	9×19 mm NATO	Czechoslovakia	Pistol
FAMAE FN-750	9×19 mm NATO	Chile	Main pistol. Locally produced version of the CZ-75.
HK MP5	9×19 mm NATO	Germany
FAMAE SAF	9×19 mm NATO	Chile	Standard issue submachine gun. Locally designed variation on the SG 540.
FAMAE SAF-200	9×19 mm NATO	Chile	Tactical variation of the regular SAF
Assault Rifles and Carbines
SIG SG 540	5.56×45mm NATO	Switzerland  Chile	Built under license by FAMAE. Standard issue rifle. Will be replaced by the Galil ACE.
SIG SG 542-1	7.62×51mm NATO	Switzerland  Chile	Higher caliber version of the SG 540. Manufactured in Chile by FAMAE. For use by mountain troops. Will be replaced by the Galil ACE.
M4 carbine	5.56×45mm NATO	United States	Special Forces
SIG SG 543	5.56×45mm NATO	Switzerland  Chile	Carbine version of the SIG 540
Galil ACE	5.56×45mm NATO	Chile  Israel	Standard issue rifle
Sniper Rifles
FAMAE FD-200	7.62×51mm NATO	Chile	Locally produced version of the SG 540 modified as a sniper rifle
Barrett M82A1M	12.7×99 mm NATO	United States
SIG Sauer SSG 3000	7.62×51mm NATO	Switzerland
Machine Guns
Heckler & Koch HK21	7.62×51 mm NATO	Germany	Magazine-fed light machine gun
FN MINIMI	5.56×45 mm NATO	Belgium	Light machine gun
MG3	7.62×51 mm NATO	Germany	General-purpose machine gun
M60E4	7.62×51 mm NATO	United States	General-purpose machine gun
FN M2HB-QCB	12.7×99 mm NATO	United States	Heavy Machine Gun
Grenade Launchers
M203	40×46 mm	United States	Designed to be attached to a rifle
Milkor MGL	40×53 mm	South Africa	Grenade launcher
Mk 19 Mod 3	40×53 mm	United States	Automatic grenade launcher

Infantry Support Weapons

Quantity	Weapon	Origin	Notes
Anti-tank Guided Missile Launchers
2,700	Spike	Israel	MR/LR/ER missiles
Anti-tank Recoilless Rifles
	Carl Gustaf M2 Recoilless Rifle	Sweden	84 mm
	M40 recoilless rifle	United States	106 mm / some of them are mounted on vehicles
	M67 recoilless rifle	United States	90 mm
Anti-tank Weapons
	AT4	Sweden	84 mm
	M72 LAW	United States	66 mm

Armour

Quantity	Type	Origin	Notes	Photo
Tanks
172	Leopard 2A4CHL	Germany	120 mm gun. May be upgraded to 2A5CHL in the near future.
105	Leopard 1V	Germany  Netherlands	105 mm gun
Infantry Fighting Vehicles
280 [14]	Marder 1A3	Germany
319	AIFV-B/YPR-765	Belgium  Netherlands	Some equipped with Spike LR missiles
Armored personnel carrier
427	M113A1/A2	United States
340	MOWAG Piranha	Chile	Built under license in Chile by FAMAE, in various configurations.
Armored Wheeled Vehicles
400+	HMMWV	United States
180	Land Rover Defender	United Kingdom
400+	AIL Storm	Israel
Self-propelled Artillery
8	LAR-160	Israel
24	M109A5	United States	24 requested in 2011, 12 delivered in 2012 and 12 more in 2015[15]
24	M109 KAWEST	United States   Switzerland	Bought in 2004

Aircraft

Quantity[16]	Aircraft	Origin	Service versions
Fixed Wing
2	C-212 Aviocar	Spain	C-212-300 Aviocar
3	CN-235	Spain	CN-235 M-100
3	Cessna 208 Caravan	United States	Cessna 208B Grand Caravan
1	Cessna 680 Citation Sovereign	United States	Cessna 680 Citation Sovereign
Helicopters
4	Aerospatiale SA 330 Puma	France	Aerospatiale SA-330L Puma
12	Eurocopter AS532 Cougar	France	Eurocopter AS-532AL Mk-1 Cougar
4	Eurocopter AS350	France	Eurocopter AS-350B3 Ecureuil
1	Eurocopter AS355	France	Eurocopter AS-355N Ecureuil 2
9	McDonnell Douglas MD 500 Defender	United States	McDonnell Douglas MDD-369FF Defender
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
6+	BlueBird SpyLite	Israel	[17]

Personnel

In 2013, there were 3,900 officers, 17,300 NCOs, 3,600 professional soldiers, and 9,200 conscript soldiers. In military schools, 2,400 students. Civilian employees, 8,400.^[2]

Military ranks

An aspiring non-commissioned officer or officer in the Chilean Army undergoes studies at these two schools, both located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region:

• Gen. Bernardo O'Higgins Military School (for officers)
• Sgt. Daniel Rebolledo Sepúlveda Sub-officers School (for non-commissioned personnel)

Upon graduation, he/she becomes a commissioned officer (Ensign) or non-commissioned officer (Corporal), and then moves on to the branch of his or her choice, except for newly recruited soldiers, whose primary rank is Soldado Dragonante or Soldier Dragonite, and are immediately enrolled as part of the Army Sub-Officers' School in Maipu.

