Chilean Army

The Chilean Army (Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 45,000-person army (12,700 of which are conscripts) is organized into six divisions, a special operations brigade and an air brigade.

In recent years and after several major reequipment programs, the Chilean Army has become one of the most technologically advanced and professional armies of the Americas. The Chilean Army is mostly supported by equipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States, Israel, France, and Spain.

19th. Century
The Army of the Kingdom of Chile was created on December, 2 of 1810 by order of the First National Meeting of Government of Chile. The army participated actively in the independence war, which, was fought against royalist troops in battles such as Yerbas Buenas, San Carlos, Quechereguas, Rancagua, Chacabuco and Maipú. During this period national figures such as José Miguel Carrera, Bernardo O'Higgins and Argentinian General José de San Martín commanded the army toward definitive victory over the Spanish forces ultimately achieving independence for the country. The Army's first commander-in-chief was José Miguel Carrera.

After obtaining independence from Spain, the newly formed Republic tried to reorganize its military structure by inaugurating the War Military academy of Chile, which was founded by General O'Higgins in 1817.

Guardia Nacional
Diego Portales set up a civil militia, the Guardia Nacional, to end one of the worst stages of militarism in Chile's history. The militia was created in 1825 but Portales developed this parallel army to compensate the army's might. The Chilean Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional.

Prussian Influence
The Chilean Army admired the Prussian Army which proved successful in the Franco-Prussian War, and this led to the appointment in 1886 of Captain Emil Körner and 36 Prussian officers and NCOs to train officer cadets in the Chilean Military College. The Chilean Army soon gained such a good reputation that Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador and El Salvador, between 1903 and 1913, requested Chilean officers to assist in the training their armies.

Milicia Republicana
The Guardia Republicana or Milicia Republicana was created after the fall of the Socialist Republic of Chile in order to prevent another Coup d'Etat. On 7 Mai 20,000 militiamen marched past President Arturo Alessandri in the streets of Santiago. In Las Mercedes' plot, 1933, Commander-in-Chief of the Army, Pedro Vignola called "to resist the Milicia Republicana by any means" and he was removed of the army She was dissolved in 1936.

The Army under Pinochet
1973, in a watershed event of the Cold War and the history of Chile, president Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a coup d’état by the Armed Forces.

Until May 2012, 76 agents of the military Government had been condemned for violations of human rights and 67 were convicted: 36 of the Army, 27 of Carabineros, 2 of the Air Force, one of the Navy and one of the PDI. Three condemned agents died and six agents get conditional sentences. The Chilean justice hold open 350 cases for "disappeared" persons, illegal detainees and torture during the dictatorial rule. In the cases are involved 700 armed forces personnel and civilians.

Neltume
In a massive operation (Operación de Contraguerrilla Machete) spearheaded by Chilean Army Para-Commandos, security forces involving some 2,000 troops., were deployed in the mountains of Neltume from June to November 1981, where they destroyed two Movimiento de Izquierda Revolucionaria (MIR) bases, seizing large caches of munitions and killing a number of guerrillas. In the various military operations carried out in the cities of Talcahuano, Concepcion, Los Angeles and Valdivia between 23 and 24 August 1984, the military and police forces deployed killed several MIR guerrillas and sympathizers.

2013 colonel (retired) Conrado García and captain (retired) Enrique Sandoval Arancibia are being processed in Valdivia for killing of Eugenio Monsalve Sandoval, Próspero Guzmán Soto and Patricio Calfuquir Henríquez. The lawyer solicited also to withdraw immunity of deputy Rosauro Martínez (member of Renovación Nacional). He was the commander of the Army unit.

The Chilean army today
As a result of tensions with neighbors during the conflictprone 1970s and early 1980s, the Chilean army refined existing strategic concepts and eventually formulated a plan to restructure the army’s forces. Though wars were avoided, the threats from the 1970s and 1980s encouraged the army to address more effectively its major defense disadvantage: lack of strategic depth. Thus in the early 1980s it looked to outward for a model of army organization that would best advance defensive capabilities by restructuring forces into smaller, more mobile units instead of traditional divisions. The resulting Plan Alcazar, envisions three military zones in Chile, with the bulk of forces concentrated in the north, and reinforces the center and south. The plan was implemented in stages, and the first began in 1994. Thus Alcazar, based on threat scenarios of the past, is one of the most durable “lessons” of the past. Even with the resolution of almost all remaining territorial disputes, the restructuring agenda remained on track and structurally reinforces a conflict-based mindset in the army.

