Foreign born Argentine soldiers: extension of the citizenship status and military professionalization in Argentina (1995-2015)

FREDERIC SABINA

Workshop; ERGOMAS workshop on Recruitment & Retention; 2017

ERGOMAS Reserach Committe 01 ISA

What was the percentage of naturalized immigrants in the composition of the Argentine troops of volunteer soldiers between 1995 and 2015? What are their national origins? How has this affected the training and retention of the soldiers? In 1995, Argentina suspended conscription and moved to an all-volunteer military force, setting new requirements for the recruitment of soldiers. Research has so far focused basically on the opening of the armed forces to women, rather than on the impact of volunteering on the foreign-born population that, by age 24 (maximum recruitment age), had acquired Argentine citizenship. The replacement of the lottery-based selection of recruits by the voluntary enlistment effectively enabled the naturalized citizens to serve in the armed forces. Consequently, not only the native had the right to perform military service in the armed forces; also the non-natives who had become Argentine citizens could exercise their legitimate right to protect the homeland.