riverine warriors: the colombian marine corps - jane's … · riverine warriors: the colombian...

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Riverine warriors: The Colombian Marine Corps

[Content preview – Subscribe to Jane’s Defence Weekly for full article]

This year, on the 80th anniversary of its formation, the Colombian Marine Corps is

characterised by an evolving security environment, marked by the progress made in the

implementation of the peace accord between the Colombian government and the

Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) following six decades of armed conflict.

Erwan de Cherisey reports

According to its commander, Brigadier General Oscar Hernández Duran, the Colombian Marine

Corps (IMC) has a strength of 21,000 personnel, which makes it the third-largest naval infantry

force in the world behind the US Marine Corps (USMC: 183,400) and the Republic of Korea

Marine Corps (27,000). However, while the latter two forces are primarily concerned with

amphibious warfare and expeditionary operations, the IMC is unique in that its main area of

expertise lies in riverine operations. Indeed, nowadays it is the largest riverine warfare force in the

world, with more than 8,000 troops assigned to riverine units. It is also one of the most

experienced forces in this field, having conducted riverine operations continuously since 1971.

With more than 15,000 km of rivers, Colombia cannot afford to ignore the significance of its

riverine network, which is the only way for many of its inhabitants to communicate with the rest of

the country. As IMC officers explained to Jane’s , there are many small isolated communities that

rely on the rivers to transport their crops to market for sale. Without the possibility of navigating

freely over the rivers, these people have no way of making a living and sustaining their families, so

effective control and security of Colombia’s water courses has long been a priority for the

government, with the IMC serving as the operational arm implementing this objective.

Riverine operations are, however, not the only purview of the IMC, which also maintains units

tasked with more conventional duties, including coastal defence and amphibious warfare. While for

decades developing these capabilities was not considered a priority on account of more urgent

counter-insurgency requirements, the improved internal security situation in Colombia means that

the IMC is now focused on strengthening and expanding these as it seeks to develop a true

expeditionary capability, Brig Gen Hernández explained to Jane’s .

A major restructuring took place in 2011, which included disbanding several types of units, such as

the marine infantry riverine brigades, and the IMC is now organised in a more straightforward way.

Its command (CIMAR) and Logistic Support Command (CALOGIM) are in Bogota, while five

marine infantry brigades (BRIMs) and a training base (BEIM) are spread throughout Colombia. A

special forces battalion (BFEIM) also exists but falls under the operational authority of the

Colombian Armed Forces Joint Special Operations Command (CCOES). While the CIMAR

exercises administrative authority over the whole IMC, its role is to train, equip, and certify IMC

personnel and units. Thus, the only units that come under its operational command are the BEIM

and CALOGIM. Meanwhile, the BRIMs are operationally subordinated to the Colombian Navy’s

(ARC’s) regional naval forces in the Caribbean (FNC), the Pacific (FNP), the South (FNS), and the

East (FNO). The latter two are active in the least populated areas of Colombia, which share






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borders with Brazil, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela, and are at the core of the Colombian

government’s efforts in the field of development and integration.

[Continued in full version…]

Riverine units and capabilities

The IMC’s first attempt at establishing a permanent riverine operations capability was in 1956,

when experiments and demonstrations were conducted using 16 ft (4.9 m) aluminium boats armed

with machine guns and mortars for riverine operations. The concept, known as the 'Wasp Flotilla',

also resulted in the writing of the first riverine operations manual, but the project never developed

into an operational unit. It was not until 1971, with the creation of the Jungle Commandos unit, that

a permanent riverine capability was finally established within the IMC.

A group of four Boston Whaler Guardian craft on the Atrato River during a training exercise undertaken by Riverine Warfare School (ESCOFLU) trainees. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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In the past four decades riverine operations have become the primary specialty of the IMC. Of the

five BRIMs in its order of battle, three (BRIMs 3, 4, and 5) are purely dedicated to riverine duties

and only have marine infantry riverine battalions (BFIMs) as combat units, while the remaining two






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(BRIMs 1 and 2) field a mix of marine infantry battalions (BIMs), tasked with amphibious warfare

and coastal defence, and BFIMs. There are also command and support battalions (BACAIMs) in

certain brigades. The IMC has 14 BFIMs, which are deployed throughout Colombia. As Lieutenant

Colonel Francisco Ovalle Pineda, commander of the IMC’s International Amphibious Training

Centre (CIEAN) and former commander of the BFIM 30, based at Puerto Leguízamo, Putumayo,

told Jane’s , “Each battalion has its own specific organisation.” This is influenced by the

specificities of its area of operations and the duties it performs.