Order Of Battle
Army Commandant Office in Santiago, where the main decisions of the Chilean Army are given

 Army Ground Operations Command, headquartered in Concepcion, the HQ garrison of the Chacabuco 7th Reinforced Regiment
 * I Army Division Regions II and III, with headquarters in Antofagasta.
 * II Motorized Division Regions IV, V, VI, VII and Santiago Metropolitan Region with headquarters in Santiago de Chile. This is the largest of the six Army Divisions, serving five regions and is where the Army Headquarters is located alongside some of the military academies that the Army operates in the Santiago Metropolitan Region and nearby Valparaiso Province.
 * III Mountain Division Serving Regions VIII, IX, XIV, and X with headquarters in Valdivia
 * IV Army Division Region XI with headquarters in Coyhaique
 * V Army Division Serving Region XII with headquarters in Punta Arenas, the division assigned to protect the Chilean Antarctic and the world's southernmost city.
 * VI Army Division Serving Regions I and XV, with headquarters in Iquique.
 * Army Aviation Brigade with headquarters in Rancagua. (Brigada de Aviación del Ejército) It is the Army's aviation forces, composed of 4 battalions and a logistics company.
 * Special Operations Brigade "Lautaro" with headquarters in Peldehue (Brigada de Operaciones Especiales "Lautaro")It is the Army's special forces brigade, named after one of Chile's national heroes.

Army Institution and Doctrine Command (Comando Instituto y Doctrina)
 * Army Schools Division (Division Escuelas)
 * Army Education Division (Division de Educacion)
 * Army Doctrine Division (Division de Doctrina)

Army Force Services Command (Comando Apoyo de la Fuerza)


 *  Army Logistics Division. with headquarters in Santiago (División Logística del Ejército)
 * Army Engineering Command
 * Army Communications Command
 * Army Infrastructure Command
 * Army Military Engineering and Industry Command

Army Independent Commands


 * Army General Garrison Command in Santiago, serving the Santiago Metropolitan Region, reports directly to Army Headquarters
 * Army Medical Command in Santiago
 * Army Administration Command

Army General Staff Office (Estado Mayor General del Ejercito)
 * Chilean Military Mission to Washington
 * Directorate of Intelligence
 * Directorate of Operations
 * Finance Directorate
 * Logistics Directorate

Military Equipment
The Chilean Army has acquired a number of new systems with the goal of having a completely modernized, and largely mechanized army by 2015. The military has also modifying the operational structure, creating armoured brigades throughout the entire territory, and a new special operations brigade while conserving the current divisional scheme.

Military ranks
An aspiring non-commissioned officer or officer of the Chilean Army undergoes studies at these two schools, both located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region:
 * Bernardo O'Higgins Military School (for officers)
 * Sgt. Daniel Rebolledo Sepulveda Sub-officers School (For non-commissioned personnel)

Upon graduation, he/she becomes a military officer (Ensign) or non-commissioned officer (Corporal), and the moves on to the branch of his or her choice, except for newly recruited soldiers, whose primary rank is Soldado Dragonante or Soldier Dragonite, and are immediately enrolled as part of the Army Sub-Officer School in Maipu.

Military ranks are similar to the Prussian and later German Armies, but also has the British/Prussian Ensign rank for officers. The Captain General rank, first used by Bernardo O'Higgins and later by Presidents Ramon Freire and Augusto Pinochet Ugarte, is now inactive.

The ranks used today in the Army are from the 2002 reorganization. It keeps the old enlisted ranks (Privates, Corporals, Sergeants and Sub-officers) but a new officer rank scheme is used, with 3 general officers instead of four general officers.

Enlisted ranks
All Privates and Student NCOs studying in the Army NCO School wear no rank insignia.

Officer ranks
Officer ranks are derived from those of the German and French Armies. While field grade and senior grade officer rank insignia show German influence, general officer rank insignia are similar to those used in the French Army but in red shoulder straps (similar to those used by the United States Army) with two to four golden stars.