Ejército Argentino: 2300AD General Order of Battle Introduction The Ejército Argentino, Argentina's army, is the widely regarded as the finest ground force in Latin America. Although small when compared with its mighty Brazilian rival it has gradually attained an impressive ascendancy over its northern opponent. The Ejército Argentino has recovered from the humiliations of the 1st Rio Plato War and has become the most advanced force in the region in terms of equipment, doctrine and sustainability. Acknowledgements The CASA-14 is by Jason Weiser. The Estoque missile and the AVI-45 are by Greg Hunter. The Fusil-19 is from GDW’s 1st Ed Player’s Manual. Narrative Teniente Coronel Eduardo Grau was sweating profusely in the heat of the Mojave in August. His unit, Regimiento de Infantería Paracaidista 14, had been dropped onto the desolate valley floor less than an hour ago. Screening elements were in front of the main body as it approached the objective, and had skirmished with elements of the Mexican Army simulating enemy reconnaissance troops. Now it was the turn of the infantry to fight a break-in battle. Grau’s first target was an area of domestic housing inside the perimeter of the facility, his mission was to secure a foothold so that the rest of the brigade could pass on and complete the seizure of the small town. The desert was far from ideal terrain for infantry and already his men were pressed to hold off the Mexican probes. The sooner he got into the town the better as the armoured cavalry would be easier to kill there. His young paratroopers, still tired from the long flight up, tore into action under the cover of mortar smoke. The leading company took heavy casualties initially, but with support from the high ground were soon able to pick off the enemy, cross the wide ring road and fight into the old, crumbling houses. Grau kept himself near the front of the battle imposing himself on the battle and committing his reserve to widen the foothold. It was two hours later when the next battalion passed through RI 14, pushing on to the Barstow Road. It was a annual exercise for the brigade and made use of their excellent links with the Mexicans and the superb facilities and massive area of BFAM Lago de China with this town sized urban training facility that was once a major army base which the Mexicans had taken from the Americans long ago. The desert environment was different from their usual training but urban combat was universal. The soldiers he knew were looking forward to a night in the fleshpots of Los Angeles should their colonel decide they had performed to his satisfaction. Order
of Battle IIdo Cuerpo de Ejército 'Teniente General Juan Cárlos Sanchez' Cp Ej II is responsible for the defence of both the city and province of Buenos Aires. It also acts as an immediate reserve for Cp Ej VII a role for which the Div Bl I trains extensively. Memories of the Brazilian occupation of Buenos Aires are still fresh and the Cuerpo has Div Mec IX as well as reserve formations assigned to this task.
IIIer Cuerpo de Ejército 'Ejército del Norte' Cp Ej III is responsible for the north-western parts of Argentina and borders Paraguay, Bolivia and Chile. The Cuerpo has mountain, parachute and mechanised formations and is a versatile formation capable of swift movement of its assets. It can intervene quickly into any of the neighbouring countries, reinforce Cp Ej VII or provide it with flank protection and Div Parac IV can deploy further a field if required.
Vto Cuerpo de Ejército 'Teniente General Julio Argentino Roca' Cp Ej V has responsibility for the south of Argentina, and like Cp Ej III is a versatile formation which has several roles. Cp Ej V can provide reinforcement for the northern Cuerpos, defend the coast against amphibious forces, bolster Marine units in the Antarctic or intervene in Chile. The Cuerpo is also home to many of Argentina’s training facilities.
VIIta Cuerpo de Ejército 'Ejército del Rio Plato' Cp Ej VII is Argentina’s frontline formation in its long running confrontation with Brazil. It is stationed in the border provinces of Misiones, Corrientes and Entre Rios as well as having forces deployed in Uruguay. Cp Ej VII has operational command of the Uruguayan Army. Its permanently assigned forces are amongst the best trained and equipped in the Ejército Argentino, however the Cuerpo frequently practices its reinforcement procedures.
Agrupación de Ejército de Montaña The Ag Ej Mont is Argentina’s military force on its colony of Montaña and amounts to a single brigade with some service support elements. It works very closely with the locally based units of the Mexican 8º Ejército, both units share common training and equipment.
Agrupación de Ejército Expedicionario The Ag Ej Exped is Argentina’s contribution to the Kafer War and along with its Mexican counterpart forms the División Latina. Its main force is drawn from the Div Bl VII although other elements have been trawled from across the army. So far the Ag Ej Exped has languished on Kimanjano and seen little action and may well be withdrawn from the French Arm.
