| Agencyname: | Argentine National Gendarmerie |
| Nativename: | Spanish; Castilian: Gendarmería Nacional Argentina |
| Abbreviation: | GNA |
| Logocaption: | Emblem of the Force |
| Flag: | Bandera de la Gendarmeria Argentina II.svg |
| Flagcaption: | Gendarmeria flag |
| Mottotranslated: | Centinela de la Patria |
| Formed: | 1938 |
| Employees: | 75,000 |
| Volunteers: | All non commissioned personnel are volunteers. |
| Country: | Argentina |
| Gendarmerie: | yes |
| Federal: | Yes |
| Legaljuris: | opsjuris |
| Headquarters: | Ave. Antártida Argentina and Gendarmería Nacional St., Buenos Aires |
| Minister1name: | Patricia Bullrich |
| Minister1pfo: | Minister of Security |
| Chief1name: | Commandant General Andrés Severino |
| Chief1position: | National Director of the Gendarmerie |
| Chief2name: | Commandant General Javier Alberto Lapalma |
| Chief2position: | Deputy National Director |
| Officetype: | Regional Headquarter |
The Argentine National Gendarmerie (Spanish; Castilian: Gendarmería Nacional Argentina, GNA) is the national gendarmerie force and corps of border guards of the Argentine Republic. As at 2011, It has a strength of 30,000[1]
The gendarmerie is primarily a frontier guard force but also fulfils other important roles. The force functions from what are today five regional headquarters at Campo de Mayo, Córdoba, Rosario, San Miguel de Tucumán and Bahía Blanca.
Non-commissioned personnel of the gendarmerie are all volunteers and receive their training in the force's own comprehensive system of training institutions. Officers graduate after a three-year course at the National Gendarmerie Academy. Both officers and non-commissioned personnel have access to the specialist training establishments of the Army.
The gendarmerie was created in 1938 by the National Congress[2] and replaced the regiments of the Army which previously fulfilled the gendarmerie's missions. The gendarmerie was particularly tasked with providing security in isolated and sparsely populated frontier regions which had only been settled relatively recently. In many senses the gendarmerie may still be considered an adjunct of the Argentine Army.
The gendarmerie's mission and functions are concerned with both domestic security and national defense. According to Laws No. 23.554 and 24.059, the armed forces cannot intervene in internal civil conflicts, except in logistics’ and support roles, so the gendarmerie is subordinate to the Ministry of Security. It is defined as a civilian "security force of a military nature". It maintains a functional relationship with the minister of defense, as part of both the National Defense System and the Interior Security System. It therefore maintains capabilities arising from the demands required by joint military planning with the armed forces.
The gendarmerie's main missions are:
The gendarmerie is also used for other security missions, which include:
Under the United Nations, the Gendarmerie has served in Guatemala, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Angola, Lebanon, Rwanda, Liberia, Cyprus, South Sudan, Haiti and Colombia.
The high command includes:
The ranks of the Argentine Gendarmerie, in ascending order, are:Sub-Officer Ranks
The ranks up to and including sergeant are classified as Subaltern Sub-Officers (Suboficiales Subalternos), and the remainder are classified as Superior Sub-Officers (Suboficiales Superiores). The sub-officer ranks are the same as Argentine army ranks, and wear the same insignia, but with a much thicker gold band for a Gendarmerie Principal Sub-Officer than is used in the Army.
Officer Ranks
The ranks up to and including Segundo Comandante are classified as Subaltern Officers (Oficiales Subalternos). Gendarmerie officers wear the same insignia as the equivalent Argentine Army rank. The National Director and his Deputy wear the insignia of an Argentine Lieutenant-General and Divisional General respectively, although they still have the rank of Commandant-General. (NB: Lieutenant-General is the highest Argentine Army rank.)
| Weapon | Caliber | Origin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pistols | ||||
| Service pistol | ||||
| Used by the Grupo Alacrán | ||||
| Browning Hi-power | 9x19mm | |||
| Submachine Guns | ||||
| Service SMG | ||||
| Used by the Grupo Alacrán | ||||
| Assault Rifles & Battle Rifles | ||||
| / | Standard service rifle | |||
| Used by the Grupo Alacrán | ||||
| Sniper Rifles & Machine guns | ||||
| Standard sniper rifle | ||||
| Used by the Grupo Alacrán | ||||
| / | ||||
| Shotguns | ||||
| Standard service shotgun | ||||
| Mossberg 500-A | 12 gauge | Standard service shotgun | ||
| Valtro PM-5 | 12 gauge | |||
| Used by the Grupo Alacrán | ||||
| Model | Type | Origin | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| / | ||||
| / | ||||
| / | ||||
| / | ||||
| [3] | ||||
| / | ||||
| / | ||||
| Used by the Grupo Alacrán |
The service has a small inventory of aircraft, based at Campo de Mayo.[4]