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Peru Training
The Peruvian military long had the reputation of being
a
well-trained force. For example, Peruvian army officers
spent
about 30 percent of their active careers in school: four
or five
years in the military academy, one and one-half years in
specialization school courses, two years in the ESG, one
or two
years in intelligence school or study abroad, a year at
CAEM, and
other special courses of six months to a year. Entrance to
each
service was based on highly competitive national
examinations;
advancement was also merit-based, and, in addition, course
completion requirements had to be satisfied for promotion
and for
becoming a general officer. Each service also had
technical
training centers, such as the Army Technical School
(Escuela
Técnica del Ejército--ETE) for preparing its
noncommissioned
skilled specialists, preponderantly volunteers rather than
conscripts. Draftees received basic training and were
encouraged
to reenlist after their two-year obligation if their
abilities
indicated possibilities for advancement through technical
training. As of May 1986, women did not serve as officers
in any
of the services, but there were a few volunteer enlisted
servicewomen in the navy and a significant number of
enlisted
female personnel in the air force (about 14 percent of
total FAP
personnel).
Each service had its own training authority to
supervise the
educational programs. The Peruvian Military Instruction
Center
(Centro de Instrucción Militar Peruana--CIMP) oversaw the
military high schools in Callao, Arequipa, Trujillo, and
Chiclayo; the Military Academy; and the specialized branch
schools--infantry, artillery, armor, engineer, signal,
ordnance,
medical, veterinary, and paratroop; the CCFA had purview
over the
ESG. The Naval Studies Center (Centro de Estudios
Navales--CEN)
supervised the Naval Academy of Peru (Escuela Naval del
Perú),
the elite Naval War College (Escuela de Guerra
Naval--EGN), and
the Naval Technical and Training Center (Centro de
Instrucción
Técnica y Entrenamiento Naval--CITEN), all located in
Callao. The
navy and the Ministry of Transit and Communications had
joint
responsibility for the Merchant Marine Academy. The
Aeronautical
Instruction Center Command oversaw the Air Force Academy,
Air
University, and the Air Technical Training School.
Competitive examinations, strict physical and health
requirements, rigorous education and training, as well as
promotion and advancement on the basis of proven
performance
combined to build a strong professional military
institution in
Peru. Officer recruitment and training were the backbone
of the
armed forces. In terms of social origins, the officer
corps was
derived primarily from the middle class, with the army
somewhat
more from the lower strata and from smaller communities in
the
provinces (56 percent of army generals promoted between
1955 and
1965 were born in the highlands or jungle) and both the
navy and
air force more from the upper strata, even upper class,
and from
urban areas (about 90 percent of naval officers and over
65
percent of air force officers), particularly Lima. A large
proportion of officers also came from military families
(59
percent of army officers promoted to colonel or general
between
1961 and 1971). In addition, a significantly greater
percentage
of the most prominent military officers than in the
general
population were of immigrant origin, including 31 percent
army,
23 percent navy, and 64 percent air force among all
cabinet
ministers of the Velasco Alvarado military government.
Among the entrance requirements of the service
academies,
only the EP imposed a geographical distribution
stipulation--20
percent of each entering class had to be "from" (defined
as where
the applicant attended the fifth year of secondary school)
the
northern departments, 50 percent from north-central, 25
percent
from south-central and south, and 5 percent from the
eastern and
northern jungle departments. These social and geographical
distinctions tended to be reduced significantly within the
military by each service's extensive and rigorous
training.
The one significant training opportunity that brought
together representatives of each service, the police
forces, and
civilians as well was the CAEM. Within two or three years
of its
founding in 1950, the CAEM became a highly sought-after
appointment. Its year-long National Defense Course
considered
social, economic, and political themes, as well as their
strategic and military relevance. There were about forty
graduates each year from the National Defense Course,
taught by
leading military and civilian professors, as well as by
distinguished foreign visitors. Of the 1951-71 classes, 46
percent of students were army officers, 9 percent navy, 8
percent
air force, 7 percent police, and 30 percent civilian. Many
students went on to play significant roles in government
and in
their respective services. Of officers promoted to general
or
admiral between 1965 and 1971, 80 percent in the army, 46
percent
navy, and 33 percent air force had attended this National
Defense
Course. Thirteen of the first nineteen cabinet ministers
in the
1968-80 military government were CAEM graduates, although
there
has been some debate over the actual impact of the CAEM on
the
reformist orientation of this regime and on the military
more
generally.
Data as of September 1992
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