Chilean Army Ejército de Chile
Army of Chile
Active	December, 2 of 1810 – present
Country	Chile
Type	Army
Size	45,000 (of which 12,700 conscripted)
Part of	Ministry of National Defense (Chile)
Motto	"Always Victorious and Undefeated"
March	Los viejos estandartes (The Old Standards) by Guillermo Bascuñán Dockendorff (music) and Jorge Inostroza (words)
Anniversaries	19 September (Army Day)
Engagements	War of Arauco Chilean War of Independence Freedom Expedition of Perú War of the Confederation Chincha Islands War War of the Pacific 1891 Chilean Civil War
Website	http://www.ejercito.cl/
Commanders
Current commander	Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba Poblete
Notable commanders	Bernardo O'Higgins, José Miguel Carrera, Manuel Bulnes, Manuel Baquedano, Juan Emilio Cheyre

The Chilean Army (Spanish: Ejército de Chile) is the land arm of the Military of Chile. This 45,000-person army (12,700 of which are conscripts)^[1] is organized into seven 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.^[2][3]

The Chilean Army is mostly supported by equipment from Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, the United States, Israel, France, and Spain.

History [edit]

War of Arauco [edit]

19th. Century [edit]

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.^[4] 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 [edit]

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.^[5] The Chilean Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional.^[6]

The War of the Pacific [edit]

Prussian Influence [edit]

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.^[7]

20th. Century [edit]

Milicia Republicana [edit]

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. She was dissolved in 1936.^[8]

US Influence [edit]

The Army under Pinochet [edit]

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 military and civilian persons.^[9]

Neltume [edit]

In a massive operation (Operación de Contraguerrilla Machete) spearheaded by Chilean Army Para-Commandos, security forces involving some 2,000 troops.,^[10] were deployed in the mountains of Neltume from June to November 1981,^[11] 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.^[12]

2013 colonel (retired) Conrado García and captain (retired) Enrique Sandoval Arancibia are being proccessed 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.^[13]

The Chilean army today [edit]

Peacekeeping [edit]

Organization [edit]

Structure of the Chilean Army (click on image to enlarge)

Order Of Battle [edit]

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 [edit]

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (March 2010)

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.

Firearms [edit]

Weapon	Caliber	Origin	Notes
Pistols and Submachine Guns
CZ-75	9x19 mm NATO	Czechoslovakia	Pistol
HK MP5	9x19 mm NATO	Germany
FAMAE SAF	9x19 mm NATO	Chile	Standard issue submachine gun. Locally designed variation on the SG 540.
Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles and Carbines
SIG SG 540	5.56mm NATO	Chile	Built under license by FAMAE. Standard issue rifle.
SIG SG 542-1	7.62mm NATO	Chile	version of the SG 540. Manufactured in Chile by FAMAE. For use by mountain troops.
M4 carbine	5.56x45mm NATO	United States	Special Forces
SIG SG 543	5.56x45mm NATO	Chile
Sniper Rifles
FAMAE FD-200	7.62 x 51 mm NATO	Chile	Locally produced version of the SG 540 modified as a sniper rifle
Barrett M82A1M	12.7 x 99 mm NATO	United States
SIG-Sauer SSG 3000	7.62mm NATO	Switzerland
Machine Guns
Heckler & Koch HK21	7.62x51 mm NATO	Germany	Magazine-fed light machine gun
FN MINIMI	5.56x45 mm NATO	Belgium	Light machine gun
MG3	7.62x51 mm NATO	Germany	General-purpose machine gun
M60	7.62x51 mm NATO	United States	General-purpose machine gun
FN M2HB-QCB	12.7 x 99 mm NATO	United States	Heavy Machine Gun
Grenade Launchers
M203	40x46 mm	United States	Designed to be attached to a rifle
Milkor MGL	40x53 mm	South Africa	Automatic grenade launcher
Mk 19 Mod 3	40x53 mm	United States	Automatic grenade launcher

Infantry Support Weapons [edit]

Quantity	Weapon	Origin	Notes
Anti-tank Guided Missile Launchers
2,200	Spike	Israel	MR/LR/ER missiles
Anti-tank Recoilless Rifles
-	Carl Gustaf M2 Recoilless Rifle	Sweden	84 mm
-	M40 recoilless rifle	United States	106 mm / some of them are mounted on Jeeps
-	M67 recoilless rifle	United States	90 mm
Anti-tank Rocket launchers
	AT4	Sweden	66 mm
	M72 LAW	United States	66 mm

Armour [edit]

Quantity	Type	Origin	Notes
Tanks
172	Leopard 2A4	Germany	120 mm gun
202	Leopard 1V	Germany  Netherlands	105 mm gun
Armored Infantry Fighting Vehicles (AIFVs)
280 [14]	Marder 1A3	Germany
319	AIFV-B/YPR-765	Belgium  Netherlands	Some equipped with missiles Spike LR
Armored personnel carrier (APCs)
427	M113A1/A2	United States
250	MOWAG Piranha	Chile	Built under license in Chile FAMAE, in various configurations.
Armored Wheeled Vehicles
200+	HMMWV	United States
180	Land Rover Defender	United Kingdom
400+	AIL Storm	Israel
Self-propelled Artillery
12	M109A5	United States
12	M109A3	United States	Being upgraded to the A5 configuration by BAE
24	M109 KAWEST	United States  Switzerland

Aircraft [edit]

Quantity	Type	Origin	Notes
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
6	BlueBird SpyLite	Israel	[15]

Military ranks [edit]

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 [edit]

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

Rank	Subofficer Majors	Sub-officers		Classes
Full Dress uniform and Service Uniform (Office, Garrison, Outdoor/Mess Wear, Parade Dress)
Battle Duty Uniform (Center and South)	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px
Battle Duty Uniform (North)	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px	50px
Grade	Warrant Officer Class 1	Warrant Officer Class 2	Staff Sergeant	Sergeant	Master Corporal	Corporal	Lance Corporal
Abbreviation	SOM	SOF	SG1	SG2	CB1	CB2	CBO
Name in Spanish	Suboficial Mayor	Suboficial	Sargento Primero	Sargento Segundo	Cabo Primero	Cabo Segundo	Cabo
NATO pay grade Code	OR-8	OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2

Officer ranks [edit]

While all officer ranks are derived from those of the German and French Armies all general officer rank insignia is inspired by those in the United States Army.

Rank[16]	General Officers			Superior Officers		Chief Officers		Subaltern/Junior Officers
Full dress uniform				50px	50px	50px
Duty dress uniform
Battle Duty Uniform (Center and South)
Battle Duty Uniform (North)
Grade	General of the Army	Divisional General	Brigade General	Brigadier	Colonel	Lieutenant Colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	Sublieutenant	Ensign
Abbreviation	CJE	GDD	GDB	BGR	CRL	TCL	MAY	CAP	TTE	STE	ALF
NATO pay grade code	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1	OF-1	N/A

Commanders-in-chief [edit]

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Official Chilean Army site (Spanish)
• Ranks of Chilean Army site, Chilean Army website: Chilean Army, archived from the original on 28 August 2010, retrieved 28 August 2010 
• Latin American Light Weapons National Inventories

	Chilean Armed Forces
Ejército de Chile (Army)   Armada de Chile (Navy)   Fuerza Aérea de Chile (Air Force)