The 1st Division ( es, Primera División del Ejército Nacional de Colombia) is a

Colombian National Army The National Army of Colombia ( es, Ejército Nacional de Colombia) is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, an ...

division Division or divider may refer to: Mathematics *Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication *Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division Military *Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...

consisting on two brigades; The 2nd Brigade based in the city of

Barranquilla Barranquilla () is the capital district of Atlántico Department in Colombia. It is located near the Caribbean Sea and is the largest city and third port in the Caribbean Coast region; as of 2018 it had a population of 1,206,319, making it Col ...

and the 10th Armored Brigade based in the city of

Valledupar Valledupar () is a city and municipality in northeastern Colombia. It is the capital of Caesar Department. Its name, ''Valle de Upar'' (Valley of Upar), was established in honor of the Amerindian cacique who ruled the valley; ''Cacique Upar''. ...

. Its current commander is general Juan Bautista Yepez Bedoya, an infantry officer.

History

The history of the 1st Division dates back to the reorganization of the Liberator army after Columbia's independence, when the army has two divisions: a vanguard and a rearguard. On June 23, 1883, the Columbian army reorganized its forces into two divisions, including the 1st Division, consisting of two brigades, with the First Brigade composing of the First Artillery Battalion, the Second Sapper Battalion, and the 3rd, 11th, and 13th Infantry Battalions, and the Second Brigade consisting of the 6th Sapper Battalion and the 10th Infantry Battalion, with the total force of approximately 4000 soldiers. According to the history archives of the First Division, the General Staff of the First Division in 1883 included a Division Commander and Commanding General (a Major General), a First Adjutant General and Chief of Staff (a Colonel), a First Adjutant General (a Captain or Seargant Major), a Field Assistant of the Division Commander, along with other junior officers and field assistants. The modern 1st Division of the Columbian National Army was activated on February 19, 1983 in the city of

, composing of the 2nd Brigade, based in the same city, and 4th Brigade, based in

Medellín Medellín ( or ), officially the Municipality of Medellín ( es, Municipio de Medellín), is the second-largest city in Colombia, after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia. It is located in the Aburrá Valley, a central re ...

. As Barranquilla did not have adequate command infrastructure for the division, the division command was situated temporarily in Bogota, the nation's capital, until the division was transferred to Santa Marta in June 1983. The General Staff of the First Division in 1984 is consisted of: the Division Commander: Major General Josué Leal Barrera, Chief of Staff: Colonel Hernán José Guzmán Rodríguez, Officer G-1 and G-4: Colonel Luis Guerrero Martínez, Officer G-3: Lieutenant Colonel Norberto Adrada Córdoba, Officer G-2: Lieutenant Colonel Tito Rico Busto, and Officer G-5 and Adjutant: Major Harold Hidalgo. Currently, the 1st Division has two units under its command: the 2nd Brigade and the 10th Armored Brigade, with a total strength 20,000 soldiers; it is responsible for the Columbian departments of Atlántico, Magdalena, Cesar,

La Guajira La Guajira () is a department of Colombia. It occupies most of the Guajira Peninsula in the northeast region of the country, on the Caribbean Sea and bordering Venezuela, at the northernmost tip of South America. The capital city of the departm ...

and southern Bolívar.

Structure

2nd Brigade

* 2nd Brigade (Segunda Brigada), headquartered in the city of Barranquilla (Atlantico). Current Commanding Officer, Brigadier General Luis Mauricio Ospina Gutierrez. Area of Operations: Departments (States) of Atlantico, Magdalena, and the southern region of Bolivar. Approximately a total of 67 municipios (counties) located in the Colombian Caribbean Coast. ** 4th Mechanized Infantry Battalion "General Antonio Nariño" ( Malambo) ** 5th Mechanized Infantry Battalion (Santa Marta) ** 6th Mountain Infantry Battalion (

Fundación Fundación is a town and municipality of the Colombian Department of Magdalena. Its people are known as Fundanenses. The primary economic activity is livestock-raising, for production of both meat and milk. Other crops are: corn, yuca, ora ...

) ** 2nd Brigade Training Battalion (El Cenizo) ** 2nd Military Police Battalion (Barranquilla) ** 2nd Engineer Battalion (Malambo) ** 2nd Combat Service Support Battalion (Barranquilla) ** Gaula Group "Magdalena" (Santa Marta) ** Gaula Group "Atlantico" (Barranquilla)

10th Armored Brigade

* 10th Armored Brigade HQ (

) ** Medium Tank Squadron "General Gustavo Matamoros D'Costa" (

Uribia Uribia is town and municipality of the La Guajira department of Colombia. It is the youngest municipality of this Department since the year 2000. Northern Zone of the Cerrejón coal mines are located in this municipality. The municipality also con ...

) ** 2nd Mechanized Cavalry Squadron ( Buenavista) ** 6th Mechanized Battalion (

Riohacha Riohacha (; Wayuu: ) is a city in the Riohacha Municipality in the northern Caribbean Region of Colombia by the mouth of the Ranchería River and the Caribbean Sea. It is the capital city of the La Guajira Department. It has a sandy beach waterfr ...

) ** 7th Mountain Infantry Battalion ( Codazzi) ** 10th Brigade Training Battalion ( La Loma-El Paso) ** 2nd Artillery Battalion (Valledupar) ** 10th Field Artillery Battalion (Buenavista) ** 10th Engineer Battalion (Valledupar) ** 2nd Infrastructure Protection Battalion (

La Jagua de Ibirico La Jagua de Ibirico ((), literally "The Jagua of Ibirico") is a town and municipality in the Department of Cesar, Colombia. This region of La Jagua is rich in coal which is exploited extensively and is second only to El Cerrejon in La Guajira. ...

) ** 3rd Infrastructure Protection Battalion (

Curumaní Curumaní is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Cesar. References External links Curumani official website Municipalities of Cesar Department {{Cesar-geo-stub ...

) ** 10th Combat Service Support Battalion (Valledupar) ** Gaula Group "Cesar" (Valledupar) ** Gaula Group "Guajira" (Riohacha)

Headquarters

1st Division Headquarters are located in the city of Santa Marta.

External links

1st Division of the Colombian National Army

References

Divisions of the Colombian National Army {{Colombia-stub