Mexican Army

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Mexican Army 'Ejército Méxicano'
Standard of the Mexican Army
Founded	August 21, 1884
Service branches	Mexican Air Force
Headquarters	Mexico City
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	Felipe de Jesus Calderón Hinojosa
Seceretary of Defense	Guillermo Galván Galván
Manpower
Military age	18–49
Conscription	682,000 (2009 est.) picked by lottery and are obligated to serve for one year limited to "civil" duties.
Available for military service	41,009,345 males, age 16–49 (2008 est.), 39,314,328 females, age 16–49 (2008 est.)
Fit for military service	35,321,639 males, age 16–49 (2008 est.), 32,951,438 females, age 16–49 (2008 est.)
Reaching military age annually	2,360,380 males (2008 est.), 2,410,032 females (2008 est.)
Active personnel	223,000 (2009 est)
Reserve personnel	582,000 (2009 est)
Deployed personnel	90,000 (145,000 including army controled police and paramilitary units)
Expenditures
Budget	$ 4 billion (2009 est.)
Percent of GDP	0.5% (2009 est.)
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Brazil, Russia, Israel, Germany, France, United States, South Korea

The Mexican Army (Spanish: Ejército Méxicano) is the land branch and largest of the Mexican Military services; it also is known as the National Defense Army. It is famous for having been the first army to adopt and use an automatic rifle (The Mondragón rifle) in 1899, and the first to issue automatic weapons as standard issue weapons, in 1908. The Mexican Army has an active duty force of 192,000 (2008 est). ^[1]

Mexico has no foreign nation-state adversaries and little ambition to impose itself upon other nations. It repudiates the use of force to settle disputes and rejects interference by one nation in the affairs of another. Although it has not suffered a major terrorist incident, Mexico considers itself a potential target for international terrorism.^[2]

History

Prehispanic Origins: The Aztec

This page from the Codex Mendoza shows the gradual improvements to equipment and tlahuiztli as a warrior progresses through the ranks from commoner to porter to warrior to captor, and later as a noble progressing in the warrior societies from the noble warrior to "Eagle warrior" to "Jaguar Warrior" to "Otomitl" to "Shorn One" and finally as "Tlacateccatl".

In the prehispanic era there lived many indigenous tribes and highly developed city-states in what is now know as central Mexico. The most advanced and powerful kingdoms were those of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco and Tacuba (also called Tlacopan) which comprised populations of the same ethnic origin and were politically linked by an alliance known as the Aztec Triple Alliance. The Calmecac, or Nahuatl Center for Higher Education, was where the children of the Aztec priesthood and nobility receive rigorous religious and military training and conveyed the highest knowledge such as: doctrines, divine songs, the science of interpreting codices, calendar skills, memorization of texts, etc. In Aztec society it was compulsory for all young male nobles, as well as commoners, to form part of the armed forces beginning at the age of 15.

Itzcoatl "Obsidian Serpent" (1381-1440), fourth king of Tenochtitlán, organized the army that defeated the Tepanec of Atzcapotzalco, freeing his people from the their dominion. His reign began with the rise of what would become the largest empire in Mesoamerica. Then Moctezuma Ilhuicamina "The arrow to the sky" (1440-1469) came to extend the domain and the influence of the monarchy of Tenochtitlán. He began to organize trade to the outside regions of the Valley of Mexico. This was the monarch who organized the Alliance with the Lordships of Texcoco, and Tenochtitlan Tlacopan known as the Triple Alliance.

The Aztec came to establish the Flower Wars as a form of worship, which unlike the wars of conquest, aimed at obtaining prisoners for sacrifice to the sun. Combat orders were given by kings (or Lords) using drums or blowing into a sea snail shell which gave off a sound like a horn. Giving out signals using coats of arms was very common. For combat that took place outside their cities they would organize several groups in which only one was in action while the others remained on alert. When warfare was carried on to cities these were usually attacked in three different parts, or flanks, all at once and in equal numbers of assault groups. This tactic was used in order to know which division of warriors laying siege would distinguish themselves the most in combat.^[3]

Independence

The Army of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla was followed by his loyal companions among them Mariano Abasolo and a small army equipped with swords, spears, slingshots and sticks was the first militant group that initiated the independence movement in the early morning of September 16 1810. Captain General Ignacio Allende, was the military brain of the insurgents in the first phase of the War of Independence, which had several victories over the Spanish Royal Army. Their troops were about 5,000 strong and was latter joined by squadrons of the Queen's Regiment where its members in turn contributed infantry battalions and cavalry squadrons to the insurrection cause.

