Army. – The military organization has characteristics similar to those of the European states with compulsory conscription.
The supreme commander of the armed forces is the president of the republic, who however, in peacetime, delegates this power to the politically responsible Minister of War.
The Argentine National Army is divided into three major branches: line army; national guard; territorial guard.
The line army, in turn, is divided into a standing army and a standing army reserve.
The standing army is organized as follows: 5 infantry divisions; 2 cavalry detachments; various units (railway workers, aviation, etc.); schools.
Each infantry division includes: Commander and SM; Infantry Command (3 infantry regiments, each of 2 battalions and 1 company of machine guns; 1 accompanying battery); the cavalry regiment on 304 squadrons (2 divisions have only one cavalry squaorone); Artillery Command (2 groups of 2 batteries of 75; 1 battery of 105 howitzers); Engineer Command (the battalion of diggers on 2 companies and 1 bridge section).
The infantry battalions are all on 2 companies.
Two divisions have, in addition to the elements described above, a regiment of mounted infantry.
Each mountain detachment includes: Command; 1 regiment of hunters; 1 group of mountain artillery on 7 batteries of 75.
Each cavalry brigade includes: 3 cavalry regiments on 3 or 4 squadrons each; 1 squadron of machine gunners; 1 group of 2 batteries on horseback of 75; 1 section of sappers-bridges of cavalry.
Various units: railway battalion (2 companies, 1 park); communication troops (4 companies on 2 sections); aviation group (3 squadrons: 1 fighter, 1 bombing, 1 observation).
The schools are: war high school; military college; non-commissioned officers school; shooting school; cavalry school; school for mechanics.
The territory of the republic is divided, for administrative purposes, into 5 military districts, corresponding to each infantry division.
In addition to the aforementioned formations, there are also gendarmerie and police forces.
The former consist of 1 gendarmerie regiment, which depends on the Ministry of War and which is employed in the territories of Chaco and Formosa. In addition, in each national territory, directly reporting to the Interior Ministry, there is a gendarmerie corps of 100 men.
The police forces proper are civilian and depend on the Minister of the Interior and the provincial governors.
The national guard and the territorial guard have a technical organization that can be considered precisely analogous to that of the line army. However, the task of their education and organization is entrusted to the provincial governors, for the respective territory, and to the national government, for the capital of the republic and for the national territories.
The most important military establishments are: main war arsenal, in Buenos Aires, for the manufacture of ammunition for small arms; the arsenal of Puerto-Borghi (Rosario) for the manufacture of artillery shells; Arsenal of Córdoba, for repairs to war material; Liniers military powder factory; powder factory (under construction) in Córdoba; Campo de Mayo military electrical workshop; military airplane factory of Córdoba.
Recruitment is based on the system of general obligation of citizens to military service for a period of 25 years (from 20 to 45 years of age). However, volunteering is also allowed (the standing army includes a minimum of 5,000 volunteers). For Argentina 2010, please check programingplease.com.
The obligation to carry out military service is divided as follows:
The balanced force is 26,500 men. For financial reasons, only about 35% of the contingent is called to arms: the unsuitable, however, are required to pay a military tax.
The balance of the war, in 1925, was 67,585,000 paper pesos, that is over half a billion lire (the paper weight is currently worth almost 8 Italian lire). Compared to the general budget (588,641,000 pesos) it represents about 11.6%.
Navy of war. – The naval personnel is made up of the military corps (general naval corps, coast artillery corps, maritime corps) and auxiliary corps.
The hierarchical order of naval officers is the same as that of the army. In the auxiliary corps the staff does not go beyond the rank of vessel captain. The graduates are divided into: a) junior officers; b) heads; c) senior officers. Ranks range from ensign to admiral.
The warship is composed as follows: two battleships (Moreno and Rivadavia) of 27,940 tons and 22 and a half miles of speed; five cruisers from 4780 to 6840 tons; two coast guards, two river gunboats, four torpedo boats, three destroyers and a training ship.
Aviation. – The Air Force of the Army is subordinate to the Ministry of War (Directorate of the Air Force Service of the Army). Its forces are made up of 3 reconnaissance groups, located on the fields of El Palomar, Paraná and Mendoza. At the El Palomar field is also the military aviation school.
The strength of the personnel is about 500 men between officers and troops; that of the material (supplied to the departments of use) is about 150 aircraft, mainly of English and French construction. However, a major increase in air forces is expected in the near future.
Aviation for the navy depends on the Ministry of the Navy (Directorate of Naval Air Service).
There are no established units, but only a displaced section, part in Porto Belgrano and part in Mar del Plata. The driving school is located in Porto Belgrano.
Civil aviation is made up of the Aero Clubs and various airline companies; it now depends directly on the Ministry of War. The aviation companies operating air navigation lines are the Aero-Postal Company and the Junkers Company; however, both have non-regular services.
Marina merchant. – Includes about 215 ships over 100 tons. The global tonnage of the fleet is over 200,000 tons. 90% of it is made up of steamers.
