One difference between their army and ours is that their officers serve about five
years as a Sub-Teniente (2LT) five years as a Teniente (1LT) and another
five years as a Capitan. I was also surprised to find out that every officer in their
army received airborne training and commando operations training as Sub-Tenientes.
These course are the first thing that they undertake as newly
commissioned officers.. The jump course is approximately two months long and is
immediately followed by the commando course (two months of basic weapons training
and six months of extensive special warfare training, to include dismounted patrolling,
combat swimming techniques, explosives, sniping, jungle and mountain warfare). In
their system, it is the Sub-Teniente that assumes the role of training troops, that
we allot to our NCO Corps. Further, officers at all grades routinely attend other Latin
American military schools (for example one of my friends there attended flight school in
Brazil while another attended flight school in Ecuador.
The school's mission is to train Bolivian Army officers in their five separate
branches (these are Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, Engineer, and Communications. All
officers are branched into these branches, so it is not uncommon to see female officers
with infantry and cavalry colors (even though they are part of the Female Auxiliary
Services). The school, itself, presents two separate courses: the Basic Course for
Sub-Tenientes and Tenientes; and the Advanced Course for Captains.
Each of the courses run one-year in length and cover general military knowledge and
branch specific material. The course in which I was enrolled is the Advanced Course, a
sort of combination of our own advanced course and CAS3. It is a Captains' course but
there was one Major (delayed attendance due to injury) and a few Tenientes due
to be promoted shortly. The course runs from 25 January to 13 December and is broken
into three phases:
-- A common task module very similar to CAS3;
-- A branch specific module; and
-- A functional area module, concentrating on specialties such as personnel,
intelligence, operations, or logistics.
I was informed that the school is in the process of changing its program of
instruction.. They are experimenting with my class and trying a less dogmatic approach to
training. In the past, the course was an exercise in rote memorization. Students were
required to regurgitate textbook answers verbatim. Now they are shooting for more of a
thinking approach with a less restrictive answer key. All the tests are essay.
The daily training schedule is the same every day except on Mondays, when there
is a 0745 formation to raise the colors.
0750 - Seated in the classroom1500 - Classes start
0800 - Classes start1545 - Third break
0930 - First break1555 - Classes start
0945 - Classes Start1640 - Fourth break
1115 - Second break1650 - Classes start
1130 - Classes start1735 - End of training day
1300 - Siesta
MONDAY, Day 1: The Commander and his Staff
The first day of training was a bit confusing because no really knew where to
put me. After a couple of hours, I was placed in Section B and assigned a sponsor. My
sponsor is a cavalry officer who attended DLI at Lackland AFB in Texas and speaks
English quite well. He also has an MA in Foreign Affairs and is in the process of
finishing his law degree at night. During the first day of instruction I learned that the
Bolivian Army is very officer dependent. Their NCO Corps is virtually non-existent and
the sergeants are given very little responsibility. My fellow students were surprised when
I described the U.S. Army NCO Corps and its system of professional development and
promotion. They were even more interested in the duties and responsibilities of the
Battalion Command Sergeant Major as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commander and
the roles of NCOs as teachers and mentors to Platoon leaders and Company commanders.
I, in turn, learned that the Bolivian Army uses a Second Commander or what the British
call 2IC. This officer (usually a Major or another Lieutenant Colonel) performs all of the
duties one would expect of a Battalion XO. What makes this position unique is that
unlike our XO, the Second Commander is in the chain of command, and everything
(including all Company commander communications) go through him to the Battalion
Commander.
TUESDAY, Day 2: Organizations and Functions of the Staff
On my second day, I was invited to go early to school with a classmate who
had duty as the Officer of the Guard. Usually the uniform of the day is class B, but when
the have OG duty they wear fatigues. He told me that each officer is issued a Browning
Hi-Power 9mm pistol, a saber, and a bayonet for the FN/FAL (standard issue rifle) upon
graduation from the military academy. He keeps them with him (not in an arms room) for
is entire career. Even in the school environment the officers went armed with loaded
weapons. As OG, my friend was on duty for 24 hours and still expected to attend class
the next day. He checked the guards, ate at the mess hall, and did most of the same things
as our SDOs.