Guanajuato. At center: the Alhóndiga de Granaditas

The Spaniards saw that it was important to defend the fortified plaza in Guanajuato named Alhondiga Granaditas which kept the flow of water, weapons, food and ammunition. The insurgents entered the town of Guanajuato, and laid siege on the Alhondiga de Granaditas. In the attack, the insurgents suffered heavy casualties, until there came Juan Jose de los Reyes: "the Pípila", who fitted a slab on his back for protection and with a torch in hand set fire to the door of the Alhondiga. With this stunt the insurgents managed to bring down the door and entered the building. Hidalgo latter arrived at Valladolid (now Morelia, Michoacan) without encountering resistance. The Insurgent Army was over 600,000 poorly armed men with arrows and sticks, tillage tools and few guns they had taken from the stocks in which they had passed.

In Aculco, State of Mexico, the forces under the command of the Royalist Felix Maria Calleja, Count of Calderon and Don Manuel de Flon, with 200 infantrymen, 500 cavalry troops and 12 cannons defeated the insurgents, who lost many elements and the artillery they had obtained at Monte de las Cruces. On November 29, 1810 Hidalgo makes his entrance to Guadalajara, the capital of Nueva Galicia (current State of Jalisco) where organizes the government and especially the Insurgent Army. There is where he formally promulgates the abolition of slavery.

In a place called Puente de Calderón near the city of Guadalajara Jalisco insurgents held a hard-fought battle with the royalists. During the fierce fighting a car full of ammunition in the side of the insurgents exploded which, among other causes, led to their defeat hence all their artillery was lost as well as equipment and the lives of many men.

In the town of Acatita de Baján near Monclova a former royalist named Ignacio Elizondo betrayed the insurgents and seized the priest Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Ignacio Allende, Juan Aldama, José Mariano Jiménez and the rest of the entourage. They were brought to the city of Chihuahua, where they were tried by a military court and executed by firing squad on July 30, 1811. Hidalgo’s death resulted in a political vacuum on the insurgent side until 1812. The royalist military commander, General Felix Calleja, continued to pursue rebel troops. Insurgent fighting evolved into guerrilla warfare and eventually the next major insurgent leader, Jose Maria Morelos y Pavon, who had led rebel movements with Hidalgo, became head of the insurgents.

Organization

The Army is under authority of the National Defense Secretariat or SEDENA. It has three components: a national headquarters, territorial commands, and independent units. The Minister of Defence commands the Army via a centralized command system and many general officers. The Army uses a modified continental staff system in its headquarters. The Mexican Air Force is a branch of the Mexican Army.

The principal units of the Mexican army are nine infantry brigades and a number of independent regiments and infantry battalions. The main maneuver elements of the army are organized in three corps, each consisting of three infantry brigades, all based in and around the Federal District. Distinct from the brigade formations, independent regiments and battalions are assigned to zonal garrisons (45 in total) in each of the country’s 12 military regions. Infantry battalions, composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone, and certain zones are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or an artillery regiment. ^[4]

Regional organization

Cadets of the Heroic Military Academy (Mexico).

Mexican Paratroopers.

México is divided into twelve Military Regions composed of forty-four sub-ordinate Military Zones [the 2007 ed. of the IISS lists 12 regions, 45 zones], the enumeration is for nominal designation. There is no fixed number of zones in a region, therefore operational needs determine how many or how few, with corresponding increases and decreases in troop strength.

Usually on the secretary of defence's recommendation. The senior zone commander also is commander of the military region containing the military zone. A military zone commander has jurisdiction over every unit operating in his territory, including the Rurales (Rural Defense Force) that occasionally have been Federal political counterweight to the power of state governors. Zone commanders provide the national defence secretary with socio-political conditions intelligence about rural areas. Moreover, they traditionally have acted in co-ordination with the Secretariat of National Defense (SEDENA) on planning and resources deployment.

Military Zones

Tactical units

The primary units of the Mexican army are six brigades and a number of independent regiments and infantry battalions.

