Argentine Army The Argentine Army ( " Ejército Argentino " , EA ) is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country . As of 2012 , the army has 44 , 233 military personnel . Under the Argentine Constitution , the President of Argentina is the Commander - in - Chief of the Armed Forces , exercising his or her command authority through the Minister of Defense . The Army ' s official foundation date is May 29 , 1810 ( celebrated in Argentina as the " Army Day " ) , four days after the Spanish colonial administration in Buenos Aires was overthrown . The new national army was formed out of several pre - existent colonial militia units and locally - manned regiments ( most notoriously the Patricios Regiment , which to this date is still an active Army unit ) . These units had previously fought the British invasions of the Río de la Plata in 1806 and 1807 . History . Several armed expeditions were sent to the Upper Peru ( now Bolivia ) , Paraguay , Uruguay and Chile to fight Spanish forces and secure Argentina ' s newly gained independence . The most famous of these expeditions was the one led by General José de San Martín , who led a 5000 - man army across the Andes Mountains to expel the Spaniards from Chile and later from Perú . While the other expeditions failed in their goal of bringing all the dependencies of the former Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata under the new government in Buenos Aires , they prevented the Spaniards from crushing the rebellion . During the civil wars of the first half of the 19th century the Argentine Army became fractionalized under the leadership of the so - called " caudillos " ( " leaders " or " warlords " ) , provincial leaders who waged a war against the centralist Buenos Aires administration . However , the Army was briefly re - unified during the war with the Brazilian Empire . ( 1824 – 1827 ) . It was only with the establishment of a Constitution ( which explicitly forbade the provinces from maintaining military forces of their own ) and a national government recognized by all the provinces that the Army became a single force , absorbing the older provincial militias . The Army went on to fight the War of the Triple Alliance in the 1860s together with Brazil and Uruguay against Paraguay . After that war , the Army became involved in Argentina ' s " Conquista del Desierto " ( " Conquest of the Desert " ) : the campaign to occupy Patagonia and root out the natives , who conducted looting raids throughout the country . 1880 – 1960s . Between 1880 and 1930 the Army sought to become a professional force without active involvement in politics , even though many a political figure - President Julio Argentino Roca , for example - benefitted from a past military career . The Army prevented the fall of the government in a number of Radical - led uprisings . Meanwhile , the military in general and the Army in particular contributed to develop Argentina ' s unsettled southern frontier and its nascent industrial complex . The main foreign influence during this period was , by and large , the prussian ( and then German ) doctrine . Partly because of that , during both World Wars most of the officers supported the Germans , more or less openly , while the Argentine Navy favored the British instead . In 1930 , a small group of Army forces ( not more than 600 troops ) deposed President Hipólito Yrigoyen without much response from the rest of the Army and the Navy . This was the beginning of a long history of political intervention by the military . Another coup , in 1943 , was responsible for bringing an obscure colonel into the political limelight : Juan Perón . Even though Perón had the support of the military during his two consecutive terms of office ( 1946 – 1952 and 1952 – 1955 ) , his increasingly repressive government alienated many officers , which finally led to a military uprising which overthrew him in September 1955 . Between 1955 and 1973 the Army and the rest of the military became vigilant over the possible re - emergence of Peronism in the political arena , which led to two new coups against elected Presidents in 1962 ( deposing Arturo Frondizi ) and 1966 ( ousting Arturo Illia ) . It should be noted that political infighting eroded discipline and cohesion within the army , to the extent that there was armed fighting between contending military units during the early 1960s . 