# Argentine National Gendarmerie

The Argentine National Gendarmerie (Spanish: Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, GNA) is the national gendarmerie force and corps of border guards of the Argentine Republic. As at 2011, It has a strength of 30,000
The gendarmerie is primarily a frontier guard force but also fulfils other important roles. The force functions from what are today five regional headquarters at Campo de Mayo, Córdoba, Rosario, San Miguel de Tucumán and Bahía Blanca.

## Personnel and training

Non-commissioned personnel of the gendarmerie are all volunteers and receive their training in the force's own comprehensive system of training institutions. Officers graduate after a three-year course at the National Gendarmerie Academy. Both officers and non-commissioned personnel have access to the specialist training establishments of the Army.

## History

The gendarmerie was created in 1938 by the National Congress and replaced the regiments of the Army which previously fulfilled the gendarmerie's missions. The gendarmerie was particularly tasked with providing security in isolated and sparsely populated frontier regions which had only been settled relatively recently. In many senses the gendarmerie may still be considered an adjunct of the Argentine Army.

## Activities

The gendarmerie's mission and functions are concerned with both domestic security and national defense. According to Laws No. 23.554 and 24.059, the armed forces cannot intervene in internal civil conflicts, except in logistics’ and support roles, so the gendarmerie is subordinate to the Ministry of Security. It is defined as a civilian "security force of a military nature". It maintains a functional relationship with the minister of defense, as part of both the National Defense System and the Interior Security System. It therefore maintains capabilities arising from the demands required by joint military planning with the armed forces.
The gendarmerie's main missions are:
* Providing security for Argentina's borders
* Providing security for places of national strategic importance (e.g. nuclear plants)
The gendarmerie is also used for other security missions, which include:
* Policing missions:
** Assisting provincial police services in maintaining public security in rural areas
** Preventing smuggling
** Fighting drug trafficking
** Fighting terrorism
** Fighting crimes "against life and freedom" (children and organs trade, slavery, etc.)
** Dealing with economic crime
** Dealing with environmental crime
** Dealing with illegal immigration
* Military missions:
** War-fighting missions (e.g. in the Falklands War)
** Peacekeeping or humanitarian aid missions under the United Nations
** Providing security for Argentine embassies and consulates in several foreign nations
Under the United Nations, the Gendarmerie has served in Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Angola, Lebanon, Rwanda, Liberia, Cyprus, South Sudan, Haiti and Colombia.

## Organization
### High command

The high command includes:
* The national director: As of 2021, the national director is Commandant-General Andrés Severino.
* The deputy national director: As of 2021, the deputy national director is Commandant-General Javier Alberto Lapalma.
* The General and Special Staff of the National Directorate of the Gendarmerie.

### Rank structure

The ranks of the Argentine Gendarmerie, in ascending order, are: Sub-Officer Ranks
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted | Enlisted |
| Argentine National Gendarmerie vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia | No insignia |
| Argentine National Gendarmerie vte | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial Mayor | Suboficial Principal | Suboficial Principal | Sargento Ayudante | Sargento Ayudante | Sargento Primero | Sargento Primero | Sargento Primero | Sargento Primero | Sargento Primero | Sargento Primero | Sargento | Sargento | Sargento | Sargento | Sargento | Sargento | Cabo Primero | Cabo Primero | Cabo Primero | Cabo Primero | Cabo | Cabo | Gendarme | Gendarme | Gendarme | Gendarme | Gendarme | Gendarme | Gendarme | Gendarme |
The ranks up to and including sergeant are classified as Subaltern Sub-Officers (Suboficiales Subalternos), and the remainder are classified as Superior Sub-Officers (Suboficiales Superiores). The sub-officer ranks are the same as Argentine army ranks, and wear the same insignia, but with a much thicker gold band for a Gendarmerie Principal Sub-Officer than is used in the Army.
Officer Ranks
| Rank group | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | General / flag officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Senior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers | Junior officers |
| Argentine National Gendarmerie vte | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Argentine National Gendarmerie vte | | | | | Director Nacional | Director Nacional | Subdirector Nacional | Subdirector Nacional | Comandante General | Comandante General | Comandante Mayor | Comandante Mayor | Comandante Principal | Comandante Principal | Comandante | Comandante | Segundo Comandante | Segundo Comandante | Primer Alférez | Primer Alférez | Primer Alférez | Alférez | Alférez | Alférez | Subalferez | Subalferez |
The ranks up to and including Segundo Comandante are classified as Subaltern Officers (Oficiales Subalternos). Gendarmerie officers wear the same insignia as the equivalent Argentine Army rank. The National Director and his Deputy wear the insignia of an Argentine Lieutenant-General and Divisional General respectively, although they still have the rank of Commandant-General. (NB: Lieutenant-General is the highest Argentine Army rank.)

