Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic
The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de la República Argentina) are the combined armed forces of Argentina. It is controlled by the Commander-in-Chief (the President) and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are two security forces, controlled by the Ministry of Security, which can be mobilized in occasion of an armed conflict: the National Gendarmerie, a gendarmerie used to guard borders and places of strategic importance; and the Naval Prefecture, a coast guard used to protect internal major rivers and maritime territory.
Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic
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Traditionally, Argentina maintains close defense cooperation and military-supply relationships with the United States and to a lesser extent, with Israel, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Belarus, Italy, and Russia.
As of 2024, the current Chief of the General Staff is the Air Force Brigadier General Xavier Isaac.[4]
Argentina was the only South American country to send warships and cargo planes in 1991 to the Gulf War under UN mandate and has remained involved in peacekeeping efforts in multiple locations like UNPROFOR in Croatia/Bosnia, Gulf of Fonseca, UNFICYP in Cyprus (where among Army and Marines troops the Air Force provided the UN Air contingent since 1994) and MINUSTAH in Haiti.
UNFICYP was also a precedent in the Latin American military as troops of Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay are embedded in the Argentine contingent[18]
Since 1999 and as of June 2006, Argentina is the only Latin American country to maintain troops in Kosovo during SFOR (and later EUFOR) operations where combat engineers of the Argentine Armed Forces are embedded in an Italian brigade.
In 2007, an Argentine contingent including helicopters, boats and water purification plants was sent to help Bolivia against their worst floods in decades.[19] In 2010 the Armed Forces were also involved in Haiti and Chile humanitarian responses after their respective earthquakes.
Argentine military forces formed part of[20]
And as military observers in UNTSO, MINURSO, UNMIL, MONUC, UNMIS and UNOCI.
Argentina was also responsible for the White Helmets initiative.
Independence Day Army parade, Junín, 2004
(in Spanish)