1960s and the military junta . The military government which ruled Argentina between 1966 and 1973 saw the growing activities of groups such as Montoneros and the ERP , and also a very important social movement . During Héctor Cámpora ' s first months of government , a rather moderate and left - wing Peronist , approximatively 600 social conflicts , strikes and factory occupations had taken place . Following the June 20 , 1973 Ezeiza massacre , left and right - wing Peronism broke apart , while the Triple A death squad , organized by José López Rega , closest advisor to María Estela Martínez de Perón , started a campaign of assassinations against left - wing opponents . But Isabel Perón herself was ousted during the March 1976 coup by a military " junta " . The new military government , self - named Proceso de Reorganización Nacional , put a stop to the guerrilla ' s campaigns , but soon it became known that extremely violent methods and severe violations of human rights had taken place , in what the dictatorship called a " Dirty War " — a term refused by jurists during the 1985 Trial of the Juntas . Batallón de Inteligencia 601 ( the 601st Intelligence Battalion ) became infamous during this period . It was a special military intelligence service set up in the late 1970s , active in the Dirty War and Operation Condor , and disbanded in 2000 . Its personnel collected information on and infiltrated guerrilla groups and human rights organisations , and coordinated killings , kidnappings and other abuses . The unit also participated in the training of Nicaraguan Contras with US assistance , including from John Negroponte . In April 1982 the Argentine Army contributed forces to ' Operation Rosario , ' the 1982 invasion of the Falkland Islands . The ' Dirty War ' events , coupled with the defeat in the Falklands War , led the military to relinquish power to a civilian government in 1983 . " Annihilation decrees " . Meanwhile , the Guevarist People ' s Revolutionary Army ( ERP ) , led by Roberto Santucho and inspired by Che Guevara ' s foco theory , began a rural insurgency in the province of Tucumán , in the mountainous northwest of Argentina . It started the campaign with no more than 100 men and women of the Marxist ERP guerrilla force and ended with about 300 in the mountains ( including reinforcements in the form of the elite Montoneros 65 - strong Jungle Company and the ERP ' s " Decididos de Córdoba " Urban Company ) , which the Argentine Army managed to defeat , but at a cost . On 5 January 1975 , an Army DHC - 6 transport plane was downed near the Monteros mountains , apparently shot down by Guerrillas . All thirteen on board were killed . The military believe a heavy machine gun had downed the aircraft . In response , Ítalo Luder , President of the National Assembly who acted as interim President substituting himself to Isabel Perón who was ill for a short period , signed in February 1975 the secret presidential decree 261 , which ordered the army to neutralize and / or annihilate the insurgency in Tucumán , the smallest province of Argentina . " Operativo Independencia " gave power to the Armed Forces to " " execute all military operations necessary for the effects of neutralizing or annihilating the action of subversive elements acting in the Province of Tucumán . " " Santucho had declared a " liberated zone " in Tucuman and demanded Soviet - backed protection for its borders as well as proper treatment of captured guerrillas as POWs . The Argentine Army Fifth Brigade , then consisting of the 19th , 20th and 29th Mountain Infantry Regiments and commanded by Brigadier - General Acdel Vilas received the order to move to Famailla in the foothills of the Monteros mountains on 8 February 1975 . While fighting the guerrillas in the jungle , Vilas concentrated on uprooting the ERP support network in the towns , using tactics later adopted nation - wide , as well as a civic action campaign . The Argentine security forces used techniques no different from their US and French counterparts in Vietnam . By July 1975 , anti - guerrilla commandos were mounting search - and - destroy missions in the mountains . Army special forces discovered Santucho ' s base camp in August , then raided the ERP urban headquarters in September . Most of the Compania del Monte ' s general staff was killed in October and was dispersed by the end of the year . The leadership of the rural guerrilla force was mostly eradicated and many of the ERP guerrillas and civilian sympathizers in Tucumán were either killed or forcefully disappeared . Efforts to restrain the rural guerrilla activity to Tucumán , however , remained unsuccessful despite the use of 24 recently arrived US - made Bell UH - 1H Huey troop - transport helicopters . In early October , the 5th Brigade suffered a major blow at the hands of the Montoneros , when more than one hundred , and possibly several hundred In the aftermath , 12 soldiers and 2 policemen were killed and several wounded . The sophistication of the operation , and the getaway cars and safehouses