Military Forces of Colombia

Military Forces of Colombia Fuerzas Militares de Colombia
The tri-service badge
Service branches	National Army National Navy Naval Infantry Air Force National Police
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Juan Manuel Santos
Minister of Defense	Juan Carlos Pinzón
General Commander	General Alejandro Navas Ramos
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.), age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	17,976,288(2008 est.), age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	875,595 (2005 est.)
Active personnel	444,518 As of September 2013 (ranked 12th)
Expenditures
Budget	COL$17,699,812 million (2013) (apx. US$9.1 billion)
Percent of GDP	3.3% (2012)
Industry
Domestic suppliers	Indumil Cotecmar
Foreign suppliers	United States Israel Brazil South Africa Spain Belgium Germany France United Kingdom Sweden Canada Portugal Romania

The Military Forces of Colombia (Spanish: Fuerzas Militares de Colombia) are the armed forces of the Republic of Colombia.
More specifically, the Colombian Constitution (Spanish: Constitución Política de Colombia) includes two overlapping definitions of what could be defined as 'armed forces' in English:

• Public Forces (Spanish: Fuerza Pública): Includes the Military Forces proper and the National Police (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 216)
• Military Forces (Spanish: Fuerzas Militares): Includes only the 3 major military services: Army, Navy and Air Force (Title VII, chapter VII, Art. 217)

This is a subtle yet important distinction, both in terms of emphasizing the civil nature of the National Police, and some differences that may apply to it as a service, as well as in clearing confusion when dealing with documents and references about the Colombian armed forces, in particular due to the large size of the police and the military-style operation and training of some of its most noticeable units, as a result of the Colombian Conflict.

Services

The Colombian armed forces consist of:
Military Forces:

• Colombian Army (Spanish: Ejército Nacional de Colombia)
• Colombian Navy (Spanish: Armada Nacional de Colombia) - and attached services Marines and Coast Guard
• Colombian Air Force (Spanish: Fuerza Aérea Colombiana)

And,

• National Police of Colombia (Spanish: Policía Nacional de Colombia)

Strength numbers As of September 2013

Force	Service	Officer	Sub-Officer/NCO	Enlisted	Trainee	Civilian	Total
Military	Colombian Army	9,485	33,917	171,434	3,660	5,856	224,352
Military	Colombian Navy	2,457	8,736	20,773	1,146	1,974	35,086
Military	Colombian Air Force	2,499	3,603	4,134	1,050	2,747	14,033
Public	Colombian National Police	6,691	3,560	146,687	9,399	4,398	170,735
Total							444,206

Dependencies

• Military Medical Corps ('Sanidad Militar') - Medical and Nurse Corps
• Indumil (Industrias Militares - INDUMIL) - Military Industry Depot
• Military Sports Federation (Federación Deportiva Militar - FEDECODEMIL)
• Military Printing (Imprenta Militar)
• Military Museum (Museo Militar) - History of the Armed Forces of Colombia
• War Superior College (Escuela Superior de Guerra (Colombia) ESDEGUE)

Funding

In 1999, Colombia assigned 3.6% of its GDP to defense, according to the National Planning Department. By 2007 this figure had risen to 6.1% of GDP, one of the highest rates in the world. 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

• Military manpower - military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service; conscript service obligation - 24 months (2004)

• Military manpower - availability:
  • males age 18-49: 10,212,456
  • females age 18-49: 10,561,562 (2005 estimate)

• Military manpower - fit for military service:
  • males age 18-49: 6,986,228
  • females age 18-49: 8,794,465 (2005 estimate)

• Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
  • males age 18-49: 389,735
  • females age 18-49: 383,146 (2005 estimate)

Rank Insignia

Main article: Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces

• 

  Colombian marines

• 

  Colombian Navy Frigate ARC Caldas

• 

  Colombian Special Forces soldiers

• 

  A vessel of the Colombian Navy

See also

• AFEUR
• Colombia
• Colombian Army
• Colombian military decorations
• Indumil
• Joint Task Force OMEGA
• Military ranks of the Colombian Armed Forces

References and notes

• ^ Includes 435 sub-officers Spanish: Suboficiales and 3,125 agents Spanish: Agentes
• ^ Includes 123,125 executive personnel Spanish: Nivel Ejecutivo and 23,562 Auxiliary conscript Spanish: Auxiliares

External links

• Ministerio de Defensa de Colombia - Official Ministry of Defense site (Spanish)
• Comando General de las Fuerzas Militares - Official Armed Forces General Command (Spanish)
• Ejército Nacional de Colombia - Official Army site (Spanish)
• Ejército Nacional de Colombia - Official Army site (English)
• Armada Nacional de Colombia - Official Navy site ((Spanish) and (English))
• Fuérza Aérea Colombiana - Official Air Force site (Spanish)
• Policía Nacional de Colombia - Official National Police site (Spanish)
• UNFFMM - Unofficial site of the Colombian Military Forces

Other Links

• Colombian Military expenditure (Spanish)