Colombian Marine and Costa Rican border police trainees at the Riverine Combat School, in Turbo, Antioquia. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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An example of the organisation of an IMC riverine unit can be found in BFIM 16, which operates

on the Atrato River and has its headquarters in Turbo, Antioquia, next to the IMC’s Riverine

Combat School (ESCOFLU), which Jane’s visited in October 2016. Tasked with securing 550 km

of waterways, BFIM 16 has to confront several security threats, including the National Liberation

Army (ELN) terrorist organisation and criminal groups such as the Gulf Clan (Clan del Golfo),

which use the Atrato River and the Urabá Gulf as outlets for drug trafficking. At the same time

BFIM 16 also has to stop other illicit activities such as illegal logging or mining. As its commanding

officer, Lieutenant Colonel Wisner Paz Palomeque, told Jane’s , the battalion comprises one

command element, one security company staffed by regular and professional marines, one

riverine craft company, and one support and services company. Its overall strength is

approximately 600 troops.






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The IMC's Boston Whaler Guardians are unarmoured and the EOFs thus rely on their speed, manoeuvrability, and firepower in case of enemy aggression. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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Lt Col Paz said that the riverine craft company comprises “everything related to the [riverine]

operations elements and the riverine patrol craft”. Riverine operations elements (EOFs), formerly

known as riverine combat elements (ECFs), are the core component of the IMC’s riverine

capability. Brig Gen Hernández explained that each BFIM comprises between four and six EOFs,

which are either heavy EOFs (EOFPs) or light EOFs (EOFLs). The former are the most numerous

and are tasked with operating throughout most rivers, while the latter deploy on narrower and

shallower watercourses, using smaller and lighter craft.

As Lt Col Paz noted, BFIM 16 has three EOFPs and one EOFL. Each EOFP has four 23 ft Boston

Whaler Guardian fast boats, locally known as 'Piraña', all of which are armed with an FN M2 .50

calibre heavy machine gun (HMG) at the fore and four side-mounted FN M240 7.62 mm light

machine guns (LMGs), with the command boat among the four additionally having an aft-mounted

General Dynamics Mk 19 40 mm automatic grenade launcher (AGL). Each craft is fitted with a pair

of Evinrude E-TEC 175 hp outboard engines, except for the command boat, which has 200 hp

engines. The EOFLs use smaller 19 ft Guardian boats with 90 hp engines. The main duty of the

EOFs is to conduct operations to ensure effective government control over Colombia’s

watercourses using a variety of operational methods, which include regular patrolling, interdiction

sorties, setting up riverine control posts, laying ambushes, or supporting riverine assault

operations. The EOF craft lack armour, except for the ballistic protection shields fitted to their main

weapons and the marines’ own individual body armour. As a result the EOFs rely on their

firepower, speed, and manoeuvrability to counter any enemy aggression.






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The riverine operations elements' Boston Whaler fast craft are all armed with four side-mounted FN M240 7.62 mm light machine-guns. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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In addition to the EOFs, the BFIMs feature several riverine assault groups (GAFs), which are also

part of each battalion’s riverine craft company. As Lt Col Paz explained, BFIM 16 has six GAFs,

each of which comprises 21 marines and NCOs divided into two teams, with one officer in overall

command. The GAFs are tasked with performing riverine assault operations, which, according to

Lt Col Paz, means “executing an operational assignment on a predetermined objective or [an

objective] to be determined in a specific area of a river”. In other words, while the EOFs are

primarily tasked with patrol duties, the GAFs are tasked with carrying out assault operations on

targets such as shore-based laboratories used for the production of narcotics. The GAFs use their

own dedicated boats known as riverine assault craft (BAFs), of which BFIM 16 has nine examples.

The BAFs are a mix of Colombian-made 19 and 20 ft Eduardoño craft and more recent US-made

19 ft Boston Whaler Guardians. Each is armed with a pair of LMGs.

While the EOFs and GAFs are fully staffed by IMC personnel, who also operate their craft, the

remaining boats in a BFIM’s inventory are, in fact, ARC vessels that, while administratively

controlled by the navy, are operationally attached to the different BFIMs. In the case of BFIM 16,

three LPR 40 river patrol craft and a pair of riverine support patrol vessels (PAFs) hailing from the

ARC’s Caribbean Riverine Flotilla serve with the riverine craft company. LPR 40s are used in a

supporting role for patrolling duties and as command-and-control support units, while the PAFs

serve in a resupply, personnel transport, and fire support role. A number of troop transport boats

(TBTs) were also in service with the unit when Jane’s visited in October 2016, but have since been

withdrawn without replacement.