they used to escape from the crash - landing site , suggest several hundred guerrillas and their supporters were involved . The Argentine security forces admitted to 43 army troops killed in action in Tucuman , although this figure does not take into account police and Gendarmerie troops , and the soldiers who died defending their barracks in Formosa province on 5 October 1975 . By December 1975 the Argentine military could , with some justification claim that it was winning the ' Dirty War ' , but it was dismayed to find no evidence of overall victory . On 23 December 1975 , several hundred ERP fighters with the help of hundreds of underground supporters , staged an all - out battle with the 601st Arsenal Battalion nine miles ( 14 km ) from Buenos Aires and occupied four local police stations and a regimental headquarters . 63 guerrillas , seven army troops and three policemen were killed . In addition 20 civilians were killed in the crossfire . Many of the civilian deaths occurred when the guerrillas and supporting militants burned 15 city buses near the arsenal to hamper military reinforcements . This development was to have far - reaching ramifications . On 30 December 1975 , urban guerrillas exploded a bomb inside the Army ' s headquarters in Buenos Aires , injuring at least six soldiers . The Montoneros movement successfully utilized divers in underwater infiltrations and blew the pier where the Argentine destroyer ARA Santísima Trinidad was being built , on 22 August 1975 . The ship was effectively immobilized for several years . French cooperation . French journalist Marie - Monique Robin has found in the archives of the " Quai d ' Orsay " , the French Minister of Foreign Affairs , the original document proving that a 1959 agreement between Paris and Buenos Aires instaured a " permanent French military mission , " formed of veterans who had fought in the Algerian War , and which was located in the offices of the chief of staff of the Argentine Army . She showed how Valéry Giscard d ' Estaing ' s government secretly collaborated with Jorge Rafael Videla ' s junta in Argentina and with Augusto Pinochet ' s regime in Chile . Green deputies Noël Mamère , Martine Billard and Yves Cochet deposed on September 10 , 2003 a request for the constitution of a Parliamentary Commission on the " role of France in the support of military regimes in Latin America from 1973 to 1984 " before the Foreign Affairs Commission of the National Assembly , presided by Edouard Balladur . Apart from " Le Monde " , newspapers remained silent about this request . However , deputy Roland Blum , in charge of the Commission , refused to hear Marie - Monique Robin , and published in December 2003 a 12 pages report qualified by Robin as the summum of bad faith . It claimed that no agreement had been signed , despite the agreement found by Robin in the " Quai d ' Orsay " When Minister of Foreign Affairs Dominique de Villepin traveled to Chile in February 2004 , he claimed that no cooperation between France and the military regimes had occurred . Present . Since the return to civilian rule in 1983 , the Argentine military have been reduced both in number and budget and , by law , cannot intervene anymore in internal civil conflicts . They became more professional , especially after conscription was abolished . In 1998 Argentina was granted Major non - NATO ally status by the United States . The modern Argentine Army is fully committed to international peacekeeping under United Nations mandates , humanitarian aid and emergencies relief . In 2010 the Army incorporated Chinese Norinco armored wheeled APC s to deploy with its peacekeeping forces A major problem of today ' s Army is that most of its combat units are understrength in manpower due to budgetary limitations ; the current Table of Organization and Equipment being established at a time during which the Army could rely on larger budgets and conscripted troops . Current plans call for expansion of combat units until all combat units are again full - strength , as soon as budget constraints allow for the induction of new volunteers . Structure . Army General Staff . The Army is headed by a Chief of General Staff directly appointed by the President . The current Chief of the General Staff ( since September 2008 ) is General Luis Alberto Pozzi . The General Staff of the Army ( " Estado Mayor General del Ejército " ) includes the Chief of Staff , a Deputy Chief of the General Staff and the heads of the General Staff ' s six departments ( " Jefaturas " ) . The current departments of the General Staff ( known also by their Roman numerals ) are : The General Staff also includes the General Inspectorate and the General Secretariat . There are also a number