Armed Forces of Bolivia

Military of Bolivia
Founded August 7, 1826
Service branches Army (Ejército Boliviano),
Navy (Fuerza Naval Boliviana,
Air Force (Fuerza Aérea Boliviana),
National Police Force (Policía Nacional de Bolivia)
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief President Evo Morales
(Captain General of the Armed Forces)
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  Democratic People's Republic of Korea
 Brazil
 United States
 Austria
 Venezuela
 People's Republic of China
 Republic of Korea
 Russia
 Peru
 Argentina
 Iran
 Mexico
 India
 Colombia

The Armed Forces of Bolivia (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Bolivia) are official organizations responsible for the defence, both of external aggression and internal Bolivia. They also ensure security, stability, and protect the Bolivian Constitution.

The armed forces are constituted by:

In addition, there are units formed by Bolivian Pre-militars (Premilitares), reserve corps, units serving mandatory, and the SAR-FAB of emergency and rescue unit.

The current command corresponds to the Admiral Armando Pacheco Gutierrez.

Army

Coat of Arms of the Bolivian Army

The Bolivian Army (Ejército de Bolivia, EB) is the land branch of the armed forces of Bolivia. Together with the Bolivia army and air force Bolivia, is responsible for protecting Bolivia of internal, external threats and ensure the independence of this country. 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.

Combat units directly under the Army general command

Special forces command

The Special Forces command controls the following units:

Army aviation command

Army aviation company 291 (La Paz), army aviation company 292 (Santa Cruz)

Regional

The Bolivian Army has six military regions (regiones militares—RMs) covering the various Departments of Bolivia:

Army Divisions

The army is organized into ten territorial divisions plus a mechanized division, each of which, with the exception of Viacha, occupy a region generally corresponding to the administrative departments, with some overlapping. These and their respective divisional headquarters and constituent units are:

RI: infantry regiment RC: cavalry regiment RA: artillery regiment Bat.Ing.: battalion engineer

Army organized has ten divisions controlling the following units:

Bolivian Snipers Dragunov SVD.

The Army maintains a small fleet of utility aircraft, primarily to support headquarters.

Equipment of Army

Land Equipment

SK105 Kürassier Tank of Bolivia.
7.5 cm FK 18 before a parade in Cochabamba.
EE-9 Cascavel of Bolivia.
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 Half-track 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 7.5 cm FK 18 howitzers, 6 Bofors 75 mm Model 1934 75mm howitzers. Mortars: M-120 120mm, M30 107mm mortars, 250 M29 81mm mortars,FM 81mm,W87 81mm, M-224 60mm mortars AA artillery: 16 2×37mm Type 65, 80 2×20mm Oerlikon 20 mm cannon K20, 50 MANPAD HN-5 AT weapons:rocket launchers RPG-7, 200 66mm M72A3 LAW, 90mm M20A1, 90mm M67 recoilless rifle, 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 2 1⁄2 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 jeep,CJ-5,CJ-7,Chrysler jeeep Wrangler,BJ 2020VJ, horses (still used by the Bolivian cavalry units) [2]
Small Arms HANDGUNS: FN-35,Glock 17, Beretta Model 92F, SM Model 10 (all 9mm), M1911A1 11,43 SMG: FMK 3, UZI, MAT 49 (all 9mm)Rifle: Galil AR, M16A1, M4A1, Steyr AUG A1, SA 80, all (5.56 mm), FN-FAL, SIG-542, SIG-510-4, (all 7.62mm), Type 56–2(ak-47),SNIPER: Dragunov SVD, Mauser model 86SR, Steyr SSG-69P1AM Rifles:Steyr HS 50 12.7mmMG: M60, FN-MAG 60–20, SIG MG710-3 (all 7.62mm), Type 56 LMGGL:Type 87 35mm, MM−1, M79, M203 (all 40mm) Shotguns:Remington 870 and 11–87.

Air Equipment

Aircraft Origin Function Versions In service[3] Notes
Robinson R44  United States Trainer R44 1
Beechcraft King Air  United States Utility, VIP C90 1
Fokker F27 Friendship  Netherlands Transport F27-MK200 1
Harbin Z-9  China Utility helicopter H425 6

Uniforms

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.

Air Force

Coat of Arms of the Bolivian Air Force
See full article: Bolivian Air Force.

The Bolivian air force (Fuerza Aérea Boliviana, FAB) is the air branch of the armed forces of Bolivia. The Bolivian Air Force has nine air bases, located at La Paz, Cochabamba, Santa Cruz, Puerto Suárez, Tarija, Villamontes, Cobija, Riberalta, and Roboré.

Major commands included the following:

K-8VB karakorum of the FAB

Units under direct control of the general command of the FAB

Navy

Coat of Arms of the Bolivian Navy
See full article: Bolivian Naval Force.

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.

Naval Ensign of Bolivia

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.

Districts

The Navy is organized into ten naval districts, with flotilla headquarters in Guaqui, Guayaramerín, Puerto Suárez, 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.

Marines of Bolivia marching in Cochabamba.

The 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:

Marine corps

Bolivian Marines above inflatable boats.

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:

Naval Military Police

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:

Strength

Boats

The Bolivian Navy has a total of 173 vessels, mostly stationed on Lake Titicaca:

Naval aviation

Bolivia's navy operates one utility aircraft for the use of headquarters.

Aircraft Origin Type Versions In service[3] Notes
Cessna 340  United States Utility 340 1

Conscription

Since 1904 military service has been compulsory for all fit males between the ages of eighteen and forty-nine. In practice, however, budgetary limitations strictly limited the number of eligible men conscripted, and those traditionally tended to be mostly Indians. Beginning in 1967, conscripts were legally held on active duty for up to two years, but funds seldom permitted even a full year's service. Noncommissioned officers (NCOs) and warrant officers, all of whom were volunteers, generally were drawn from mixed-blood cholos (those of Spanish and Indian descent). In the late 1980s, the service obligation was one year, and conscripts had to be at least nineteen years of age. The FF.AA. commander reported in early 1989 that the largest percentage of conscripts came from the middle class. One explanation for this change could have been the flocking of youths to the lucrative coca paste-making business. Military authorities in the Cochabamba area in particular began to experience growing difficulty in enlisting volunteers in the mid-1980s. Consequently, the military reportedly was resorting to pressganging eighteen-year-olds off the city streets to fill their annual quotas.

Training installations

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]

See also

References

  1. ↑ What is the total active duty personnel for Bolivia? – Britannica Online Encyclopedia
  2. 1 2 "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 9 February 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
  3. 1 2 "World Military Aircraft Inventory", Aerospace Source Book 2007, Aviation Week & Space Technology, 15 January 2007.
  4. ↑ Carroll, Rory (28 August 2008). "Bolivia's landlocked sailors pine for the high seas". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 April 2010.
  5. ↑ "United States promotes rule of law, transparency in the Americas.". Embassy of the United States: Montevideo. 26 May 2005. Archived from the original on 17 March 2008. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  6. ↑ "Andean Counterdrug Initiative: International Narcotics and Law Enforcement: FY 2002 Budget Justification". U.S. Dept. of State (official website). May 2001. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
  7. ↑ Ledebur, Kathryn (4 September 2008). "New York Times Misleads Readers on Drug War in Bolivia". Media Accuracy on Latin America. Retrieved 3 February 2010.

This article was adapted from the CIA World Factbook 2000.

External links

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