Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: National Security
itary as a long-term career. As a result, all three services consist
largely of experienced and well-trained professionals.
Entry into the officer corps is competitive, and most entrants
are drawn from the middle and the lower-middle classes. Most
enlisted personnel come from rural areas. The military has a
very small number of females; most serve in positions traditionally
reserved for women, such as nursing. Women first gained
admittance to positions traditionally held only by men in 1981,
when a few female personnel were commissioned as medical
officers.
Pay and conditions of service compare well with opportunities
available in civilian occupations. Larger installations maintain
a number of commissaries and exchanges, and each of the
three services operates officer and enlisted clubs. Military personnel
also benefit from free medical service. Under the
armed forces' generous retirement program, all members who
have served thirty years are entitled to receive a pension based
on 75 percent of their active-duty pay at the time of retirement.
Certain officers, such as pilots and naval engineers, may apply
for a full pension after twenty years of service.
Defense Spending
Estimated defense expenditures for 1998 were US$180 million,
representing 1.1 percent of gross national product
(GNP—see Glossary), according to the United States Central
Intelligence Agency. The levels of spending reported by the
International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, presumably
calculated on a different basis, were significantly
lower, averaging US$109 million annually for the years 1994-96
and US$120 million in 1997. Military expenditures averaged
about 7 percent of central government expenditures during
the decade 1986-95 and were slightly in excess of 1
percent of
GNP in most years of that decade.
The level of military spending measured in Dominican currency
rose steadily during the late 1970s, remained at relatively
constant amounts during the early 1980s, then tended to be
somewhat higher from 1992 onward. When adjusted for inflation,
however, there was no real increase in military outlays
until 1993. The sharp decline in the value of the peso in the
mid-1980s weakened the nation's ability to finance the arms
imports necessary for modernization, not to mention replacements
and spare parts for existing equipment.
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