The Brigades, all based in and around the Federal District (encompassing the Mexico City area), are the only real maneuver elements in the army. With their support units, they are believed to account for over 40 percent of the country's ground forces. According to The Military Balance, published by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in Oklahoma City, the army has six brigades: one armored, two infantry, one motorized infantry, one airborne, and the Presidential Guard Brigade. The Third military police brigade was transferred to the Federal Preventive Police in 2008. The armored brigade is one of two new brigades formed since 1990 as part of a reorganization made possible by an increase in overall strength of about 25,000 troops. The brigade consists of three armored and one mechanized infantry regiment.

Distinct from the brigade formations are independent regiments (all regiments are battalion sized) and battalions assigned to zonal garrisons. These independent units consist of one armored cavalry regiment, nineteen motorized cavalry regiments, one mechanized infantry regiment, seven artillery regiments, and three artillery and eighteen infantry battalions. Infantry battalions are small and are each composed of approximately 300 troops, generally are deployed in each zone. Certain zones also are assigned an additional motorized cavalry regiment or one of the seven artillery regiments. Smaller detachments often are detailed to patrol more inaccessible areas of the countryside, helping to maintain order and resolve disputes.

Special Forces Corp

Mexican Special Forces escorting cartel members.

The Army has a Special Forces Corps unified command with 3 Special Forces Brigades, a High Command GAFE group, a GAFE group assigned to the Airborne Brigade and several Amphibious Special Forces Groups.

The Special Forces Brigades are formed by 9 SF battalions. The First brigade has the 1°, 2° y 3° SF battalions, The Second brigade has the 5°,6°,7° y 8°, and the Third brigade has the 4° y 9° and a Rapid Intervention Force group. The High Command GAFE is a group with no more than 100 members, they are specially trained in counter-terrorist tactics. They receive orders directly from the Secretary of National Defense

The Amphibious Special Forces Groups are trained in amphibious warfare, they give the army extended force to the coastal lines.

• Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales
• Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales del Alto Mando

Air Force Special Forces

• Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas

Estado Mayor Presidencial

There is a specific element of the Mexican Army which takes care of the President, a special group known as the Estado Mayor Presidencial (in command of the Guardias Presidenciales, equivalent to the American Secret Service). Every member of this division is an expert marksman and has tough training for the protection of the President.

Ranks

	Generales				Jefes			Oficiales
Insignia
Grado	Secretario de la Defensa Nacional	General de División	General de Brigada	General Brigadier	Coronel	Teniente Coronel	Mayor	Capitán Primero	Capitán Segundo	Teniente	Subteniente

Military Industry

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Since the early 2000s the Army has been steadily modernising to become competitive with the armies of other American countries^[5] and have also taken certains steps to decrease spending and dependency on foreign equipment in order to become more autonomous such as the domestic production of the FX-05 rifle designed in Mexico and the commitment to researching, designing and manufacturing domestic military systems such as military electronics and body armor.^[6]

SEDENA Desert Digital Camouflage

SEDENA Jungle Digital Camouflage

On July 19, 2009. SEDENA spent 488 million pesos(37 million U.S.) to transfer technology to manufacture the G36V German made rifle. Although it is not known if this will be manufactured as a cheaper alternative to the FX-05 meant for the army or if it is to be manufactured for Military police and other law enforcement agencies such as the Federal Police. The FX-05 is planned to become the new standard rifle for the armed forces replacing the Heckler & Koch G3 so it is not yet clear what the G-36 rifles will be used for.^[7]

Uniform

Since the 20th century to mid 2000's, The Mexican army's standard combat uniform color was the olive green battle dress. From there the army switched to all woodland camouflage and Desert Camouflage Uniform. Then on July 2008, The Directorate General of Garment Factories and Equipment of the Ministry of National Defense announced the plans of creating the country's first digital uniforms, which will consist of Woodland/jungle and Desert camouflage. As of 2009 the uniforms are in service.^[8]