Comando Aviación de Ejército The Cdo Av Ej is the Ejército’s air arm. It has aviation groups assigned to each of the Cuerpos and one assigned at Army level.
Below: TAOR map for the cuerpos of the Ejército The Ejército Argentino is a highly professional armed force, which is well trained and equipped. It has fought three major wars in the last century against its Brazilian neighbour and its doctrine is squarely aimed at defending Argentine territory and being able to inflict tactical defeats on Brazil preferably in Brazilian territory. The Ejército Argentino is also tasked with supporting Argentine diplomacy anywhere in South America and can intervene across the continent with alacrity. Finally Argentina has a long exposed coastline and is in the midst of a de-facto cold war with Britain over the latter’s presence in the South Atlantic. Although the Armada is the prime agency in this confrontation the Ejército Argentino stands-by to reinforce the marines in the South Atlantic, seize key islands from the air or defend against British raiders. The Ejército Argentino works closely with its Mexican counterpart, although it is somewhat dismissive of its skills and doctrine. There is a bilateral exchange scheme between both countries which has done good work in transferring training best practise and intelligence between the two. The Ejército Argentino is divided into four corps, or Ceurpos. Three of these are responsible for geographical areas of the country whilst the fourth is responsible for the defence of the border zone with Brazil. There are also forces with responsibility for protecting Argentina’s off-world colony and an expeditionary contingent for service on the French Arm against the Kafers. Lastly the Ejército Argentino has its own supporting air arm. The Ejército Argentino is not the only ground force Argentina possesses. The Armada’s Infantería Marina is highly regarded and takes the lead in operations in the South Atlantic as well as providing amphibious raiding forces. The Gendarmeria Nacional also has paramilitary forces of no little skill for internal and border security. The last draws much of its manpower from ex-soldiers, especially those from Div Parac IV. Special forces troops of the semi-independent Fuerza de Comandos are also largely drawn from the Ejército as well as the Armada and FAA. The Ejército is a conscript army, and those chosen for the draft after tertiary education are required to serve a minimum of two years with the colours and are liable for a further eight years on the reserve. The Officer and SNCO cadres are regular soldiers recruited from the ranks of the conscripts. This requirement for service in the ranks has eliminated the worst examples of nepotism although with the military tradition of some families this has proved impossible to eradicate entirely. Ira División Aero-Blindada Div Bl I is a hovermobile armoured division stationed in the province of Buenos Aries just the south of the capital. While normally assigned to Cp Ej II during wartime it will most likely to be assigned to Cp Ej VII, a role it performed in both the 2nd and 3rd Rio Plato Wars. The division is seen as the main armoured reserve force for the Ejército and is always high on the list of priorities for equipment.
IIda División Aero-Blindada Div Bl II is stationed in the province of Entre Rios, although parts of Br Bl II are stationed across the border in Uruguay. The division is the frontline armoured formation facing the Brazilian frontier and will be at the forefront of any renewed conflict as it has in the past. This division is never tinkered with and is always maintained at full strength, only once proven in other formations will new doctrine and equipment be introduced into Div Bl II. The division revels in its forward position and historic success against the Brazilians.
IIIer División de Monte Div Mte III is a unique formation within the Ejército, combining hovermobile and light infantry characteristics and regards itself as an elite. It is stationed in the frontline provinces of Misiones and Corrientes and is frequently seen right up on the Brazilian border. The division trains hard and attracts some of the cream of the conscript intake. It has a good battlefield reputation and was responsible for vital attack in the 3rd Rio Plato War which broke the Brazilian defensive positions, ultimately leading to Brazil’s defeat.
IVta División Paracaidista Div Parac IV is the Ejército’s primary intervention division which is capable of airmobile, airlanding and conventional ground operations. Stationed in Cordoba the division trains for a variety of roles including intervention across the continent in support of Argentine policy, desant and counter-desant operations, urban operations and operations against Britain’s South Atlantic territories. Elements of the division saw service in the Incan Republic as well as western Brazil during the 3rd Rio Plato War, during the preceding war the division had a classic airmobile role seizing objectives in advance of the armoured columns.