Military ranks are similar to those in the Prussian and later German armies, including the Prussian Fähnrich rank for officers. The "Captain General" rank, first used by Bernardo O'Higgins and later by presidents Ramón Freire and Augusto Pinochet, is now inactive.

The ranks used in the Army today are from the 2002 reorganization. It keeps the old enlisted ranks (Privates, Corporals, Sergeants and Sub-officers) but a new General Officer rank scheme is used, with three General ranks instead of four.

Enlisted ranks

All Privates and Student NCOs studying in the Army NCO School wear no rank insignia.

Rank	Subofficer Majors	Sub-officers		Classes
Full Dress uniform and Service Uniform (Office, Garrison, Outdoor/Mess Wear, Parade Dress)
Battle Duty Uniform (Center and South)	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px
Battle Duty Uniform (North)	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px
Grade	Warrant Officer Class 1	Warrant Officer Class 2	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Master Corporal	Corporal	Lance Corporal
Abbreviation	SOM	SOF	SG1	SG2	CB1	CB2	CBO
Name in Spanish	Suboficial Mayor	Suboficial	Sargento Primero	Sargento Segundo	Cabo Primero	Cabo Segundo	Cabo
NATO pay grade Code	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2

Rank	English translation	Years of service	US Army Equivalent rank/British Army Equivalent rank
Suboficial Mayor	Sub-officer Major	30 years	Command Sergeant Major/Warrant Officer Class 1
Suboficial	Sub-officer	27–29 years	Sergeant Major/ Warrant Officer Class 2
Sargento Primero	First Sergeant	24–26 years	Master Sergeant/Staff Sergeant
Sargento Segundo	Second Sergeant	19–23 years	Sergeant First Class/Sergeant
Cabo Primero	First Corporal	11–18 years	Staff Sergeant/Lance Sergeant, Master Corporal
Cabo Segundo	Second Corporal	4–10 years	Sergeant/Corporal
Cabo	Corporal	2–3 years after graduation	Corporal/Lance Corporal
Soldado	Soldier	1–5 years after recruitment, one year after graduation	Private First Class
Cabo Dragonante (student)	Corporal Dragonite (student)	2 years of study	Private
Soldado Dragonante/Alumno (student)	Soldier Dragonite (student)	1 year of study (save when recruited into the Army)	Private Basic/NCO Candidate

Officer ranks

Officer ranks are derived from those in the German and French Armies. While field grade and senior grade officer rank insignia show German influence, general officer rank insignia are similar to those used in the French Army, but in red shoulder straps (similar to those used by the United States Army) with two to four golden stars.

Rank[18]	General Officers			Superior Officers		Chief Officers		Junior Officers
Full dress uniform
Duty dress uniform
Battle Duty Uniform (Center and South)
Battle Duty Uniform (North)
Grade	General of the Army	Divisional General	Brigade General	Brigadier	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	Sub-lieutenant	Ensign
Abbreviation	CJE	GDD	GDB	BGR	CRL	TCL	MAY	CAP	TTE	STE	ALF
NATO pay grade code	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1	OF-1	N/A

Rank	English translation	Years of service	US Army Equivalent rank/British Army Equivalent rank
Capitán General	Captain General	now inactive	General of the Army/Field Marshal/Marshal
General de Ejército	General of the Army		General
General de División	Divisional General		Lieutenant General
General de Brigada	Brigade General	31–32 years	Major General
Brigadier	Brigadier, Colonel Commandant		Brigadier General, Brigadier/ Colonel Commandant (honorary rank for senior Colonels)
Coronel	Colonel	26–30 years	Colonel
Teniente Coronel	Lieutenant Colonel	21–25 years	Lieutenant Colonel
Mayor	Major	16–20 years	Major
Capitán	Captain	10–15 years	Captain
Teniente	Lieutenant	5–9 years	First lieutenant/Lieutenant
Subteniente	Sublieutenant	2–4 years	Second lieutenant
Alférez	Ensign	1 year of service after graduation	Acting Lieutenant/3rd Lieutenant/Ensign
Subalférez	Junior Ensign, Sub-ensign (student)	3–4 years of study	Officer Cadet/Student Officer 1
Cadete	Cadet Officer (student)	1–2 years of study	Officer Candidate/Student Officer 2

Commanders-in-chief

See also

• Chilean Navy
• Chilean Air Force

Notes

References

Bibliography

• Resende-Santos, Joao (2007). Neorealism, States, and the Modern Mass Army. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 521 - 86948 - 5. 

External links

• Official Chilean Army site (Spanish)
• Ranks of Chilean Army site, Chilean Army website: Chilean Army, archived from the original on 28 August 2010, retrieved 28 August 2010 
• Latin American Light Weapons National Inventories

Chilean Armed Forces Ejército de Chile (Army) Armada de Chile (Navy) Fuerza Aérea de Chile (Air Force)

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