Equipment

Land Vehicles

Sedena-Henschel HWK-11 Infantry Fighting Vehicle

Mexican Army Vehicle Inventory

Vehicle/System	Firm Number in Service	Status	Origin
Wheeled Armoured Vehicles
Lynx 90 Armoured Fighting Vehicle[1]	120	In Service	France
Panhard VCR Infantry Fighting Vehicle	40	In Service	France
BDX (DNC-2) Armoured Personnel Vehicle	95	In Service	Belgium
Panhard Véhicule Blindé Léger	40	In Service	France
V-150 Armoured Personnel Vehicle	26	In Service	United States
DN-IV Caballo Horse Armoured Personnel Vehicle	15	In Service	Mexico
DN-V Bufalo Buffalo Armoured Personnel Vehicle	27	In Service	Mexico
Infantry Transport Vehicles
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle	3,849[9]	In Service	United States
M520 Goer		In Service	United States
Freightliner M2		In Service	Mexico/ United States
M-35		In Service	United States
M151 MUTT		In Service	United States
Chevrolet Silverado GMT900		In Service	Mexico
Ford Pickup		In Service	United States
Dodge Ram		In Service. Variants of 4x4 and 6x6	Mexico
Tracked Armoured Vehicles
Sedena-Henschel HWK-11	40	In Service	Mexico/ Germany
AMX VCI	409	In Service	France

Infantry Weapons

FX-05 Assault rifle

G-3 Assault rifle

FN P90 Sub-machine gun

Mk 19 40mm grenade machine gun

Barret M82A1

MSG-90

Mk 19 40mm grenade machine gun

MILAN

Regular Infantry

• G3 7.62x51mm NATO. Currently standard issue.
• FX-05 Xiuhcoatl 5.56x45mm NATO

Military Police

• FN FAL 7.62mm assault rifle
• Heckler & Koch G3 assault rifle

Special Forces

• M4A1 5.56mm carbine
• AR-15 5.56mm carbine

Ceremonial

• Mondragón F-08 7 x 57 mm Mauser automatic rifle used for ceremonial occasions

Submachine guns

• FN P90 5.7x28mm Submachine Gun
• Heckler & Koch MP5 9 mm Submachine Gun

Shotguns

• Remington 870 12 gauge pump action shotgun
• Mossberg 500 12 gauge pump action shotgun

Machine guns

• M2 machine gun .50 caliber 12.7 mm machine gun
• HK21E 7.62 machine gun. Made under license from Heckler & Koch
• FN MAG 7.62 mm Heavy Infantry Machine Gun
• M60 7.62 mm machine gun
• M249 Squad Automatic Weapon 5.56 mm light machine gun
• FN MINIMI 5.56 mm light machine gun

Sniper rifles

• Heckler & Koch MSG90 7.62x51mm NATO sniper rifle.
• Barrett M82 .50 Caliber 12.7×99mm NATO sniper rifle
• M24 Sniper Weapon System 7.62x51mm NATO sniper rifle

Pistols

• FN Five-seven 5.7x28mm standard armor piercing pistol
• Beretta 92 9x19mm or 9x21mm .40 S&W side arm
• Glock pistol .45 ACP or 9x19mm side arm used by some infantry and military police units
• CornerShot system. In use for Special Force.
• Heckler & Koch USP 11.43x23mm .45 ACP replacing Beretta 92.

Grenade Launchers

• Mk 19 40mm grenade machine gun.
• M203 grenade launcher 40mm grenade launcher used on M-16, M-4 and M-426 type rifles being replaced by the AG-C/GLM.

Anti-tank missile systems

• MILAN Anti-tank guided missile mounted on VBL scout vehicles.

Anti-tank gun

• M40 106 mm recoilless rifle anti-tank gun mounted on High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle

Anti-tank rocket weapon system

• B-300 82 mm light anti-tank
• M72 LAW 66 mm light anti-tank rocket
• RL-83 Blindicide light anti-tank rocket

Artillery

Field Howitzers

• M101 105 mm towed Howitzer
• OTO Melara Mod 56 105 mm towed Howitzer

Mortars

• Brandt 60 mm LR Gun-mortar (1,561)
• M1/M29 81 mm (330)
• Brandt 120 mm (75)

See also

• Federales
• Rurales
• Mexican Navy
• Mexican Air Force

External links

• Photos of the Mexican Army, National Marine and Air Force
• Secretaria de la Defensa Nacional - Fabrica de armas y equipos
• Inventario 2006
• Mexican Military Women
• Mexican Army Photos

References