Argentine Armed Forces

The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic are the combined armed forces of Argentina, controlled by the Commander-in-Chief, the President, and a civilian Minister of Defense. Besides the Army, Navy and Air Force, two security forces controlled by the Ministry of Security can be mobilized in an armed conflict: the National Gendarmerie, a gendarmerie used to guard borders and places of strategic importance, and the Naval Prefecture, a coast guard used to protect internal major rivers and maritime territory. Argentina traditionally maintains close defense cooperation and military-supply relationships with the United States and, to a lesser extent, with Israel, Canada, Germany, France, Spain, Belarus, Italy and Russia. The infobox dates the force to 29 May 1810.