Dominican Republic

the military is responsible for defending the independence, integrity, and sovereignty of the Dominican Republic; it also has an internal security role, which includes assisting with airport, border, port, tourism, and urban security, supporting the police in maintaining or restoring public order, countering transnational crime, and providing disaster or emergency relief/management; a key area of focus is securing the country’s 217-mile (350-kilometer) long border with Haiti, where the Army in recent years has assigned thousands of troops to assist with security; these forces complement the personnel of the Border Security Corps permanently deployed along the border; the Air Force and Navy also provide support to the Haitian border mission; the Army has a brigade dedicated to managing and providing relief during natural disasters; the military also contributes personnel to the National Drug Control Directorate, and both the Air Force and Navy devote assets to detecting and interdicting narcotics trafficking; the Navy conducts regular bilateral maritime interdiction exercises with the US Navy (2025)

Armed Forces of the Dominican Republic: Army of the Dominican Republic (Ejercito de la República Dominicana, ERD), Navy (Armada de República Dominicana or ARD; includes naval infantry), Dominican Air Force (Fuerza Aerea de la República Dominicana, FARD) (2025)

note 1: in addition to the three main branches of the military, the Ministry of Defense directs the Specialized Border Security Corps (CESFRONT), the Specialized Corps in Port Security (CESEP), and the Specialized Corps in Airport and Civil Aviation Safety (CESAC); these specialized corps are joint forces, made up of civilians and personnel from all the military branches; they may also assist in overall citizen security working together with the National Police, which is under the Ministry of Interior

17-early 20s for voluntary military service for men and women (ages vary depending on military service and position; under 18 admitted with permission of parents) (2025)

note: as of 2024, women made up approximately 17% of the active-duty military

the military's equipment inventory comes largely from the US, with smaller quantities from such suppliers as Brazil and Spain (2025)

approximately 55-60,000 Armed Forces; up to 35,000 National Police (2025)