Military of Paraguay

Military of Paraguay
Paraguayan Coat of Arms
Service branches	Paraguayan Army Paraguayan Air Force Paraguayan Navy
Leadership
Commander-in-Chief	President Horacio Cartes
Minister of Defense	General of the Army Bernardino Soto Estigarribia (Retired)
Commander of the Armed Forces	General of the Army Luis Gonzaga Garcete Espinola
Manpower
Military age	18
Available for military service	1,678,335, age 16–49 (2010 est.)
Fit for military service	1,409,859, age 16–49 (2010 est.)
Reaching military age annually	73,367 (2010 est.)
Active personnel	15,650 active military (2016) 14,800 paramilitary (2012)
Reserve personnel	168,500 (2012)
Expenditures
Budget	$US 248 million (2011)
Percent of GDP	1.66%
Industry
Foreign suppliers	Mexico  United States  Brazil  China  Argentina  Iran  Chile  Spain  Taiwan  Colombia  Sweden  Germany  United Kingdom  Canada   Switzerland  Russia  Peru  Italy

The armed forces of Paraguay consist of the Paraguayan army, navy (including naval aviation and marine corps) and air force.

The constitution of Paraguay establishes the president of Paraguay as the commander-in-chief.

Paraguay has compulsory military service, and all 18-year-old males and 17-year-olds in the year of their 18th birthday are liable for one year of active duty. Although the 1992 constitution allows for conscientious objection, no enabling legislation has yet been approved.

In July 2005, military aid in the form of U.S. Special Forces began arriving at Paraguay's Mariscal Estigarribia air base, a sprawling complex built in 1982.

In land forces the Paraguayan Army is composed of a Presidential Guards Regiment, composed two battalions (infantry and military police), an armored squadron, and a battery of field artillery, plus the operationally attached Mounted Ceremonial Squadron "Aca Caraya" (which serves independently but as the mounted escort in state events, and serves as part of the 4th Cavalry Regiment). Their equipment includes three Argentinean modified M-4 tanks, four EE-9 armored cars, four EE-11 armored personnel carriers (APCs), three M-9 half-tracks mounting 20mm guns, and four M-101 105 mm howitzers. Arguably, this "flagship" of military rule is structurally and physically the strongest of the EP. The REP is an independent unit from other commands. The EP features two artillery groups (GAC 1–12 88 mm QF-25 and GAC 2–12 105mm M-101) and one antiaircraft artillery group (GAA 13 40 mm L 40/60, Oerlikon 20 mm cannons, and six M-55 4x12, 7.0 mm).