Vta División Mechanizada Div Mec V has its HQ in Salta in the very north-west of Argentina. It is a wheeled armoured division with several possible tasks such as intervention in any Bolivian-Chilean conflict over the Arica corridor, bolstering Paraguay from possible Brazilian pressure or in support of Cp Ej VII. It is well practised in operating in mountainous areas and cross trains with Div M VIII. The division formed a second echelon force providing flank protection for Cp Ej VII during the 3rd Rio Plato War but had seen no action in the 2nd Rio Plato War.
VIta División de Montaña The Div M VI is a versatile light infantry, mountain trained force assigned to Cp Ej V. It is headquartered at Neuquen but trains and operates along the length of the southern Andes. It makes good use of readily available air mobility assets and is also involved in exchange training with the Chilean Army. The division is arctic trained and has a secondary tasking of supporting the Infantería Marina in the Antarctic. The division found itself involved in urban fighting in both the 2nd and 3rd Rio Plato Wars.
VIIma División Aero -Blindada The Div Bl VII is stationed at Santa Rosa in the Pampa province and is assigned to Cp Ej V. The division is the Ejército’s test bed formation and is responsible for developing doctrine, equipment and providing OPFOR capability. In addition the formation provides a fast moving mobile reserve for the corps. Currently the division’s Br Bl XVII and other assets have been assigned to the División Latina on the French Arm, while the remainder continues its normal role. The division has seen combat in the last two Rio Plato Wars.
VIIIva División de Montaña The sister unit of Div M VI, Div M VIII is based in Mendoza as part of Cp Ej III. The unit specialises in high mountain operations in the Andes and is one of the finest mountain formations in the world. It also has the possible tasking of intervening in Chile. The division saw no action in the 2nd Rio Plato War but it was deployed to the Incan Republic in the last war where it fought with Brazilian units in the high mountain passes.
IXna División Mechanizada Div Mec IX is stationed in the capital of Buenos Aries and has two key roles, the defence of the city and provision of troops for ceremonial duties. The division is equipped with wheeled armoured vehicles and takes its duties very seriously, determined to prevent a repeat of the Brazilian occupation of the capital. The division has been held in reserve during the last two wars and did not see action except for civil defence duties.
Xma División Mechanizada Div Mec X is stationed at Río Gallegos in Santa Cruz province and is responsible for the defence of the deep south of the country. It is widely deployed across the region and is tasked with the defence of key installations and it could be called upon to provide armoured contingents to support operations against British facilities in the South Atlantic. The division feels itself to be something of a forgotten army compared with other, more glamorous formations.
XXIX Brigada de Montaña Br M XXIX is the Argentine garrison force on the colonial world of Montaña. It is an independent light infantry brigade and not a specialised mountain force. It is composed of a mixture of Terran regulars and local volunteers.
XXX Brigada Explorada de Caballería Br Ex C XXX is, with the exception of the special forces of the Fuerza de Comandos, the only wholly regular formation in the Ejército. It is a reconnaissance and screening formation assigned to Cp Ej VII and is responsible for surveillance of the Brazilian border zone in conjunction with the Gendarmeria Nacional. It has a fine wartime record and an excellent reputation.
Comando Aviación de Ejército The Cdo Av Ej or CAE is the Ejército’s air arm. Its component groups are tailored for specific tasks in providing reconnaissance, fire support and transport with both manned and unmanned assets. The Gp Av Ej are also responsible for linking in with supporting FAA and CANA assets.
