The idea of an army usually refers to the land armed forces of a country.
The army beyond its natural function
In most countries, the military cannot act against its own population. However, in cases of civil war or the existence of armed civilian groups, an exception may occur. This happens in Colombia , where the army fights the FARC guerrilla .
On the other hand, throughout history , the armies, together with the other bodies of the Armed Forces , have carried out numerous coups d' état , where they overthrew the current governments (generally democratic and elected by the people) and They imposed dictatorships . That was the case of Argentina , which was under military control between 1976 and 1983 , among other periods in its history.
The army must defend the nation from external threats and aggressions.
The Armed Forces in Spain
In the case of Spain we find the fact that its Armed Forces are divided into three large groups: the Navy , the Air Force and the Army. Three formations that are responsible for ensuring the security and defense of the country.
We can define the Navy as the army that operates at sea while the other two formations we already deduce where they operate taking into account the name they have.
In this sense, we must especially highlight the Spanish Army for the fact that it is one of the oldest armies that exist in the entire world since it has its origins already in the 15th century . Currently it is made up of three bodies or entities: the Force , the General Headquarters and the Support to the Force .
All this without forgetting that this army also has several special units such as the Legion ; the Special Operations Groups that are known as the green berets ; the Regulars who have their headquarters in Ceuta and Melilla ; the Parachute Light Infantry Brigade (BRIPAC) ; and finally the Viella Ski Climber Company .
In addition to all of the above, it is interesting to emphasize that the Spanish Army is made up of a complex structure that is divided into squad , platoon , section, company, battalion, regiment, brigade, division , army corps, army and Armed Forces. Without forgetting at the same time that there are four major bodies of the aforementioned army: quartermaster, specialists, general of arms and polytechnic engineers.
It should be noted that some countries do not have an army, such as Costa Rica , Panama , Andorra and Iceland . These nations have police forces that can be reinforced in extreme cases.
Other uses of the term army
Finally, it should be noted that the term army is used to refer to a group of many individuals who are organized to achieve a certain goal.
For example: “An army of neighbors took to the streets to clean the neighborhood,” “I have an army of friends who will come to the party,” “Alejandro has an army of servants who take care of him,” “Olga has an army of dogs that protects your house.”