Venezuelan National Guard

Military of Venezuela
National Guard emblem
Service branches	Army National Guard Air National Guard Coastal Vigilance Command (Naval National Guard) Special Operations Command Group
Manpower
Military age	18
Available for military service	6,236,012, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Fit for military service	4,907,947, age 15–49 (2005 est.)
Reaching military age annually	252,396 (2005 est.)
Active personnel	Roughly 387,000
Expenditures
Budget	$1.7 billion (FY04)
Percent of GDP	1.5% (FY04)

The Venezuelan National Guard (Spanish: Guardia Nacional de Venezuela), also called the Armed Forces of Cooperation (Spanish: Fuerzas Armadas de Cooperación), is one of the four components of the National Armed Forces of Venezuela. The National Guard can serve as gendarmerie, perform civil defense roles, or serve as a reserve light infantry force. The national guard was founded 4 August 1937 by the then President of the Republic, Commander-in-Chief Eleazar López Contreras. The motto of the NG is "El Honor es su divisa" (Honor is its emblem), different from the motto of the Spanish Civil Guard.

Objectives

The premise of this military corps is defined in Article 329 of the National Constitution:

The Army, the Navy and Air Force have essential responsibility the planning, execution and control of the combat operations required to assure the national defense. The National Guard will cooperate in the development of these operations and will have like basic responsibility the direction of combat operations demanded for the internal maintenance of order of the country. The National Armed Forces will be able to exert the activities of administrative police and penal investigation that the law attributes to him.

Therefore, this one component fulfills the function to offer security and to defend the sovereignty of the Venezuelan national territory, as much internally as throughout its borders, working jointly with the Army, the Navy and Aviation. At the same time, it participates respectively in operative in internal security in collaboration with the state and municipal police bodies under the direction of the Ministry of the Popular Power for the Defense and the Ministry of the Popular Power of the Interior and Justice. Consequently, in case of disturbances or sackings, it acts to dissuade and to control the protests and other public disturbances.

Present situation

At the present time, the President of Venezuela, Hugo Chávez, has arranged for the National Guard to collaborate with the citizens in activities of cooperation, protection, security, defense and also in social programs or missions to benefit the population, according to the Constitution of 1999.

Organization

Commando General de la Guardia Nacional (Headquarters, National Guard) - Caracas

• Logistics Command,
• Air Operations Command (Air National Guard),
• Operations Command

Controls eight or more Mobile Detachments of battalion size available for deployment to any area of the country in response to threats to internal security or border security

• Three regional commands which control local battalion-sized detachments which provide static defense of certain public buildings, oil installations, and penal institutions. Additionally, they patrol the nation's highway system, functioning as a federal highway police force.
  • San Antonio de Tachira in the western Andean Region,
  • Maracaibo, and
  • Caracas

Recruitment

The VNG is an all volunteer force with over 25,000 men, recruits undergo a two-year basic training course at the Ramo Verde Formation School at Los Teques. Officer candidates were required to study for an additional four years at the Officers Training Academy of the National Guard in Caracas. Postgraduate studies for officers were available at the Advanced Officers School at Caricuao, near Caracas.

Uniforms and Equipment

The VNG wears the same ranks and uniforms as the Venezuelan Army.

The VNG is equipped as a light infantry force, with the standard FN FAL assault rifle (being replaced with the AK-103), light machine-guns, and mortars up to 81mm. It possesses over forty Unimog UR-416 wheeled armored personnel carriers.

It also employed eighty small craft for its coastal and river patrol duties.

The Air National Guard Command operates over 50 fixed-wing light aircraft and helicopters

Hymn

The lyrics were written by Gabriel Torres Thumb, whereas the music was work of Ricardo Lleras Codazzi.

- Choir -

Before God and the Fatherland we swear

with sincere and deep emotion,

that to have by slogan we took

and by high currency the honor (Bis)

- I -

Delinquents you hear! We protected

of the law the sacred empire,

the worker, the home, the state,

diverse the fecund mission

the borders, the coasts, the level ones,

mountain ranges, fields, city, small village.

Everything you, everything you, Venezuela,

you will see us against the vile malefactor.

- II -

Compatriots or not: guarantee

we will offer the good citizen,

to the disabled person, the boy, the old one,

based on social justice.

And to you, Mother country, at the times combat,

or to the heat of your civic fights,

these notes will arrive that listening

as a hymn of love and loyalty.

See also

• National Armed Forces
• National Guard (disambiguation)
• Civil Guard (Spain)

External links

• VNG at Country Data
• Official site of the National Guard of Venezuela (Spanish)
• Official site of the Ministry for the Defense of Venezuela (Spanish)