Divisional structure and the reserves The Ejército Argentino’s standard operational formation is the division. It is the division that provides both a training framework for the conscript soldiers and on mobilisation the key fighting element. This system was introduced in the aftermath of the disastrous 1st Rio Plato War and proved highly effective in the next two wars with Brazil. The manpower for this is provided by the conscript system. The Argentine conscript has a commitment to serve for two years on active service and eight years with the reserve. He or she starts in Cohort I and then passes into the next Cohort at the end of each year. The commitment ends with discharge from Cohort X. Conscripts can volunteer to become regular soldiers once they pass into Cohort II. The ten combat divisions are each comprised of two fighting brigades and a set of divisional troops. One brigade, the higher numbered, is responsible for the advanced training of the conscripts during their first year of training following their basic training. The second brigade, the lower numbered, is manned with the trained conscripts of Cohort II and serves as the divisional ready brigade. The divisional combat support and service support elements have a mixture of 1st and 2nd year conscripts; however the combat units are entirely composed of regular soldiers. On mobilisation the higher numbered brigade will call in the recently discharged second year conscripts, Cohort III, to man the unit. Cohort I, IV and V will be mobilised to provide the division with battle casualty replacements. The system works on the assumption that roughly 1/3rd of Cohorts III-V will be unfit to be mobilised which gives a 100% battle casualty reserve for each division. The staying power of Argentine divisions in the 2nd and 3rd Rio Plato Wars was a major factor in their victories. It is the responsibility of the brigade to maintain a database on the status of the Cohort III-V reservists to allow them to cherry pick the best candidates to fill out the unit. This process should be completed within 3 days of the mobilisation being declared and is practised twice a year. Cohorts VI-X are called up to man the Ceurpo’s reserve brigades. In wartime these units have a dual role, to provide rear area security and to give training to reservists to provide a further pool of replacements for the linked fighting division. In peacetime the brigades provide initial basic training for called up conscripts as well as individual and small unit continuation training for recalled reservists of Cohorts III-X. This latter is normally of two weeks duration. The reservists of Cohort III also undertake a further two weeks with their division. División Aero-Blindada The three hover armoured divisions are the key stone of the Ejército Argentino’s manoeuvre warfare capability. They are equipped with the modern and survivable ‘General Luis Fernandez’ ATAB-2 hover tank and AVBI-89 HIFV. These three formations train almost exclusively for fast moving mobile attacks against their opponents. This is a role they fulfilled very effectively in the last two Rio Plato Wars, although with substantial casualties. The introduction of the ATAB-2 and AVBI-89 have improved the survivability of these units, however Argentine doctrine recognises the price inherent in the aggressive tactics used by the divisions. These units have a daring, sometimes foolhardy, outlook but their flair has directly contributed to Argentina’s military ascendancy over Brazil. The division has a number of divisional level units. This includes an independent infantry company of Cazadores who are tasked with dismounted reconnaissance and raiding tasks and an armoured reconnaissance squadron. These units are entirely manned by regular soldiers although in wartime they would be reinforced by qualified reservists. The divisional combat support units include a missile artillery battalion, an air defence regiment and an engineering battalion. Further units include the divisional command battalion and a logistics battalion. All of these formations are manned by conscripts. The division has two brigades as described above. Each comprises four battalion sized regiments, two of armour and two of infantry. Support is provided by a battalion sized artillery group. División de Monte There is only one mounted division in the Ejército. It is the forward most division and is deployed in the border zone with Brazil. It is equipped with the ATAB-2 hover tank and the older AVLI-85 HAPC, which carries a larger dismounted compliment but is less well armoured than the AVBI-89. Although equipped with armour and hover mobility the division also concentrates on its dismounted operations and displays an impressive versatility. Somewhat less aggressive in its tactics than the hover armoured divisions its flank attacks and infiltration often pay impressive dividends. The divisional troop complement is the same as that of the hover armoured division with the exception of an additional company of combat walkers using the Manchurian derived AMI-2 system. The brigades comprise a single regiment of armour, two of infantry and one of artillery. Notably the infantry complement of the brigade is slightly larger than that of their armoured counterparts. División Mechanizada There are three mechanised divisions in the Ejército. These are units equipped with wheeled armoured vehicles which are generally more survivable, if slower, than those ACVs used in the hover armoured divisions. The role of the mechanised divisions in Argentine doctrine is to provide follow-on forces, to breakthrough fixed defensive positions and to provide heavy combat forces in urban areas. However due to the concentration on the role