Military Forces of Colombia

Military Forces of Colombia
Fuerzas Militares de Colombia

The tri-service badge
Service branches  Colombian National Army
Colombian National Navy
  Colombian Naval Infantry
 Colombian Air Force
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief President Juan Manuel Santos
Minister of Defense Luis Carlos Villegas
Commander General General Juan Pablo Rodriguez
Manpower
Military age 18
Conscription 18 months Army and Air Force, 24 months Navy, 12 Months National Police
Available for
military service
23,287,388 (2008 est.)[1], age 1549 (2005 est.)
Fit for
military service
17,976,288(2008 est.)[1], age 1549 (2005 est.)
Reaching military
age annually
875,595[1] (2005 est.)
Active personnel 470, 634 (2014)[2]
Expenditures
Budget COL$17.699 billion (US$12.1 billion) (2017)[3]
Percent of GDP 3.3% (2012)[4]
Industry
Domestic suppliers Indumil
Cotecmar
Foreign suppliers  United States
 Israel
 Brazil
 South Africa
 Spain
 Russia
 Belgium
 Germany
 France
 United Kingdom
 Sweden
 Canada
Related articles
History Military history of Colombia

The Military Forces of Colombia (Spanish: Fuerzas Militares de Colombia) are the unified armed forces of the Republic of Colombia. The Colombian military is the second largest in the Western Hemisphere in terms of active personnel, behind the United States Armed Forces.[5] The President of Colombia is the military's commander in chief, and helps formulate defence policy through the Ministry of National Defence (MINDEFENSA), which is in charge of day-to-day operations. The Colombian military consists of the National Army of Colombia, Colombian Navy, Colombian Air Force and the Colombian Naval Infantry.

The Colombian military has its roots in the independence war against the Spanish Empire. After their triumph against the Spanish, the Congress of Angostura created the Greater Colombian Army, to replace the disbanded Commoners Army. The Colombian military was operationally involved World War II and was the only Latin American country to send troops to the Korean War. The Colombian Army has been the main military branch involved in the Colombian conflict. The military of Colombia has the third largest expenditure in the Americas, after the United States and Brazil respectively.[6] Recently it has participated in counter-piracy efforts in the Horn of Africa under Operation Ocean Shield and Operation Atlanta.

Services

The Colombian Constitution (Spanish: Constitución Política de Colombia) includes two overlapping definitions of what could be defined as 'armed forces' in English:

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, Air Force and Navy. Therefore, the functions of the Colombian Police in practical terms similar to those of the Spanish Civil Guard and the Carabineros de Chile, which maintain military ranks for all police personnel.

Personnel

The Colombian armed forces consist of:
Military Forces:

And,

Public Force strength as of April 2014.[7]

ForceService OfficersTotal
Military Colombian Army 10,094246,325
Military Colombian Navy 2.48133,824
Military Colombian Air Force 2.67913,928
Public Colombian National Police 6.924176,557
Total 22,178470, 634

Military strength

Dependencies

Funding

In 2000, Colombia assigned 3.9% of its GDP to defense.[8] By 2008 this figure had risen to 4.8%, ranking it 14th in the world.[9] 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

Rank Insignia

See also

References and notes

  1. 1 2 3 "The World Fact Book - Colombia". CIA. 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  2. "Logros de la Política Integral de Seguridad y Defensa para la Prosperidad - PISDP - Septiembre 2013" (PDF) (in Spanish). Republic of Colombia Ministry of National Defense. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-04-13. Retrieved 2013-11-22.
  3. "Military expenditure (% of GDP)". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2013-12-15.
  4. "Total Available Active Military Manpower by Country". Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  5. "Defense Spending by Country". Retrieved 2017-07-30.
  6. http://www.elnuevosiglo.com.co/articulos/4-2014-pie-de-fuerza-aumento-en-42-mil-efectivos
  7. "Cálculo del Gasto en Defensa y Seguridad – GDS" (PDF). Ministerio de Defensa Nacional. Ministerio de Defensa de Colombia. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
  8. "Military expenditure (% of GDP)". The World Bank. The World Bank. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
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