Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
Pedernales, with airstrips at Constanza in the central mountainous
area and Dajabon, on the Haitian border. The air force
administers the general military medical center located in San
Isidro. The air force also runs the nation's Civil Aeronautics
Directorate, and air force officers oversee the operation of the
nation's airports.
The air force, numbering some 5,500 personnel in 1998, is
organized into three flying squadrons. The counterinsurgency
squadron is equipped with eight Cessna A-37B Dragonflies.
The A-37B, developed from the T-37 jet trainer, can land on
short, unimproved airstrips. It is armed with a machine gun
and can carry a light load of bombs or other munitions. The
transport squadron uses three C-47 Douglas Dakotas and one
Commander 680, and the helicopter squadron has as its principal
units eight Bell 205s for search-and-air rescue and transport.
Various small aircraft are used for liaison and training
purposes (see table 14, Appendix). The air force carries out
routine antidrug reconnaissance patrols, but is often grounded
because of lack of fuel and spare parts.
The Base Defense Command provides security for all bases
and aircraft. It includes an airborne Special Forces unit and an
air police unit, both of approximately battalion size, and an
antiaircraft battalion equipped with four 20mm guns. The
Maintenance Command is responsible for maintenance and
repair. The Combat Support Command supplies all base services.
Air force cadets attend the Army Military Academy at San
Isidro for three years, then spend their fourth year at the Frank
Feliz Miranda Aviation School, also at San Isidro.
Manpower
The combined strength of the three armed services in 1998
was 24,300. This figure represents a ratio of 2.8 military personnel
for every 1 ,000 citizens, which conforms to the average for
all Latin American states. The armed forces had expanded
about 10 percent over the previous decade.
The armed forces no longer have the strength and the military
potential they enjoyed under Trujillo, but the military continues
to be a popular career. The constitution provides for
compulsory military service for all males between the ages of
eighteen and fifty-four. However, the ranks are easily filled by
volunteers, and the military does not impose a strain on
national manpower. Officers, noncommissioned officers
(NCOs) , and many enlisted personnel, as well, look on the mil-
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