of the hover armoured divisions as the main combat force the mechanised formations have been given secondary taskings. Div Mec V is skilled in mountain operations, Div Mec IX in urban and ceremonials and Div Mec X is responsible for much of the defence of the south. These formations have the same divisional troop compliment as the hover armoured units. The brigades have only one armoured regiment, two of infantry and one of artillery. División de Montaña Argentina has two mountain divisions stationed in the west of the country. These are predominantly infantry formations equipped with wheeled motorised transport, as ACVs are far from practical in the Andes. Physical fitness is stressed in these units as are operations in cold weather. In addition to the mountain speciality both divisions are trained to operate in wooded and urban areas. The formations work closely with CAE and FAA airlift units to allow them to vertically envelope opposing force, a vital tactic in mountain operations. The divisional troops assigned are the same as those with the mounted division and include a company of combat walkers. Notably the company of Cazadores is highly skilled in military mountaineering techniques and are deemed amongst the toughest troops in the army. The brigades are organised with a regiment of reconnaissance troops, two of infantry and a regiment equipped with pack guns and heavy mortars. División Paracaidista Div Parac IV is the only parachute formation in the Ejército. It is an infantry heavy formation capable of any air insertion technique including air landing, parachute drops or air assault. It covers a variety of taskings and is highly trained in dismounted infantry tactics, anti-armour techniques and raids. Ever since its operations in the 3rd Rio Plato War it has also taken jungle warfare training very seriously. It is has lightly armoured ACV mobility and works on light scales of equipment. It has the same divisional troop complement as the mountain divisions although with its independent Cazadores trained as pathfinders. Its brigades are organised with three infantry regiments each, giving it the strongest infantry complement of any division, in addition to a regiment of light artillery. Brigada Explorada de Caballería The Br Ex C XXX is a unique formation. It has two armoured cavalry regiments providing it with its formation reconnaissance capability and a regiment of mounted Cazadores providing close recce and infantry back up. It relies on corps level artillery for indirect fire support although it has its own limited mortar capability. Comando Aviación de Ejército The CAE has groups assigned to each corps and one to army level. Each group has a varying number of air battalions depending on the number of units being supported. The groups assigned to the corps have one general support battalion and a close support battalion for each division in the corps. The general support battalion includes a liaison company, a reconnaissance company and a maintenance company. The close support battalion’s assigned to mechanised and hover mobile divisions have a reconnaissance company, a company of gunships and a company of maintenance. Those assigned to the mounted, mountain and parachute divisions have an additional two assault companies. The main aircraft are the various marks of the Halcón tilt wing of which the army has transport, VIP and reconnaissance versions. The latter is notable for its large complement of drone aircraft. The gunship is the Pampa, a long legged craft that shares many of the components of the Halcón. The mountain divisions have the Llama – a specialist high-altitude tilt wing. Brigada de Reserva There are ten reserve brigades, each affiliated with a division. The Div Parac VI is linked to the Br Res CVI for example. As noted above they normally fulfil a training role, providing basic training for Cohort I and refresher training for Cohorts III-X. In wartime they operate in the rear areas securing the lines of communication. They have a relatively small fulltime complement of around 15 soldiers in a company and are equipped with low maintenance un-armoured wheeled or ACV vehicles. They have a substantial number of heavy weapons although these are all at least a generation old. The Br Res have four reserve battalions each, one for cavalry, two infantry and one artillery. The cavalry are light recce and anti-tank tasked, the infantry are dismounted role and the artillery cover both indirect fire support and air defence. Armoured, Mounted and Mechanised Cavalry Regiments The Argentine Regimiento is a battalion strength unit, something that can sometimes cause confusion. Hover armoured, mounted and mechanised cavalry are organised identically although both have different baseline vehicles, either the ATAB-2 or TBR-87. In combat it will form the basis of an all-arms Fuerza Taaska by swapping squadrons with infantry companies to create a task organised combat force. The Regimiento is commanded by a Teniente Coronel. The unit is organised with four sabre squadrons, Escuadrón A-D, and a HQ Squadron, Escuadrón de Comando. The sabre squadrons have three sabre troops (Seccions) with a HQ troop and a Support troop. The troops are equipped with four AFVs each and are commanded by a 1r or 2do Teniente. The support troop has two 120mm mortar vehicles and two direct-support vehicles which are direct-fire and anti-aircraft capable. The HQ troop has one AFV and one command APC which are supported by a liaison vehicle and a supply vehicle. The squadron is commanded by a Mayor with a Capitán as XO. Escuadrón de Comando includes the battalion command troop, logistic troop, maintenance troop and the scout troop. Seccion de Comando includes two AFVs, five