Ground Forces In January 1978 National Guard overall strength peaked at about 25,000 officers and enlisted men under the direct personal command of their Chief Director and
President of Nicaragua Major general Anastasio Somoza Debayle (a.k.a. 'Tachito'). Often described as something closer to a corps of feudal retainers (or an occupation force) than to a modern national army, the GN was primarily organized for internal security and
Counter-insurgency (COIN) operations rather than national defense, with most infantry units being assigned static garrison duties, and consequently its conventional military value was very low. Out of this total some 10,000–12,500 served in the ground forces proper (including women in the military and PNGN), but only about 7,500 were combat troops, organized into one Presidential Guard battalion, one armoured battalion, one
mechanized infantry battalion, one mechanized company, one engineer battalion, one
Military Police battalion, one field artillery battery and one anti-aircraft battery, plus sixteen security companies. including pilots and ground personnel, under the command of Colonel
Donaldo Humberto Frixote, an experienced pilot and staunch Somoza loyalist. FAGN main air elements at the time consisted of four squadrons – one attack, one helio, one transport and one advanced training – provided with a mixed inventory of aircraft of various types, mostly of U.S., Israeli, British, Canadian and Spanish origin, the majority being
propeller-driven. All FAGN aircraft and personnel were concentrated at the military airbase adjacent to the then
Mercedes International Airport at
Managua, which also housed the Air Force HQ and the Aviation School. either seven or eleven
North American T-28A/D Trojan dual-seat trainers converted for the
ground attack role, seven
Lockheed T-33A dual-seat jet trainers converted to the
fighter-bomber role, two
Douglas A-20G Havoc night fighters and seven
Douglas A-26B/C Invader reconnaissance/light bombers. • The
Escuadrón de Ala Rotatoria (helicopter squadron) aligned for aerial reconnaissance, search-and-rescue (SAR), transport and assault duties eleven
Sikorsky S-58T (CH-34A) Choctaw helicopters converted for the gunship role (nicknamed "Skyraiders" by the Nicaraguans), twelve
Hughes OH-6A/H-369HS Defender light observation helicopters, four
Hiller 12B Raven light utility helicopters, three
Hughes 269 A/B (TH-55A) Osage light utility helicopters, two
Bell UH-1H Iroquois utility transports, an unspecified number of
Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw utility helicopters and one
Bell 47H light utility helicopter. • The
Escuadrón de Transporte (transport squadron) operated thirteen
Douglas C-47 Skytrain transports, eight
Cessna 180 Skywagon light utility aircraft, seven
Cessna 185 (U-17B) Skywagon light utility aircraft, seven
Beech 18 (C-45) Expeditor trainer & utility aircraft, six
De Havilland Canada DHC-3 (U-1A) Otter STOL utility transports, five
CASA C-212 Aviocar medium transports, two
IAI Arava 201 STOL utility transports, two
Piper PA-23-250 Aztec twin-engined light piston utility transports, eight
Piper PA-34-200 Seneca twin-engined light utility transports, one
Hawker Siddeley HS-125-600B mid-size
business jet, one
Rockwell Aero Commander 680FL Grand utility transport and an unspecified number of
Cessna 421 Golden Eagle light transports. • The advanced training squadron of the Aviation School operated twenty-nine
North American AT-6 Texan dual-seat trainers, ten
Piper PA-18 Super Cub light utility aircraft, seven
Cessna 172 J/K Skyhawk utility aircraft and six
Fairchild PT-19A trainers.
Naval forces The
Marina de Guerra de la Guardia Nacional (MG-GN, Nicaraguan National Guard Navy) in 1978 stood at about 1,000 sailors and ratings who manned a surface flotilla of some eight to ten Israeli
Dabur-1 class patrol boats, one GC2 patrol boat, one GC6 patrol boat, and one Swiftships 85 ft-type patrol boat. The MG-GN flotilla was divided into a Pacific coast patrol squadron, the
Guardia Marina del Pacífico, and an Atlantic coast patrol squadron, the
Guardia Marina del Atlântico. Most of its lightly armed personnel were concentrated in the main cities (Managua, Leon, Matagalpa, and Masaya) on police duties, or assigned to the
Brigadas Especiales contra Actos de Terrorismo (BECAT, Special Counter-insurgency Brigades). This was an urban rapid-reaction,
anti-terrorist unit closely modelled on
SWAT, whose members received special camouflage uniforms and Israeli helmets and flak vests, being armed with
Uzi SMGs, M-16s,
pump-action shotguns and
sniper rifles. Easily recognizable by their
Willys CJ-5 4×4 jeeps equipped with
vehicular beacons,
sirens and
wire cutters installed on the front bumper, and painted in blue-and-white National Police markings, BECAT teams were frequently employed in raids at Nicaraguan urban slums in search for hidden guerrillas, and quickly earned an unenviable reputation for brutality.
Special Forces By July 1979, the GN also fielded some 2,000–2,500 elite counter-insurgency EEBI troops, comprising Commandos (a.k.a. the
Boinas Negras or "Black Berets", first formed in 1968), Paratroopers (a.k.a. the
Gansos Salvajes or "Wild Geese", formed in 1978–79) and infantry trainees led by Major (later, Colonel)
Anastasio Somoza Portocarrero, in
armed jeeps and
gun-trucks plus two small artillery and
armoured car platoons. ==Training institutions==