At a press conference, (from left to right.) the Chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the General Commander of the Military Forces, the Minister of National Defense, the Commander of the Colombian Air Force, the Commander of the Colombian Navy and deputy director of the Police.
The Colombian military forces have historically carried out periodic reviews of their military strategy to adapt and maintain the effectiveness of their operations in response to the evolution of the national context. New challenges and threats have arisen, and it is our constitutional duty to modernize ourselves to respond to the Colombian people by strengthening security, supporting the stabilization and consolidation of the territory, as well as national defense.
1. With the aim of strengthening territorial control and operations in the areas of criminal convergence of Organized Armed Groups, GAOs, where they benefit from drug trafficking and other illicit activities, the national government has authorized an increase of 16,000 specialist soldiers during 2024 and 2025. This new number of units will be distributed as follows:
a. National Army 11,000
b. Colombian Navy 2,300
c. Colombian Air Force 2,700
2. The damage to the Organized Armed Groups by the Military Forces, within the framework of the Ayacucho Joint Strategic Campaign Plan, has triggered a dynamic of evolution and adaptation in these groups. This includes the strengthening of transnational criminal alliances, which leads them to continue to conduct their illegal activities, as their center of gravity (such as illegal drug trafficking, the increase in the illicit exploitation of mining deposits, money laundering, smuggling, irregular migration, coercion and forced displacement, among others), as well as the emergence of new criminal structures and the increased pressure to use the inhabitants.
3. The Military forces are an institution that learns, innovates and adapts to face the challenges of today and tomorrow. It is essential to recognize that current conflicts cannot be addressed using the strategies, resources, guidelines and organization that were effective in recent contexts. Therefore, military forces are currently seeking to build on what has been built with the strategy of the Ayacucho Plus Joint Strategic Campaign Plan.
4. The combination is a principle that has guided the strategic projection and the military operation of the military forces of Colombia for decades, and will continue to be the fundamental axis of operations. It is important to emphasize that the joint operations does not necessarily require additional organizational structures, such as Joint Commands or Task Forces. On the other hand, the combination is a factor that can be included directly in the planning of land, naval and air units, leading them to act in a coordinated and harmonious way whenever necessary, implementing the principles of war such as surprise, simplicity and flexibility, and command and control.
5. Within the recent strategic reorientation that arises from a detailed and holistic General Staff study with the participation of all the military forces, analyzing the current context, two fundamental aspects stand out: the modification of the role of the Joint Commands of the Military Forces and the reorganization of the Omega, Hercules and Vulcano Task Forces. These two changes do not imply the disappearance of units or the reduction of the number of units; on the contrary, they seek to align the organizational structure to a new vision of the direction of operations, which will continue to be under the command of the General Command of the Military Forces and which aims to obtain an comprehensive vision of the context, the territory, as well as the means and resources available. Thus leading to enhance the response of the Military Forces in the fight against criminal structures.
6. The Joint Commands of the Military Forces will remain active and will have as their mission the analysis of the strategic context and the planning on their of geographical areas. Its objective is to design plans that are coordinated with the different State agencies, leading to anticipate and respond to any situation that may disturb the sovereignty and security of the national territory. The functions of the military operation that they previously conducted in the execution of the campaign plan will be transferred directly to the force commanders, who, through their divisions, Naval forces and Air Combat commands, will continue to carry out operations, thus generating greater efficiency and effectiveness of the military operation.
7. This organizational decision seeks that the branches commanders: Army, Navy and Air Force, resume direct command of the units that were previously under the command of the military operation of the Joint Commands. This will generate a more agile and focused response in the national territory.
In addition, this adjustment in the structure leads the branches to assuming a central role in the planning, execution and monitoring of operations within their respective domains, land, naval and air. In this way, each branch can focus its resources, differential resources and efforts throughout the national territory, which generates a more agile and precise response to threats.
This approach based on specialization increases the efficiency of operations, leading each branch to enhance its strengths and optimize its resources without losing cohesion and joint work.
