Military of the Dominican Republic

The Military of the Dominican Republic or Fuerzas Armadas de la República Dominicana consists of approximately 44,000 active duty personnel, about 60 percent of which are utilized for non-military operations, including security providers for government-owned non-military facilities, toll security, forestry workers and other state enterprises, and personal security for ministers, congressmen, etc. The president is the commander in chief for the military. The primary missions are to defend the nation and protect the territorial integrity of the country. The Army, twice as large as the other services combined with about 24,000 active duty personnel, consists of six infantry brigades, a combat support brigade, an air cavalry squadron and a combat service support brigade; the Air Force operates two main bases, one in southern region near Santo Domingo and one in the northern region of the country, the air force operates approximately 40 aircraft including helicopters; and the Navy maintains three aging vessels which were donated from the United States, around 25 patrol crafts and interceptor boats and two helicopters. The Dominican Republic's military is second in size to Cuba's in the Caribbean. There is a counter-terrorist group formed by members of the three branches. This group is highly trained in counter-terrorism missions. The armed forces participate fully in counter-illegal drug trade efforts, for this task there is a taskforce known as DEPROSER 24/7 (DEfender, PROteger y SERvir). They also are active in efforts to control contraband and illegal immigration from Haiti to the Dominican Republic and from the Dominican Republic to the United States (via illegal transportation of Dominicans to Puerto Rico).