Minister of Defense Luis Carlos Villegas Military age 18 | Headquarters Bogotá, Colombia | |
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Service branches Colombian National Army Colombian National Navy ∟ Colombian Naval Infantry Colombian Air Force General Commander General Juan Pablo Rodriguez Conscription 18 months Army and Air Force, 24 months Navy, 12 Months National Police Available formilitary service 23,287,388 (2008 est.), age 15–49 (2005 est.) Similar National Army of Colombia, Colombian Air Force, Colombian Navy, National Bolivarian Armed Fo, Bolivarian Navy of Venezuela Profiles | ||
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:
Contents
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:
And,
Strength in numbers As of September 2013
Dependencies
Funding
In 2000, Colombia assigned 3.9% of its GDP to defense. By 2008 this figure had risen to 4.8%, ranking it 14th 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.
Personnel
Overall strength in numbers of the Colombian Armed Forces as of September 2013