command APCs and two liaison vehicles, enough for two tactical HQs and one main command post. Seccion de Logístique has eight ammunition vehicles, eight tankers and four general supply vehicles. Seccion de Maintaineros has five recovery vehicles and three mobile workshops. Lastly the Seccion de Exploración has eight AVBE-89 scout vehicles and four AVLI-85 drone carriers. Armoured, Mounted and Mechanised Infantry Regiments The infantry units have a similar organisation to their cavalry counterparts having four rifle companies (Compañía A-D) and a HQ company. Their equipment is respectively based on the AVBI-89, ALVI-85 and the VLI-45. They are also commanded by a Teniente Coronel and normally form task forces on deployment. The Compañía de Comando has a command platoon, logistic platoon, maintenance platoon and scout platoon. Seccion de Comando includes seven command APCs with two liaison vehicles. Seccion de Logístique has four ammunition vehicles, four tankers and six general supply vehicles. Seccion de Maintaineros has five recovery vehicles and a mobile workshop. The Seccion de Exploración has eight AVLE-89 scout vehicles and four AVLI-85 drone carriers. The rifle company is commanded by a Mayor and includes three rifle platoons, one support platoon and an HQ platoon. Support platoon has two mortar vehicles and two direct support vehicles. HQ platoon has two command AFVs, one liaison vehicle and one supply vehicle. The rifle platoons have four AFVs one for the HQ and three for the rifle sections (Grupo Tiradors). Each grupo is composed of six men and is in turn divided into three equipos. One equipo has a commander and a rifleman (both with CASA-14 assault rifles), the other a rifleman and marksman (CASA-14 and F19) and the last a riflemen and a machine gunner (CASA-14 and AA-5). Each equipo is also capable of deploying an ATGW should the situation require this. It should be noted that in the mounted regiments the Grupos has four equipos due to the larger size of the ALVI-85. The Grupo Commando includes a three man command team including officer, SNCO and signaller and a support team normally equipped with two plasma weapons. Mountain Cavalry Regiments Mountain cavalry regiments are organised in a similar way to their armoured, mounted and mechanised colleagues. They are equipped with a mixture of TBR-87, VLI-45 and lightly armoured range trucks. The Escuadrón de Comando is scaled with fewer support vehicles with the heavier units. The regiment has four sabre squadrons, two mounted and two mechanised. The squadrons are identically organised with a three cavalry troops, a support troop and a HQ troop. The cavalry troops have four AFVs, either two TBR-87 and two VLI-45s or four range trucks with a variety of weapons fits. Each seccion has 2 dismounted grupos with 6 two man equipos. This gives the squadron its close reconnaissance capability as well as a dismounted ATGW element should it be required. The support troop includes two direct fire vehicles and two mortar vehicles. Mountain and Parachute Infantry Regiments Mountain and parachute infantry regiments are fairly conventionally organised with thee rifle companies, a HQ company and a fire support company. The HQ Company has command, logistic and engineering platoons and a small maintenance detachment. The fire support company has scout, mortar, anti-tank and anti-aircraft platoons. The three rifle companies have four rifle platoons and a HQ group. Each rifle platoon has three squads (Grupos) each with four equipos, one command, one machine gun, one assault (with two riflemen) and one marksman. As with the other equipos each is trained to use ATGWs. The platoon has a command grupo with a three man command team and a support team with three men armed with two plasma weapons. The standard Ejército service uniform is an olive and dark green DPM pattern battle dress uniform, worn with either a beret, field cap or helmet. The frontline troops wear a non-rigid armour suit with a combined inertial vest/load baring system, this is replaced by a simple vest system in other units. Argentine soldier systems are concentrated in the vest, keeping the mass of the helmet as low as possible. These systems, similar to those used by other nations are produced entirely domestically. Notably the Ejército makes strenuous efforts to keep a technological lead over its nearest rival and the Argentine infantry soldier is considered very well equipped. Insignia and ornamentation are kept relatively minimalist on combat uniforms. These are usually restricted to national flashes and rank flashes, name tags are not worn on combat uniforms. Some units do allow more flashes to be worn on the battle dress when not in field conditions. Service dress uniforms are a mixture of US and French styles, worn with either a beret or forage cap, which have changed little in design over the last two hundred years. These are much more showy and flamboyant than the battle dress and a heavy with insignia and decorations. The ceremonial units of the Ejército wear a uniform that dates from the early 19th century. The Ejército has a conventional organisation of combat, combat support and combat service support groupings. In the Ejército these are known as Armas, Servicios and Especialidades. The Armas include the combat and combat support arms. These are Infantería, Caballería, Artillería, Ingenieros, Aviación, Logística and Comunicaciones. Most of these are self explanatory although the Comunicaciones branch also includes electronic warfare specialisations. The Servicios are supporting services and include Sanidad (medical), Justicia, Veterniaria, Bandas (musical), Educacion Fisica (physical training) and Servicio Religioso (chaplaincy). The Especialidades are specialities which include Arsenales (ordnance), Intendencia, Inteligencia and Seguridad. The Ejército Argentino has a traditional rank structure based on Spanish practise but with notable US influence. They are divided in to enlisted and commissioned ranks: Enlisted ranks
