The Portuguese Armed Forces (Portuguese: Forças Armadas Portuguesas or FAP) are divided into three branches:

• Army (Exército Português)
• Navy (Marinha Portuguesa)
• Air Force (Força Aérea Portuguesa)

In the 20th century, Portugal had only two major military interventions, the first one in the 1st World War and the other between 1961 and 1974 in the former colonial territories of Angola, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, the colonial war, that killed and wounded large thousands of Portuguese men, devastated the Portuguese society that continues paying the bill, even today. Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 2,534,872 (2000 est. ... // 1914/1915 - Neutral Portugal Bosnian separatists assassinate Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in Sarajevo, Bosnia, on June, 28, 1914. ...

Since 2003, the military service is optional. Portugal has military involved in several peacekeeping missions abroad, like INTERFER and UNTAET in East-Timor, MINURSO in Western Sahara, EUFOR in Bosnia and KFOR in Kosovo. Peacekeeping, as defined by the United Nations, is a way to help countries torn by conflict create conditions for sustainable peace. ... The UN Transitional Administration in East Timor provided an interim civil administration and a peacekeeping mission in the territory of East Timor. ... The Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste or East Timor is a nation in Southeast Asia, consisting of the eastern half of the island of Timor, the nearby islands of Atauro and Jaco, and Oecussi-Ambeno, an exclave of East Timor situated on the western side of the island, surrounded by... Bosnia and Herzegovina (officially Bosna i Hercegovina, shortened to BiH, also in English variously written Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Bosnia-Hercegovina) is a mountainous country in the western Balkans. ... Pocket badge of the KFOR Ukrainian soldier on foot patrolling in Serbian village near Brezovica KFOR vehicle of the French Army The Kosovo Force (KFOR) is a NATO-led international force responsible for establishing and maintaining security in Kosovo. ... Kosovo (Albanian: Kosovë / Kosova, Serbian: Косово и Метохија / Kosovo i Metohija), in English most often called just Kosovo, is a province of Serbia. ...

The last government spent large amounts of money in the modernization of the Armed Forces, in an action that created much controversy, the main one was the acquisition of 3 new submarines. USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ...

Military branches: Army, Navy (includes Marines), Air Force, National Republican Guard

Military manpower - military age: 20 years of age

Military manpower - availability:
males age 15-49: 2,534,872 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,036,712 (2000 est.)

Military manpower - reaching military age annually:
males: 74,050 (2000 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure: $2.458 billion (FY97)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 2.6% (FY97)

References and Links

• Portugal
• Portuguese Air Force
• Portuguese Army
• Portuguese Ministry of Defense
• Portuguese National Republican Guard (technically military branch, but functionally a police force)
• Portuguese Navy