Mexican Armed Forces

The Mexican Armed Forces are the military of the United Mexican States, composed of two independent branches: the Mexican Army, which includes land forces, the Mexican Air Force, the Special Forces Body and the National Guard, and the Mexican Navy, which includes naval forces, the Naval Infantry Force, Naval Aviation, the Maritime Search and Rescue unit and the Marine Special Forces. The first permanent military force on Mexican soil was established by Spain during the colonial era in the eighteenth century, and after Mexican independence in 1821 the military played an important political role, with army generals serving as heads of state. They are constitutionally under the civil authority of the federal government, and the Army and Navy are controlled by two separate government departments with two independent chains of command.