The subject of the days class covered the duties and responsibilities of the
Battalion Staff. The information was very similar to what I received in the Infantry
Officers' Basic Course. The instructor was a very lively Lieutenant Colonel who kept the
class interested and frequently asked me to explain how we did it in the U.S. Army.
WEDNESDAY, Day 3: Scientific Methods of Investigation
Today's topic was really dry. A female Ph.D. was the instructor. She knew
her subject, but had enormous difficulty dialoguing with a room full of Bolivian Army
officers. At the end of the day, we were divided into small groups of six officers each and
were required to decide on a topic for a one-month research project. Our group came up
with three ideas -- Peacekeeping Operations, Pre-military Training versus One-year
Conscription, and Physical Fitness. During the ensuing discussion about which we
should choose, I was able to learn more about the Bolivian Army.
In discussing the Peacekeeping topic, I found out that Bolivia has three battalions
in training for UN missions. These units are all-volunteer and are composed of
professional soldiers only (all of the soldiers are sergeants and the officers are hand-picked).
The units are currently in training at the mountain school, the jungle school, and
the commando school, respectively. The Bolivians hope to use the UN experience to
inject new purpose into their army and already have provided an officer with the
Argentine Battalion in Cyprus. They are currently 12th on the list for missions and are
anxiously awaiting their first unit deployment.
The next interesting topic discussed was pre-military training versus one-year
conscription. The former program is designed for citizens who are enrolled in a
university or college. It is offered by the government as an alternative to one-year of
conscription so as not to delay their studies. Students receive military training one-day a
week for two years. In the past, people with money could avoid national service all
together but the Minister of Defense and the President (a former general) have made
universal national service obligatory and the pre-military training program was designed
as a compromise. The focus of the discussion was that the pre-military service program
was ineffective and that the only method to real soldiers trained for the service was for
everyone to do the one-year conscription and to leave the pre-military program for
women.
The Physical Fitness topic was considered a "throw-away" and in the end
Peacekeeping Operations won out as our group's topic of choice.
THURSDAY, Day 4: Staff Operations Continued
We continued the discussion about the operation of the various Battalion
staff elements and did a practical exercise during the morning. We were given the
resumes of 15 officers and NCOs and were tasked with placing them within the staff as
either primary or assistant staff officers and NCOs. Each team presented their staffs to
the class. I was amazed at how emotionally charged the debate on choices was. In the
end the instructor told the groups that there was no "right" solution, however, it made me
very aware of the fact that the Bolivians are highly conscious of their academy class
standing and follow-on courses such as the Basic and Advanced Courses. Class standing
effects everything to include selection for attendance at foreign military schools.
After the siesta, we came back to class for a Physical Fitness Test. Our
groups formed up in the parking lot and the Lieutenant Colonel conducted an in-ranks
inspection. We then fell out to warm up, had our weight recorded, and began the PT test.
The test consisted of a seven-minute continuous evaluation that required you to rotate
through seven stations. At each station, you perform the required exercise for 30 seconds
with an instructor counting repetitions and recording them. You get a 30 second rest
while moving to the next station. It seems very simple but was a very tough session,
especially when you consider that it was conducted at 9000 feet altitude. The stations
were: Stationary Running - 55 high steps in 30 seconds, Situps - A combination of flat
leg situps and a crunch - 35 in 30 seconds, Pushups - touching the ground with chest - 35
in 30 seconds, lateral jumps - similar to football drills where you bounce through tires -
55 in 30 seconds, Squat Thrusts - 18 in 30 seconds, 3-Meter Shuttle Run - back and forth
7 times in 30 seconds, and Modified Pushups - elevating upper body only (legs remain
flat on the ground) - 35 in 30 seconds. This last would seem to be easy, but as the last
event was a real measure of muscle fatigue. The test was a real challenge, to say the
least.
FRIDAY, DAY 5: Conduct of Research
This day was a continuation of the scientific methodology class. About
halfway through the class we were required to reveal the subjects that had been chosen for
our research.
5 DAYS AT THE ESCUELA DE ARMAS
During my first five days isolated in an Spanish immersion environment, my
language improved two fold, especially in listening ability. I was clearly looked at as an
anomaly, but by the end of the week the Bolivians were much more open and friendly
with me. Overall, the first week was very busy and I'm looking forward to the next few
months with considerable anticipation.