8. The Task Forces are transferred of the General Command to Colombian National Army Command. In this way, they will continue to be, as they have been historically, the tip of the spear of operations. These changes will strengthen their effectiveness thanks to a direct direction of the military operation of the commander of Colombian National Army through the divisions, based on an analysis of the context of the land domain at the national level. It is important to note that 90% of the instability factors occur in this domain. The components of the military Forces that were under the command of these Task Forces, such as the river units of the National Navy and the air means of the Air Force, will continue to be in permanent mutual support. This means that they will continue to operate in the same areas of operations of the Task Forces, hierarchically depending on their respective branches. This synergy of the military operation has been established in the update of the Ayacucho Joint Strategic Campaign Plan PLUS, as an order of strict compliance and object of follow-up.
9. Colombian National Army, within its strategic reorientation, contemplates the reorganization of some of its units and the creation of others, including 6 Rapid Deployment Forces (FUDRA), in addition to the existing 4 that will carry out the Operations in the following divisions: DIV1, DIV4, DIV5, DIV6, DIV7 and DIV8 and transforms the Specific Command of the East into the FUDRA11 and the Specific Command of the Cagu谩n into the FUDRA12, for completing 12 FUDRAS, of which three will be under the command of the Omega Task force, this with the purpose of attacking the finances and logistics of the GAOs in their rear areas. These Units carry out operations in the areas of responsibility of the divisions and of areas, which will lead them to focus all their combat power on the main threats in a dynamic way.
10. For its part, and as a comprehensive component of the strategy, the National Navy is reorganizing the organizational structure of the Naval Special Forces to optimize the use of this capacity, generating high mobility and availability of the military operation.
11. As for the Colombian Air Force, its mission has not changed at all, on the contrary, the planning and development of operations of the aerial perspective is being revitalized in direct support of Colombian National Army and Navy, and in coordination with the National Police. Each commander in the territory may continue to require the direct support of the Air Force according to the tactical development and the military operation in the different of areas of operations to continue operating Jointly and Coordinated in order to be more efficient and effective.
12. The joint work will continue to be a fundamental responsibility. The Intelligence, planning and operations processes will be strengthened by generating a direct and fluid coordination at the level of the military operation conducted by the Divisions of the Army, the Air Combat Commands of the Air Force and the Naval Forces of the National Navy, complemented at the strategic level through the General Command of the Military Forces, thus maintaining the synergy of the military operation characteristic of the Colombian Military Forces, that is, some joint units are being modified and changing the role of others but, joint operations will continue to be carried out as stipulated by the doctrine of Military Forces.
13. The General Commander of the Military Forces will continue to exercise his leadership at the general military strategic level, coordination and execution of strategic plans, and the Commanders of the branches will do so at the level of the military operation in their respective domains, in favor of the fulfillment of the constitutional mission. This change represents a coordinated convergence among the branches, strengthens synergy and promotes a greater capacity for integration. Thanks to a flexible command structure, mutual support and strategic collaboration among the branches, it was possible a synergy that leads to a more efficient management of the resources, both human and logistical. This will improve the effectiveness and impact of operations against criminal organizations.
14. The Functional Commands such as the Joint Special Operations Command CCOES, the recently created Military Gaula (Anti-Extortion and Anti-Kidnapping Group) Command - COGAM the Cyber Joint Command and the Strategic Joint Transition Command for Peace are constant under the command of the General Command of the Military Forces, supporting each of the branches throughout the national territory.
15. Finally, the Military Forces are not weakened by this change in the strategy and organization for the campaign, on the contrary, they are strengthened by this reorientation, maintaining the unwavering commitment to the fulfillment of the constitutional mission. The branches commanders under the command of the General Commander will maintain joint operations as a pillar of the strategy, but thanks to the fact that they will have direct responsibility for the execution of the campaign plan, they will be able to quickly dispose of their own resources throughout the territory, generating greater dynamism and power in the theater of operations, optimizing the use of resources and supporting the soldiers on land, sea and air wherever they need it using all institutional resources.
In conclusion,
a. The Military Forces are not getting weaker, they are getting stronger.
b. Joint intelligence is constant in military operations
c . The Military Forces is constant in the operation throughout the national territory.
d. The combination is constant and it is a fundamental pillar of the operations, in addition it is taken to another level, where it will be the branches (Army, Navy, Colombian Air Force), who will directly put all their means and differential resources to operate in synergy throughout the territory.
Source: Strategic Communications General command of the military forces
