MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentina to recruit additional voluntary soldiers to boost armed forces

In 1982, Argentina used to have a 72,000-strong military force made up mostly of conscript soldiers

Argentina's Defense Minister Jorge Taiana has announced 10,000 new volunteer soldiers are o be recruited to boost the manning of military barracks. The country's armed forces currently have some 17,000 troops nationwide, it was reported.

Taiana announced that troops in the Armed Forces will be increased by 58%. The first step has already been taken in Misiones and military units in other provinces will follow suit shortly, according to Buenos Aires daily La Nación.

“The increase in soldiers will take place in two stages, one in each half of 2022 and the first stage has already begun. The objective is to substantially increase the incorporation to complete the endowments in different military garrisons,” La Nación quoted military sources as saying.

The decision will allow “increasing and improving the operational capacity of the Armed Forces”, besides “training citizens to work in the national defense system,” the sources went on.

The announcement came at a time when Argentina is suspending the execution of the agreements signed in December for the training of Argentine troops at specialized units in Russia.

The regime of volunteer soldiers in the Armed Forces was implemented in 1995, after the Private Carrasco scandal. A conscript soldier was found dead, due to abusive treatment on the part of his superior officers, which resulted in the termination of compulsory military service and its replacement by the voluntary system through Law 24,429.

In 1982, Argentina used to have a 72,000-strong military force made up mostly of conscript soldiers. Compulsory military service for male citizens had started in 1901 when the country was facing conflicts with Chile over border delimitation, and it lasted for almost a century.

“We are going to put our efforts in four priority axes. On the one hand, to continue with the radarization plan of the national territory, which we started in the north of the country,” Taiana told a group of high-ranking officers.

“And, secondly, we are working to increase the incorporation of volunteer soldiers in the Armed Forces: we aim to add 10,000 more soldiers,” the Minister said during the opening ceremony of the 2022 academic year at the Joint War College.

The radarization plan will move forward in May with a new unit to be installed in Río Grande, in the province of Tierra del Fuego, in addition to another radar in Mercedes, Corrientes.

When defining other priorities, Taiana also highlighted “the need to recover the [country's] submarine capacity.” After the sinking of the ARA San Juan in November of 2017, the Navy has no active submarine.

Regarding the Air Force, the Minister of Defense explained that “several proposals are being studied for the incorporation of supersonic fighter jets.”

(Source: La Nación)