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Each IMC riverine operations element (EOF) features four Boston Whaler Guardian fast craft, with one of them serving as a command boat. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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To support their operations and exercise more permanent control over the rivers under their

jurisdiction, the BFIM man several forward riverine posts (PFAs) that are used as staging areas for

operations and from which detachments carry out patrols.


Amphibious warfare and coastal defence

Colombia’s territorial waters extend over 988,000 km2, while its coastline has a length of 2,900

km. The IMC is responsible for defending the country’s coast against any aggression, as well as

providing an amphibious capability to support conventional military operations and relief

capabilities in the event of a major contingency or natural catastrophe.

While the FARC insurgency resulted in a significant build-up of its riverine capabilities, the IMC

also participated in land operations, with its BIMs taking part in a variety of combat operations,

including deployments undertaken as part of the Meteor Plan (Plan Meteoro) to secure the roads

of Colombia.

Under the current organisation, the IMC has six BIMs divided between BRIM 1 and 2. These units

are tasked with amphibious operations, coastal defence, and land warfare. Unlike the BFIMs, all

BIMs are organised identically, into four combat companies, one command element, and one

support and services company. Each combat company has four platoons with 34 personnel. Each

platoon is divided into three squads, with each squad comprising two five-man teams and a squad

commander. Each squad fields one infantry support weapon, which can either be an LMG (either

an M60E4 or an FN M249), a multiple grenade launcher (Milkor MGL), or a 60 mm mortar. Heavier

weapons, such as HMGs or 81 mm mortars, are operated by the support and services company.






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Each BRIM also fields a non-lethal weapons platoon (ANL), which is tasked with riot control duties.

As Brig Gen Hernández detailed, strategic mobility for each BIM and armoured support are

provided by Marine Infantry Mobility Battalion 1 (BAMIM 1), based near Cartagena. The BAMIM

relies on a fleet of tactical trucks, AM General M998 and M1151 protected Humvees and mine-

resistant ambush-protected (MRAP) vehicles such as the Panamerican CXT, which were locally

developed for use in road security operations under the Meteor Plan.

All marine infantry brigades have a non-lethal weapons platoon tasked with conducting riot control operations. The personnel assigned to these units are trained at Coveñas. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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While Colombia launched a project in the early 2000s to procure a batch of specially modified

BTR-80A 'Caribe' armoured personnel carriers, 20 of which were earmarked for the IMC, only one

test vehicle was ever delivered, which was trialled by the marines.

Brig Gen Hernández explained that long-term plans for the development of the IMC under the

ARC 2030 modernisation plan include significant strengthening of its conventional warfare

capabilities to improve its ability to conduct coastal defence and amphibious warfare operations

while providing it with true expeditionary capabilities to support multinational peacekeeping

operations abroad. In terms of equipment procurement, armoured amphibious vehicles and

artillery are high on the list of items required by the IMC. Its amphibious capabilities, meanwhile,

have already been strengthened at the tactical level, as Brig Gen Hernández noted, thanks to the

delivery of four Amphibious Landing Vessels (BDAs), designed and manufactured in Colombia,

that can transport up to 120 tonnes of supplies and vehicles or a company-sized infantry unit.

So far the most significant addition to the conventional warfare capabilities of the IMC has been

that of a short-range anti-aircraft missile system, which uses MBDA Mistral twin short-range

surface-to-air missiles with SIMBAD mounts taken from ARC ships and modified for use on






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Humvees. This system provides the IMC with a limited air defence umbrella that can be deployed

in support of coastal defence units.


Special forces

As explained by Brig Gen Hernández Duran in a briefing to Jane’s , the IMC has one special

operations forces (SOF) unit in its order of battle, the BFEIM, which is based in Cartagena.

Operationally, the BFEIM answers to the CCOES, which has its headquarters in Bogota.

As one IMC officer further explained, the BFEIM has a complement of more than 500 and is

organised into one command and support company, one reconnaissance company, and three

direct-action companies. The former is tasked with intelligence-gathering duties and is divided into

three reconnaissance teams and three sniper teams, while the direct-action companies are each

divided into two direct-action teams, each of which comprises two detachments, which are further

broken up into one assault element and one support element. The CIMAR is tasked with providing

the BFEIM with the necessary equipment and weaponry and, while part of the unit’s training is

handled by the CCOES, it does provide support in certain areas, with courses such as Amphibious

Reconnaissance and Underwater Demolition (RADS).