Commissioned ranks
The internal culture of the Ejército Argentino has changed dramatically from the elitist all-volunteer force that was all but destroyed midway through the 1st Rio Plato War. The change to a conscript force has reconnected the Ejército to the people of Argentina. The Ejército and the armed forces in general are highly regarded in Argentine society, almost as highly as the national football team, but not quite. The Ejército has developed a relatively egalitarian outlook since the 1st Rio Plato War. In its post-War review it was recognised that over rigid control from the officers was hampering the performance of the soldiers. They would regularly out-fight their Brazilian opponents but were sometimes forced to hold positions that were untenable thanks to inexperienced officers overruling veteran NCOs. Since then the Ejército has taken a mission command approach pushing responsibility down to the soldiers in the ground. This system has served them well and is unlikely to change. The old practise of recruiting officers from certain families with a military tradition has faded steadily thanks to forcing all potential officers undertake conscript service. While many who go onto become officers still come from the same old families and have had private military schooling prior to being drafted, a majority of officers have genuinely been lifted from the ranks on grounds of talent. Similarly the regular NCO corps has been strengthened immensely by similar measures and moves taken to increase their prestige. Conscript soldiers are largely well treated. They are encouraged to identify strongly with their fellow citizen soldiers, their division and the three battalions they will serve with. The success of the Ejército in battle has increased the prestige of soldiering immeasurably. They are also encouraged to regard Brazil, Britain and the other ESA powers as their traditional enemies. There is a strong undercurrent of machismo in the Ejército and the soldiers are indoctrinated to accept that, should war break out again, casualties may well be heavy. Offensive spirit and élan are stressed as key characteristics. The Ejército has had several foreign influences during its history, most notably Spain, Germany and the United States. However for the last 150 years thanks partly to Argentina’s international policies she has been somewhat isolated. As a result she has become a military trend setter in her own right and many of Earth’s smaller nations seek out her expertise. Her strongest links are with the Mexicans, but she also undertakes some quiet co-operation with the Manchurians. Colegio Militar de la Nación The CMN is Argentina’s military academy and its officer training institution. Its history stretches back to 1869 and is the most prestigious such institution in South America and those in the know rate it as highly as any of the more well known North American and European institutions. It is located 10km south of Buenos Aires and has been rebuilt in classic colonial style following heavy damage inflicted during the Brazilian occupation. The CMN instructs potential officers selected from the ranks during conscript service and so concentrates less on basic military instruction and more on advanced studies. The course of study is two years long and involves an element of academic training which will contribute to an eventual degree. However the concentration is on military subjects and these take precedence. As well as Argentine candidates the CMN accepts students from across the world, although those from South American and especially Uruguay are most common. Escuela de Maniobra del Combate The school of manoeuvre is an all-arms institution dedicated to teaching commanders of the rank of captain and above the principles of manoeuvre warfare. Like other institutions of its kind it makes much use of simulators and similar technology. However thanks to its position on the edge of the Pampas Santa Rosa and collocated with Div Bl VII assets its students get a lot of real time experience. Attendance at the school’s four week courses is a prerequisite for command at company level and for attendance at Staff College. The school also works closely with the Dirección de Doctrina y Entrenamiento in developing tactical doctrines. Notably the school also provides OPFOR commanders to supplement simulation programs in the training of the combat divisions. Background Skills Argentine soldiers are conscripted after completing tertiary education. They chose their background skills from the normal Core Skills list but will have between 2 and 4 extra points to spend on Academic Skills and will start their career at the age of 20, 21 or 22. Basic Training Basic training is provides all Argentine soldiers with a basic standard of military skills and also specialist skills dependent on arm and service. This training package takes one year. The soldier then has a further one year with access to skills as described below. He or she must then pass a Routine Task should they desire to become a career military soldier after which they follow the usual character generation system. If the arm gives more detailed training it replaces that given under common skills and is not added to it. i.e. Infantry have Combat Rifle-3 rather than Combat Rifle-2, not Combat Rifle-5 Common Skills
Skill packages for the other minor arms are at the discretion of the Referee. Copyright 2009, D Hebditch
|