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Venezuela The Army
Traditionally the predominant branch of service, the
army
during the 1970s and 1980s lost a certain amount of
prestige visą -vis the air force and the navy, the two services that
benefited
most from the purchase of upgraded weaponry during that
period in
the FAN. Nevertheless, the army remained in 1990 the
largest of
the services, and its general officers still dominated top
leadership posts.
In 1990 the army consisted of approximately 34,000
personnel
of all ranks under the direction of the Commander of the
Army.
The bulk of these troops were organized into five
divisions. Four
of these were infantry divisions, each of which
encompassed four
to six battalions. The remaining division--the First
Cavalry
Division, headquartered at San Juan de los Morros, some
fifty
kilometers south of Maracay, or about eighty kilometers
southsouthwest of Caracas--included most of the army's armored
units.
An independent airborne regiment and ranger brigade also
maintained their headquarters in Military Region One
(Caracas).
Other deployments in and near the capital included the
Fourth
Infantry Division, headquartered at Maracay, an armored
brigade
stationed at Valencia, and an infantry brigade and the
First
Anti-Aircraft Artillery Group, both headquartered in
Caracas.
Additional independent units included the Presidential
Guard
Regiment, an aviation regiment, an engineer regiment, and
a
military police regiment. As of the late 1980s, the army's
longrange plans called for the establishment of one additional
infantry division. The placement of forces reflected the
traditional political importance of the capital, as well
as
Venezuela's strategic orientation toward the coastal area
and the
Caribbean.
The army's mechanized and artillery assets were
somewhat
dated in comparison with the newer, higher-technology
equipment
employed by the air force and the navy (see
table 13,
Appendix).
For example, the only main battle tank in the inventory
was the
French-made AMX-30, of immediate post-World War II
vintage. The
standard issue infantry weapon was the Belgian-made FN FAL
7.62mm
assault rifle. Elite and specialized units carried Israeli
Uzi,
Italian Beretta, German Walther, and American Ingram
submachine
guns. The army's single antiaircraft artillery group
relied on
rather ineffective 40mm guns rather than surface-to-air
missiles,
indicating a heavy reliance on the air-to-air interception
capabilities of the air force. This posture responded to
the lack
of a significant regional air-strike threat aside from
that posed
by Cuba, which was distant enough to allow for adequate
warning
and response time.
Army officers received their initial training at the
Military
Academy at El Valle outside Caracas. Officers could pursue
postgraduate training at civilian universities (although
only a
small percentage did so) or at the Polytechnic University
of the
Armed Forces. The Staff College at Chorrillos prepared
officers
for advanced command responsibilities. Some officers also
studied
abroad, particularly at the United States Army's School of
the
Americas at Fort Benning, Georgia. The army also
administered an
NCO school and other specialized schools for enlisted
personnel
at Maracay.
Data as of December 1990
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