IMC personnel also provide most of the operators attached to the ARC’s Caribbean, Pacific, and

South Naval Commando Groups (GRUCON-C, GRUCON-P, and GRUCON-S). The latter are not

controlled by the CCOES and fall instead under the authority of the ARC’s Naval Special

Operations Command (COFEN), which exercises administrative control over them, while the

operational responsibility for these units is in the hands of the Chief of Naval Operations. The

GRUCONs were created in 2012 to provide the ARC with its own special operations capability

following the transfer of the BFEIM to the control of the CCOES. The GRUCONs absorbed the

IMC’s existing urban special forces groups (AFEURs) as well as its tactical divers (BUTAM) units.

Each GRUCON is organised similarly to the BFEIM, with one command and support company,

one reconnaissance company, and three direct action companies. They are tasked with

performing special operations at sea, on land in coastal areas, and on Colombia’s rivers. The IMC

officer explained that GRUCON-P operates a fleet of US-made Special Operations Craft - River

(SOC-Rs), with four examples being used in operations and another four operated for training.


Training capabilities

All IMC training programmes and capabilities are controlled by the BEIM, headquartered in

Coveñas, Sucre, on the Caribbean Coast, which answers administratively and operationally to the

CIMAR in Bogota.






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Colombian and Dominican marine officers conducting an amphibious assault exercise as part of their tactical training at the Coveñas Marine Infantry Training Base. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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The BEIM was established in 1974 and currently trains all Colombian Marine conscripts,

professionals, and the corps’ non-commissioned officers (NCOs). While Marine officers undertake

their academic studies at the Almirante Padilla Naval School in Cartagena, tactical and technical

training is conducted at the BEIM, as Jane’s witnessed first hand during a visit to Coveñas. USMC

assistance helped to strengthen the common skills training capabilities and programmes at the

BEIM between 2002-10.

The BEIM comprises three training battalions (BINIMs), the Marine NCO School (EFIM), the

International Amphibious Training Centre (CIEAN), the Peacekeeping Operations Training Centre

(CENCOPAZ), an international advanced training centre, and BACAIM 6. The BEIM has 1,286

personnel, including 37 civilian employees, outside of the IMC personnel and conscripts

undergoing training.

The BINIMs are in charge of training marine conscripts. As Colonel Cesar Triana Gómez,

commanding officer of the BEIM, explained to Jane’s in July, “The role of the three battalions is to

turn the young men who come for military service into trained marines so that they can

successfully serve in the operational units, which are found throughout the country.” Each BINIM

comprises four training companies that can train up to 900 marine conscripts simultaneously. An

instructors company is part of the cadre of permanent personnel of the BEIM and, as Col Triana

detailed, “It comes under the department of operations and training of the BEIM, but its only role is

to train the three battalions [BINIMs].” As Col Triana further explained, the conscripts undertake an

11-week training programme. One instructor explained to Jane’s that because the training course

is so short, it is very intensive to pass on as many skills and as much knowledge as possible to the

recruits. Seven weeks are spent training the conscripts in common IMC skills, with one week spent

on specific skills such as handling support weapons.






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Lt Col Ovalle told Jane’s in July that when the EFIM trains the marine NCOs, “they study there for

two years and are then spread throughout all the battalions in the country", adding that "while at

the school they take some courses at the CIEAN, for example, the basic gunnery instructor course

or the basic diving course”.

The Coveñas Marine Training Base is tasked with training marine snipers and marksmen, which are then deployed in the BFEIM, GRUCONs, and certain BFIMs. A sniper is seen here armed with a Remington M24A2 7.62 mm rifle. Other weapons used by Colombian Marine snipers include the Barrett M107 in 12.7 mm. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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Created in 2006, the CIEAN is tasked with “preparing, instructing, and training officers, NCOs, and

professional marines as well as personnel from other forces and foreign partner nations in the

military skills required to participate in the achievement of their institutional mission”, Lt Col Ovalle

explained. He added that by mid-2017 the CIEAN had trained 1,826 foreigners (from Brazil, Chile,

Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, France, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama,

Peru, and the United States) and nearly 12,000 Colombians.

The CIEAN serves as a specialist training centre for amphibious warfare and as such provides a

variety of training courses to IMPs, NCOs, and IMC officers, as well as foreign military personnel.