of Commands and Directorates responsibles for development and implementation of policies within the Army regarding technological and operational areas and handle administrative affairs . As of 2005 these include the following : Field organisation . In the 1960s the Army was reorganised into five Army Corps . This structure replaced the old structure based on divisions following the French model . There was a further reorganisation in 1991 , when brigades were assigned to six new divisions , two stationed at Santa Cruz and Mendoza . Until late 2010 , the First , Second and Third Army Divisions were designated as the Second , Third and Fifth Army Corps ( " Cuerpos de Ejército " ) respectively , without any intermediate division - level commands . These redesignations took place as part of a major reorganization of the Armed Forces ' administrative and command structure . Two additional Army Corps , the First and Fourth , had already been dissolved in 1984 and 1991 respectively , with their dependent units reassigned to the remaining three Army Corps . As of 2011 , army forces are geographically grouped into three Army Divisions ( " Divisiones de Ejército " ) , each roughly equivalent in terms of nominal organization to an U . S . Army division ( + ) . Each Army Division has an area of responsibility over a specific region of the country ; First Army Division covers the northeast of the country , Second Army Division covers the center and northwest of Argentina and Third Army Division covers the south and Patagonia . In addition to the three Army Divisions , the Rapid Deployment Force ( " Fuerza de Despliegue Rápido " , FDR ) constitutes as an additional fourth divisional - level formation , while the Buenos Aires Military Garrison operates independently from any division - sized command . There are also several separate groups , including an anti - aircraft group and the Argentine Army Aviation group . Each division has varying numbers of brigades of armor , mechanized forces and infantry . As of 2011 , the Argentine Army has ten brigades : Note : The 7th Infantry Brigade was dissolved in early 1985 , while the 3rd Infantry Brigade was converted into a motorized training formation which was ultimately dissolved in 2003 . Depending on its type , each brigade includes two to five Cavalry or Infantry Regiments , one or two Artillery Groups , a scout cavalry squadron , one battalion or company - sized engineer unit , one intelligence company , one communications company , one command company and a battalion - sized logistical support unit . The terms " regiment " and " group " , found in the official designations of cavalry , infantry and artillery units , are used due to historical reasons . During the Argentine War of Independence the Argentine Army fielded traditional regiment - sized units . ' Regiments ' are more accurately described as battalions ; similar - sized units that do not belong to the above - mentioned services are referred to as " battalions " . In addition to their service , Regiments and Groups are also specialized according to their area of operations ( Mountain Infantry , Jungle Infantry , Mountain Cavalry ) , their equipment ( Tank Cavalry , Light Cavalry , Mechanized Infantry ) or their special training ( Paratroopers , Commandos , Air Assault , Mountain Cazadores or Jungle Cazadores ) . Regiments are made up by four maneuver sub - units ( companies in infantry regiments and squadrons in cavalry regiments ) and one command and support sub - unit for a total of 350 to 700 troops . In 2006 a Rapid Deployment Force was created based on the 4th Paratroopers Brigade . In 2008 a Special Operations Forces Group was created comprising two Commandos Companies , one Special Forces Company and one psychological operations company . Ranks . Insignia for all ranks except Volunteers is worn on shoulder boards . Ranks from Colonel Major onwards use red - trimmed shoulderboards and the suns denoting rank are gold - braid ; the suns on other officers ' shoulder boards are metallic . Senior Colonels and Generals also have golden wreath leaves on their coat lapels . The rank insignia for Volunteers 1st Class , 2nd Class and Commissioned 2nd Class is worn on the sleeves . Collar versions of the ranks are used in combat uniforms . Oficiales . La jerarquía de Coronel Mayor es un rango honorario que le es otorgado a los coroneles con mucho tiempo en el rango o a aquellos Coroneles que han sido promocionados para ascender a General de Brigada , pero que no han podido hacerlo debido a que en ese momento no había vacantes disponibles para acceder a dicho cargo . Equipment . The following are estimated totals for the weapon systems of the Argentine Army in service as of 2009 :