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Colombia The National Army
In 1988 the National Army was composed of 69,000
active-duty
soldiers, including approximately 26,000 conscripts. The
troops
under the command of the National Army represented some 80
percent
of Colombia's total military personnel. Approximately 500
of the
army's troops were believed to be serving as military
observers
with the United Nations Peacekeeping Force in the Sinai.
Between
1982 and 1987, the number of troops under the army's
command
remained relatively constant, possibly belying the army's
recovery
from personnel cuts that some sources allege were imposed
during
the mid-1980s. But in 1988 a significant increase (12,000
personnel) occurred. In addition to regular personnel, the
army
reserves (made up of persons who had fulfilled their
military
service obligation) added another 100,000 men to the
army's
potential manpower. Observers believed, however, that the
service
had limited capability to mobilize these reserve personnel
in the
event of a national emergency.
The commander of the National Army in 1988 was General
Nelson
Mejía Henao. By 1988 plans for a major restructuring of
the army
had been carried out. The restructuring included the
reorganization
of the service into four divisions and the formation of
two new
infantry brigades, which brought the total of infantry
brigades to
twelve. The troops assigned to these infantry brigades
were
dispersed among the country's ten military regions.
Each of the four army divisions had territorial command
over
two to three of the country's military regions and was
organized
into three brigades. Each brigade had a minimum of two
infantry
battalions and one service battalion. Most of the brigades
were
composed of three infantry battalions, one mechanized
cavalry
group, and one battalion each of artillery, engineer, and
service
personnel. In all, the four divisions commanded thirty
infantry
battalions, six mechanized cavalry groups, eight artillery
battalions, six engineer battalions, twelve service
battalions, and
two military police battalions.
A thirteenth brigade--which represented the
restructuring of
the Military Institutes Brigade (Brigada de Institutos
Militares--
BIM)--was established as an army-level combat formation
and was
headquartered at Bogotá. This brigade included troops from
the
First Airborne Battalion (the army's sole paratroop unit);
the
infantry, cavalry, artillery, engineer, and combat support
services
applications school battalions; and personnel belonging to
the
Lanceros Battalion. Troops in the Lanceros Battalion
received
special antiguerrilla training and assignments comparable
to those
of the United States Army's Rangers. The Logistic Support
Brigade,
made up of the Supply Battalion and the Ordnance
Battalion, also
was an army-level formation with headquarters at Bogotá.
In
addition, four battalions under the direct command of the
National
Army's headquarters included the Presidential Guard
Battalion, the
Leticia Mixed Jungle Battalion, the Nueva Granada
Antiaircraft
Artillery Battalion, and the 11th Military Police
Battalion. The
San Jorge Mechanized Cavalry Regiment was also under army
headquarters command.
In an effort to fight what the army leadership
perceived as an
escalating insurgency, the army initiated an equipment
acquisition
program during the early 1980s to improve the service's
operational
capabilities. Among the new purchases approved were
armored
vehicles, automatic rifles, submachine guns, and rocket
launchers.
As part of this program, a contract was signed in 1982
with the
Brazilian firm Engesa for the purchase of its EE-9
Cascavel armored
cars, EE-11 Urutu armored personnel carriers, and EE-3
Jararaca
scout cars. By 1985 a total of 120 EE-9s and 76 EE-11s had
been
delivered to the National Army. The army also purchased
tubelaunched , optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) antitank
weapons. By
the late 1980s, TOW antitank guns had become the principal
component of the army's antiarmor weaponry.
According to the International Institute for Strategic
Studies
(IISS), the major military equipment in service with the
Colombian
army in 1988 (in addition to the new acquisitions noted
above)
included twelve M-3A1 Stuart light tanks, twenty M-8
Greyhound
armored cars, fifty M-113 tracked armored personnel
carriers, and
forty-five M-3A2 half-tracked vehicles. By 1984 many of
the newly
acquired TOW antitank guns had been mounted on the turrets
of the
M-8 armored cars. With the exception of the newer
Brazilian
purchases, nearly all of the army's armored equipment was
of World
War II vintage. By the late 1980s, continuing budget
problems had
constrained plans for additional equipment purchases.
Artillery weapons included fifty M-101 105mm howitzers
that
also had been manufactured in the United States during
World War
II. Mortars in use included between 100 and 125 M1 81mm
and 148 M2
107mm models. Approximately 120 of the 120mm Brandt models
also
were counted in the army's inventory. According to the
IISS,
Colombia's air defense weapons included thirty 37mm and
thirty
M-1A1 40mm guns, both types manufactured in the United
States. By
1987 the West German G3 assault rifle had become the
standard
infantry weapon--some 30,000 having been acquired in the
mid-1970s-
-replacing the United States-manufactured M-1. Submachine
guns in
use included the three Madsen models--the M46, the M50,
and the
M53; the Walther MP-K; and the MAC-10. The Colombian armed
forces'
Division of Military Industries reportedly manufactured
most of the
army's ammunition.
Data as of December 1988
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