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El Salvador Military Service
Under Article 215 of the Constitution, military service for a
minimum of two years is obligatory for all able-bodied male
citizens between the ages of eighteen and thirty, although in
practice youth from wealthy families avoided military service. In
1988 El Salvador had a manpower pool of 807,000 males fit for
military service, and approximately 65,000 Salvadoran males
reached military age (eighteen) annually. Prior to the guerrilla
conflict and its attendant increase in military personnel,
conscription was resorted to only rarely, and only one year of
service was required. The services drew mainly young rural men
whose lack of employment prospects made even low-paying, highrisk military service attractive. After 1979, however, the armed
forces relied heavily on the draft. Conscripts (males only) were
required initially to serve eighteen months at the age of
eighteen or nineteen, but the period was soon increased to
twenty-four months. On completion of their service, conscripts
reverted to "active reserve" status until the age of thirty, or
they could choose to remain for a longer period of time at a
higher salary. The army, however, limited reenlistment to 20
percent because a draftee was paid only US$80 per month, as
compared with US$300 a month for a soldier who had completed two
two-year tours. From the ages of thirty to sixty, reservists were
assigned to the second-line Territorial Service, a part-time,
volunteer security force that mainly provided reserve manpower
for the army.
Recruitment to the regular armed forces was carried out
nationally but was decentralized down to the township level.
Conscript classes were called up biannually, and each individual
reported to the military unit nearest his home. Local boards--
consisting of officers, civilian officials, and medical
personnel--examined prospective draftees and ruled on their
qualifications and on requests for exemption or deferment. Each
township received a quota of the vacancies in the regular service
and filled them first with volunteers. After initial
examinations, the local boards submitted a list of qualified
volunteers to the departmental commander. Selections were made by
lottery, in accordance with the choice of service indicated.
Accepted candidates then reported to their new stations in the
departmental regiment.
The army also frequently resorted to the impressment of young
men into service, particularly in urban areas, in order to
fulfill its manpower quotas. In the late 1980s, according to the
New York Times, the armed forces were forcibly enlisting
12,000 youths a year. Those most affected by this press-gang
system were usually from poor and rural families; often they were
as young as fourteen. The military almost never forcibly
recruited youths in wealthy neighborhoods. If recruited, they
could generally buy their way out of the service with help from
their families.
Historically, most women in the Salvadoran military served as
nurses or were relegated to secretarial or domestic duties, such
as cooking. In 1985 most of the 2,000 military nurses worked at
the Military Hospital in San Salvador; few were assigned to field
duty. At that time, the armed forces had six female officers, all
of whom had received their commissions because of their foreign
training. The highest ranking nurse was a captain, but none held
any position in a chain of command.
In the early 1980s, thanks mainly to innovative commanders in
the First Infantry Brigade in eastern El Salvador, the Ministry
of Defense and Public Security allowed young women volunteers to
begin basic combat training courses in San Miguel and Morazan
departments. The initial seventy women recruits were organized
into two all-women combat platoons. Most of the women recruits
reportedly had either been displaced by the war or had had
relatives kidnapped or murdered by the guerrillas. Although their
basic training reportedly was rigorous and similar to that given
male recruits, the women were not observed to be subjected to the
same physical abuse. Those who successfully completed combat
training qualified for the same pay as male privates, C450 (for
value of the
colon--see Glossary)
a month, or about US$112. As of
1985, members of the two women's platoons reportedly were being
integrated as replacements in previously all-male units.
Until the 1920s, officers were selected from the country's
prominent families and constituted an elite caste. In time, the
selection process became increasingly egalitarian, however, and
by 1970 the officer corps was composed mostly of mestizos from
farm communities. The officers came from segments of the
population educated enough to qualify for the demanding officer
training. All officers were career regulars, except for a small
number of professional specialists, such as doctors.
In comparison with equivalent civilian standards, the
conditions under which military personnel served were generally
quite good. Officers, but not enlisted personnel, had separate
family accommodations. Married noncommissioned officers (NCOs)
received extra family allowances that were sufficient to enable
them to procure local housing. Quarters, food, and pay were
generally considerably better than the average campesino could
find outside the service. Other benefits and advantages included
medical care, accrued leave, retirement pay, and survivor
benefits, although the latter were not always guaranteed. Special
allowances were also available based on family size and the
location of one's duty station; extra pay also was authorized for
specialists and airborne and flight personnel. Retirement for
disability, age, or length of service was either statutory or
granted on request. Liberal leave policies allowed all ranks to
accrue thirty days a year; there also were special provisions for
emergency situations.
Data as of November 1988
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