Military ranks of Bolivia
The Armed Forces of Bolivia has four main branches: Army, Navy, Air Force and the National Police Force. Each of the four branches has a similar structure,[1] each having four pay grades: non-commissioned officers, senior non-commissioned officers, commissioned officers and general staff. However, the SNCO roles vary depending on the branch; some of these hold specialisations.
Army
The Army trains all its personnel in the following:
- Army NCO School, Sucre
- Military College of Bolivia, La Paz
Officer ranks
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Field/senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Parade dress | 
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 Bolivian Army[2] |
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| General de ejército | General de división | General de brigada | Coronel | Teniente coronel | Mayor | Captáin | Teniente | Subteniente | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enlisted ranks
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Parade dress | 
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| Bolivian Army[3] |
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| Sub-oficial maestre | Sub-oficial mayor | Sub-oficial 1° | Sub-oficial 2° | Sub-oficial inicial | Sargento 1° | Sargento 2° | Sargento inicial° | Cabo | Dragoneante | Soldado raso | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Despite being a landlocked country, Bolivia has a large quantity of rivers and lakes which the majority of their naval operations take place on, one example of this is Lake Titicaca,[4] which is shared between Bolivia and Peru.
The Navy, unlike the other three branches, has different specialisations for the NCOs and SNCOs once they reach the rank of 'seaman'. Once a specialisation has been achieved, the sailors' insignia will be adjusted slightly, to make his/her profession more visible. Those corps are as follows:
- Machinist Corps
- Medical Corps
- Divers Corps
- Logistics Corps
- Quartermasters Corps
- Signals Corps
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| Paygrade | NCO | SNCO | Both | Both | Both | Both | Both |
| Corps | Machinist | Medical | Divers | Logistics | Quartermasters | Signals | |
Any rank between Seaman and Master Chief Petty Officer can have a specialisation as part of their regular rank insignia, the only corps where the insignia varies is within the Machinist Corps, where both NCO and SNCO have a different insignia, this also helps determine their qualifications and what they are responsible for.
The most Senior Non-Commissioned Officer, Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer, holds no specific specialisation. The SNCO would have been a specialist at a lower rank. This sailor would also be the overseer of each of the Corps, ensuring that this branch's members are fully trained and equipped.
Officer ranks
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Field/senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Bolivian Naval Force[5] |
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| Almirante | Vicealmirante | Contraalmirante | Capitán de navío | Capitán de fragata | Capitán de corbeta | Teniente de navío | Teniente de fragata | Alférez | Cadete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enlisted ranks
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bolivian Naval Force[6] |
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| Sub-oficial maestre | Sub-oficial mayor | Sub-oficial primero | Sub-oficial segundo | Sub-oficial inicial | Sargento primero | Sargento segundo | Sargento inicial | Cabo conscripto | Marinero de primero | Marinero de segunda | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Air Force
Officer ranks
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Field/senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Bolivian Air Force[7] |
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| General de fuerza aeréa | General de división aeréa | General de brigada aeréa | Coronel aviador | Teniente coronel aviador | Mayor aviador | Captáin aviador | Teniente aviador | Subteniente aviador | Cadete | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Enlisted ranks
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bolivian Air Force[8] |
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| Sub-oficial maestre | Sub-oficial mayor | Sub-oficial primero | Sub-oficial segundo | Sub-oficial inicial | Sergento primero | Sargento segundo | Sargento inicial | Cabo | Dragoneante | Soldado raso | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Historical ranks
The ranks were introduced in 1968, based on design by the Central American Defense Council (Spanish: Consejo de Defensa Centroamericano; CONDECO).[9]
- Officers
| Rank group | General/flag officers | Field/senior officers | Junior officers | Officer cadet | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bolivian Army (1968–2019)[10] |
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| General de ejercito | General de división | General de brigada | Coronel | Teniente coronel | Mayor | Captáin | Teniente | Subteniente | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bolivian Naval Force (1968–2019)[10] |
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| Almirante | Vicealmirante | Contraalmirante | Capitán de navío | Capitán de fragata | Capitán de corbeta | Teniente de navio | Teniente de fragata | Teniente de corbeta | Alférez | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bolivian Air Force (1968–2019)[10] |
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| General de fuerza aeréa | General de división aeréa | General de brigada aeréa | Coronel aviador | Teniente coronel aviador | Mayor aviador | Captáin aviador | Teniente aviador | Subteniente aviador | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
- Enlisted
| Rank group | Senior NCOs | Junior NCOs | Enlisted | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Bolivian Army (1968–2019)[11] |
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No insignia | No insignia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sub-oficial maestre | Sub-oficial mayor | Sub-oficial primero | Sub-oficial segundo | Sub-oficial inicial | Sargento primero | Sargento segundo | Cabo | Dragoneante | Soldado | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bolivian Naval Force (1968–2019)[11] |
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| Sub-oficial maestre | Sub-oficial mayor | Sub-oficial primero | Sub-oficial segundo | Sub-oficial inicial | Sargento primero | Sargento segundo | Cabo | Marinero de primero | Marinero de segunda | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bolivian Air Force (1968–2019)[11] |
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| Sub-oficial maestre | Sub-oficial mayor | Sub-oficial primero | Sub-oficial segundo | Sub-oficial inicial | Sargento primero | Sargento segundo | Cabo | Dragoneante | Soldado | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ Pike, John. "Bolivian Uniforms and Insignia". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
- ^ Ministry of Defense (Bolivia) [@mindefbolivia] (10 December 2019). "Conoce la jerarquía de los grados del #Ejército" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Ministry of Defense (Bolivia) [@mindefbolivia] (16 December 2019). "Hoy te invitamos a conocer la jerarquía de los grados de Suboficiales, Sargentos y Tropa" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ "Bolivia04-05 - Picture Pages". www.steiner7.com. Retrieved 2016-08-20.
- ^ Ministry of Defense (Bolivia) [@mindefbolivia] (9 January 2020). "Conoce la jerarquía de los grados de la #ArmadaBoliviana" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Ministry of Defense (Bolivia) [@mindefbolivia] (16 January 2020). "Hoy les invitamos a conocer la jerarquía de los grados de Suboficiales, Sargentos y Tropa de la #ArmadaBoliviana" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Ministry of Defense (Bolivia) [@mindefbolivia] (18 December 2019). "Conoce la jerarquía de los grados de la #FuerzaAéreaBoliviana" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Ministry of Defense (Bolivia) [@mindefbolivia] (6 January 2020). "Hoy te invitamos a conocer la jerarquía de los grados de Suboficiales, Sargentos y Tropa" (Tweet) (in Spanish). Retrieved 28 May 2021 – via Twitter.
- ^ Gamarra 1991, pp. 239–240.
- ^ a b c Gamarra 1991, p. 242.
- ^ a b c Gamarra 1991, p. 244.
- "6: Del Grado y Ascenso". LEY Nº 1405 DE 30 DE DICIEMBRE DE 1992 JAIME PAZ ZAMORA PRESIDENTE CONSTITUCIONAL DE LA REPÚBLICA (in Spanish). p. 31.
- Gamarra, Eduardo A. (1991). "National Security". In Hudson, Rex A.; Hanratty, Dennis Michael (eds.). Bolivia: a country study. Area Handbook (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. LCCN 90026427. Retrieved 20 December 2021.