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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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Uruguay
Index
Unlike most Latin American countries, entrance into the
armed
forces was entirely through voluntary recruitment; there
was no
system of compulsory service. Initial enlistment was for
one- or
two-year terms, depending on the service and the
assignment, and
there was little difficulty in filling vacancies. Recruits
were
attracted by benefits, which included early retirement
with
pension, and by the opportunity to attend armed forces
schools,
which provided skills useful in civilian occupations.
Noncommissioned officers (NCOs) were career soldiers,
sailors, or
airmen who were chosen from the recruits toward the end of
the
initial period of service. The small size of the armed
forces
permitted selection of physically qualified applicants; in
keeping with the country's high literacy rate (96 percent
in
1990), recruits generally had at least a basic education
(see Education
, ch. 2).
In 1990 over 573,000 males were fit for military
service;
enlisted personnel were between eighteen and forty-five
years of
age. A loosely organized reserve was made up of
approximately
120,000 former members of the armed forces. Constituting
only
about 0.8 percent of the total population, the armed
forces were
not a drain on the country's work force.
Morale in the military services was generally adequate
in
1990. The 1989 defeat of the referendum to overturn
amnesty
provisions for most military personnel who committed
offenses
during the period of military rule appeared to quell any
lingering uneasiness in the armed forces over the
relinquishment
of power. The decrease in personnel during the 1985-87
period
drew some protest, especially among those forced to leave
service. Low levels of pay continued to be a major morale
problem, despite a number of partially compensating
benefits. The
Ministry of National Defense reported in mid-1988 that
from 1973
to 1988 enlisted men's salaries lost 34 percent of their
purchasing power; officers' salaries, 44 percent; and
auxiliary
personnel's, 21.5 percent.
Military personnel, active-duty and retired, as well as
their
dependents, were entitled to medical care provided by the
armed
forces medical services. Officers could retire on partial
pay
after twenty years of service and on full pay after thirty
years.
NCOs received the same benefits after fifteen and twenty
years of
service, respectively. Additional allowances were provided
for
hazardous duty.
Data as of December 1990
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