### Unit structure

* A Section (Spanish: pelotón) is a squad of several men.
* A Group (Spanish: grupo) consists of several sections and is the basic operational unit of the Gendarmerie.
* A Squadron (Spanish: escuadrón) consists of three groups.
* A Grouping (Spanish: agrupación) consists of several squadrons. This may be thought of as roughly corresponding to the level of command of a battalion or regiment.
* Above the groupings are the regional commands and the staff of the National Directorate.

### Operational units

* Regional Headquarters
* Mobile Units
* Special Forces Units: Grupo Alacrán
* Intelligence Squadron
* Highway Security Sections
* Environment Protection Service
* Mountain Rescue Groups
* Scrubland Special Section: Grupo MONTE

### Support units

* Logistics Squadron
* Telecommunications and Computer Service
* Expert Investigation Service
* Aviation Service
* Medical Assistance Service

## Equipment
### Firearms

| Weapon | Caliber | Origin | Notes |
| Pistols ||||
| Beretta 92 | 9×19mm | Italy | Service pistol |
| Glock 17 | 9×19mm | Austria | Used by the Grupo Alacrán |
| Browning Hi-power | 9×19mm | United States | |
| Submachine Guns ||||
| FMK-3 | 9×19mm | Argentina | Service SMG |
| Heckler & Koch MP5 | 9×19mm | Germany | |
| FN P90 | FN 5.7×28mm | Belgium | Used by the Grupo Alacrán |
| Assault Rifles & Battle Rifles ||||
| FN FAL | 7.62×51mm | Belgium/ Argentina | Standard service rifle |
| Steyr AUG | 5.56×45mm | Austria | |
| Colt M4 | 5.56×45mm | United States | Used by the Grupo Alacrán |
| Sniper Rifles & Machine guns ||||
| M24 SWS | 7.62×51mm | United States | Standard sniper rifle |
| Barrett M95 | .50 BMG | United States | Used by the Grupo Alacrán |
| FN MAG | 7.62×51mm | Belgium/ Argentina | |
| Shotguns ||||
| Ithaca 37 | 12 gauge | United States | Standard service shotgun |
| Mossberg 500-A | 12 gauge | United States | Standard service shotgun |
| Valtro PM-5 | 12 gauge | Italy | |
| Benelli M3 | 12 gauge | Italy | |
| SPAS-15 | 12 gauge | Italy | Used by the Grupo Alacrán |

### Vehicles

| Model | Type | Origin | Notes |
| Ford Focus | Police car | United States/ Argentina | |
| Renault Megane | Police car | France/ Argentina | |
| Ford Ranger | Pickup truck | United States/ Argentina | |
| Volkswagen Amarok | Pickup truck | Germany/ Argentina | |
| Agrale Marrua | Pickup truck | Brazil | |
| Land Rover Defender | Pickup truck | United Kingdom | |
| Iveco Daily | Van | Italy/ Argentina | |
| Mercedes-Benz Sprinter | Van | Germany/ Argentina | |
| Mercedes-Benz Unimog | Truck | Germany | |
| Iveco VM 90 | Truck | Italy | |
| Bandvagn 206 | All-terrain vehicle | Sweden | |
| STREIT Group Spartan | Armoured personnel carrier | Canada | Used by the Grupo Alacrán |

### Aircraft

The service has a small inventory of aircraft, based at Campo de Mayo.
* Eurocopter EC135
* Eurocopter AS350 Ecureuil
* Pilatus PC-12/47E
* Pilatus PC-6B/H2
* AgustaWestland AW119 Koala
* AgustaWestland AW169