The courses taught are divided into six major categories: tactical, technical (including

humanitarian, demining, explosives, ANL, and canine operations), tactical diving, amphibious

(advanced combat, basic amphibious assault, designated marksman), common skills (water

survival, personal defence, weapons use, and physical training), and command and support.






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The Coveñas Marine Training Base also trains canine elements as sniffer dogs for detecting drugs or explosives. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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As Lt Col Ovalle further explained to Jane’s , the aims for the development of the CIEAN in the

short to medium term are mainly to strengthen the common skills training programmes, review and

update the doctrine of the other programmes, and develop new programmes and courses to

strengthen the capabilities of the ARC, such as a tactical naval intelligence course or a

reconnaissance course for IMC personnel.

The CENCOPAZ is tasked with providing training for peacekeeping operations to Colombian

military personnel and serves as the lead institution in this field for all Colombian armed forces. It

provides United Nations observer courses as well as United Nations soldier courses, with

assistance from foreign instructors. With Colombia’s objective of ultimately contributing up to 5,000

soldiers for peacekeeping operations abroad, the CENCOPAZ is expected to play a critical role in

preparing the necessary personnel.






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A Boston Whaler Guardian riverine craft seen during a tactical training exercise undertaken on the Atrato River as part of the Colombian Marines Riverine Combat School (ESCOFLU) training syllabus. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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Riverine operations training comes under a separate entity, the ESCOFLU, which is itself part of

the new International Advanced Training Centre (CIEAV) being set up in Turbo by the IMC, which

also comes under the authority of the BEIM. Originally based in Puerto Leguizamo, the ESCOFLU

relocated to Turbo in 2015. As detailed to Jane’s by its commander, Major Carlos Andrés

Castellanos, the ESCOFLU mission is to train IMC and foreign personnel, in accordance with the

ARC’s riverine doctrine and institutional requirements, to impart the required knowledge and skills

to contribute to the riverine and maritime development of their country and to achieve objectives

set by their respective institutions.

The ESCOFLU is currently the main functioning element within the CIEAV because the

infrastructure for the centre is still being constructed. Three main courses are taught under the

ESCOFLU: combat boat pilot (four weeks), riverine combat (nine weeks), and combat boat gunner

(four weeks). Additional courses that are to be taught in the short term at the CIEAV include jungle

combat and combat survival in water. Over the longer term combat diving training will be added

and air assault and amphibious operations courses will also eventually be offered. The timeline for

these future phases is dependent on budget allocation.






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Marine officers seen during a tactical training exercise designed to replicate operations in a jungle environment at the Coveñas Marine Infantry Training Base. (Erwan de Cherisey)

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The ARC riverine fleet Since the 1950s the ARC has relied on a mixed fleet of purpose-built and modified vessels to conduct riverine operations. Currently a token number of older designs – including the Riohacha class of river gunboats, which were designed and manufactured in Colombia and have been in service with the ARC since 1956 – remain in service. Locally modified and armoured tugboats and transports serve in a supporting role, alongside a range of medium-sized riverine craft. Smaller US-made boats, including what are locally designated Fast Riverine Patrol Craft (PRFs) or the older PBR Mk III series, are also in use, albeit in dwindling numbers. Since the late 1990s the ARC has been modernising its riverine fleet with an influx of new vessels, most of which have been designed and manufactured by Colombia’s Science and Technology Corporation for the Development of Naval, Maritime, and Riverine Industries (COTECMAR) in its Cartagena shipyard. Perhaps the most notable of these riverine vessels are the PAFs, also known as the Nodriza class in the ARC. The first of these vessels were built by converting a variety of boats such as riverine tugs or transports into armoured vessels. They are used for patrol duties, as troop transports, and as floating bases for resupplying IMC EOFs. While converted vessels provided a short-term solution, the ARC realised that it needed purpose-built vessels specifically conceived for these duties and thus designed a first generation of new PAF (PAF-I), two of which were produced between 1998 and 2000, as Captain Freddy Zarate, engineering manager at COTECMAR, told Jane’s . Operational feedback revealed several shortcomings with this first design, which were addressed with the development of the PAF-II series, of which two units were produced in 2002 and 2003 featuring fully protected weapon stations, improved armouring of the vessels’ structures, a more efficient communication suite, better accommodation, and more powerful engines. The PAF-III series was then developed, with four units produced between 2005-08. These represent the most radical departure from the original design because they have redesigned structures, sloped armour offering increased protection, a helicopter deck, and a Schottel pump jet propulsion system in lieu of the propellers fitted to the previous generations.







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riverine warriors: the colombian marine corps - jane's … · riverine warriors: the colombian...

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