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Dominican Republic Manpower
The combined strength of the three armed forces in 1989
was
20,800. This figure represented a ratio of 3.3 military
personnel
for every 1,000 citizens, which was below the average for
other
Latin American states.
Although the armed forces no longer had the strength
and the
military potential they enjoyed under Trujillo, the
military
continued to be a popular career. Although the
Constitution
provides for compulsory military service for all males
between
the ages of eighteen and fifty-four, the ranks were easily
filled
by volunteers, and the military did not present a drain on
national manpower. Officers, noncommissioned officers
(NCOs), and
many enlisted personnel, as well, looked on the military
as a
long-term career. As a result, all three services
consisted
largely of experienced and well-trained professionals.
Entry into the armed forces was competitive, and most
entrants were drawn from the middle and the lower-middle
classes.
Most enlisted personnel came from rural areas. There was a
very
small number of females in the military; most served in
positions
traditionally reserved for women, such as nursing. Women
first
gained admittance to positions traditionally held only by
men in
1981, when a few female personnel were commissioned as
medical
officers.
Pay and conditions of service compared well with
opportunities available in civilian fields. Larger
installations
maintained a number of commissaries and exchanges, and
each of
the three services operated officer and enlisted clubs.
Military
personnel also benefited from free medical service. Under
the
armed forces' generous benefit program, all members who
had
served thirty years were entitled to receive a pension
based on
75 percent of their active-duty pay at the time of
retirement.
Certain officers, such as pilots and naval engineers,
could
receive a full pension after twenty years of service.
Data as of December 1989
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