Chilean Army The Chilean Army ( ) is the land arm of the Military of Chile . This 45 , 000 - person army ( 12 , 700 of which are conscript s ) is organized into six 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 . The Chilean Army is mostly supported by equipment from Germany , the Netherlands , Switzerland , the United States , Israel , France , and Spain . History . 19th . Century . 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 . 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 . 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 . The Chilean Conscription Law of 1900 marked the beginning of the end of the Guardia Nacional . Prussian Influence . 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 . 20th . Century . Milicia Republicana . 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 . On 7 Mai 20 , 000 militiamen marched past President Arturo Alessandri in the streets of Santiago . In Las Mercedes ' plot , 1933 , Commander - in - Chief of the Army , Pedro Vignola called " to resist the Milicia Republicana by any means " and he was removed of the army She was dissolved in 1936 . The Army under Pinochet . 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 armed forces personnel and civilians . Neltume . In a massive operation ( Operación de Contraguerrilla " Machete " ) spearheaded by Chilean Army Para - Commandos , security forces involving some 2 , 000 troops . , were deployed in the mountains of Neltume from June to November 1981 , 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 . 2013 colonel ( retired ) Conrado García and captain ( retired ) Enrique Sandoval Arancibia are being processed 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 . The Chilean army today . As a result of tensions with neighbors during the conflictprone 1970s and early 1980s , the Chilean army refined existing strategic concepts and eventually formulated a plan to restructure the army ’ s forces . Though wars were avoided , the threats from the 1970s and 1980s encouraged the army to address more effectively its major defense disadvantage : lack of strategic depth . Thus in the early 1980s it looked to outward for a model of army organization that would best advance defensive capabilities by restructuring forces into smaller , more mobile units instead of traditional divisions . The resulting Plan Alcazar , envisions three military zones in Chile , with the bulk of forces concentrated in the north , and reinforces the center and south . The plan was implemented in stages , and the first began in 1994 . Thus Alcazar , based on threat scenarios of the past , is one of the most durable “ lessons ” of the past . Even with the resolution of almost all remaining territorial disputes , the restructuring agenda remained on track and structurally reinforces a conflict - based mindset in the army . Organization . Order Of Battle . Army Commandant Office in Santiago , where the main decisions of the Chilean Army are given Army Institution and Doctrine Command ( " Comando Instituto y Doctrina " ) Army Force Services Command ( " Comando Apoyo de la Fuerza " ) Army Independent Commands Army General Staff Office ( Estado Mayor General del Ejercito ) Military Equipment . 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 . Military ranks . An aspiring non - commissioned officer or officer of the Chilean Army undergoes studies at these two schools , both located in the Santiago Metropolitan Region : 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 - officer s ) but a new officer rank scheme is used , with 3 general officers instead of four general officers . Enlisted ranks . All Privates and Student NCOs studying in the Army NCO School wear no rank insignia . Officer ranks . Officer ranks are derived from those of the German and French Armies . While field grade and senior grade officer rank insignia show German influence , general officer rank insignia are similar to those used in the French Army but in red shoulder straps ( similar to those used by the United States Army ) with two to four golden stars .