The Chilean Armed Forces is the unified military organization comprising the Chilean Army, Air Force, and Navy. The President of Chile is the commander-in-chief of the military, and formulates policy through the Minister of Defence. In recent years and after several major reequipment programs, the Chilean Armed Forces have become one of the most technologically advanced and professional armed forces in Latin America. The Chilean Army is mostly supplied with equipment from Germany, the United States, Brazil, Israel, France, and Spain.
The Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic are the combined armed forces of Argentina. It is controlled by the Commander-in-Chief and a civilian Minister of Defense. In addition to the Army, Navy and Air Force, there are two security forces, controlled by the Ministry of Security, which can be mobilized on occasion of 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.
The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, the most famous being the discovery of America and the first global circumnavigation. For several centuries, it played a crucial logistical role in the expansion and consolidation of the Spanish Empire, and defended a vast trade network across the Atlantic Ocean between the Americas and Europe, and the Manila Galleon across the Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and the Americas.
The Peruvian Navy is the branch of the Peruvian Armed Forces tasked with surveillance, patrol and defense on lakes, rivers and the Pacific Ocean up to 200 nautical miles from the Peruvian littoral. Additional missions include assistance in safeguarding internal security, conducting disaster relief operations and participating in international peacekeeping operations.
The Argentine Navy is the navy of Argentina. It is one of the three branches of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic, together with the Army and the Air Force.
The Chilean Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso.
The Colombian Navy, officially the Colombian National Navy, also known as the "Armada Nacional" or just the "Armada" in Spanish, is the naval branch of the military forces of Colombia. The Navy is responsible for security and defence in the Colombian zones of both the Atlantic (Caribbean) and Pacific oceans, the extensive network of rivers inside the country, and a few small land areas under its direct jurisdiction.
Corvette captain is a rank in many European and Latin American navies which theoretically corresponds to command of a corvette. The equivalent rank is lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy and other Commonwealth navies, the United States Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy – a bilingual country which actually uses the term capitaine de corvette (capc) for the rank of lieutenant-commander when written or spoken in French.
Frigate captain is a naval rank in the naval forces of several countries. Corvette captain lies one level below frigate captain.
The Chilean Marine Corps is an entity of the Chilean Navy special forces which specializes in amphibious assaults.
Many Basques arrived in Chile in the 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and early 20th century from their homeland in northern Spain and parts of southwestern France, as conquistadors, soldiers, sailors, merchants, priests and labourers. Due to their traditional hard work and entrepreneurship, many of them rose to the top of the social scale and intermarried into the Chilean elites of Castilian descent, giving birth to the new Basque-Chilean aristocracy in Chile. This union is the basis of the Chilean elite of today. But also, they immensely contributed to the ethnic make up of the bulk of the Chilean population. The Basque settlers also intermarried into the Mestizo and Castizo population of central Chile in the middle of the colonial period to form the large Criollo population that exists in Chile today; Castizos create modern middle and lower classes. Many years after the first waves of settlers, thousands of Basque refugees fleeing Spanish Civil War in 1939 also settled and have many descendants in the country and have even intermarried with Spanish ethnic groups other than Castilians, and other European ethnic groups. An estimated 1.6 million (10%) to 5 million (30%) Chileans have a surname of Basque origin. This figure is to the least as the number of Basque descendence is great and plentiful. Due to Basque migration, Chile has a higher number of people of Basque descent than the Basque Country itself.
The First Chilean Navy Squadron was the heterogeneous naval force that terminated Spanish colonial rule in the Pacific and protagonized the most important naval actions of in the Latin American wars of independence. The Chilean revolutionary government organized the squadron in order to carry the war to the Viceroyalty of Perú, then the center of Spanish power in South America, and thus secure the independence of Chile and Argentina.
The Chilean honours system provides a means for the Government of Chile to reward gallantry, achievement, or service, by both Chileans and non-citizens. The honours system consists of three types of award: orders, decorations and medals. Membership of an Order is conferred to recognise merit in terms of achievement and service. Decorations are conferred to recognise specific deeds of gallantry, bravery, distinguished or meritorious service. Medals are conferred to recognise long and/or valuable service and/or good conduct. Awards to non-citizens are usually only made where the gallantry, achievement or service has advanced Chilean interests in some way. The honours conferred by the Chilean Republic can be divided into two groups: civil and military. Military honours are conferred by the different branches of the Armed Forces of Chile. Civil honours are conferred by the President of Chile or, in some instances, by the government minister relevant to the particular honour.
The Chief of the Defence Staff is the highest-ranking military officer in the Spanish Armed Forces and is the principal military advisor to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Defence, the National Defence Council and the National Security Council. It is the fourth military authority of the country after the Monarch, the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence because the Secretary of State for Defence and the Under-Secretary of Defence do not have military authority.
Rank comparison chart of navies of North and South American states.
The Chilean order of precedence is currently prescribed by the Public Ceremonial and Protocol Regulation. This regulation establishes the order of precedence of national official activities as well as common regulations to activities organized by provinces and regions. The general order established by the decree is modified if the event takes place elsewhere in Chile instead of in Santiago Metropolitan Region.
The military ranks and insignia of Chile are the military insignia used by the Chilean Armed Forces.
Chilean Navy 
