section_path: Government and politics/Military
section_name: Military
paragraph_text: Military
  
  The armed forces of Brazil are the largest in Latin America by active personnel and the largest in terms of military equipment. The country was considered the 9th largest military power on the planet in 2021. It consists of the Brazilian Army (including the Army Aviation Command), the Brazilian Navy (including the Marine Corps and Naval Aviation), and the Brazilian Air Force. Brazil's conscription policy gives it one of the world's largest military forces, estimated at more than 1.6 million reservists annually.
  
  Numbering close to 236,000 active personnel, the Brazilian Army has the largest number of armored vehicles in South America, including armored transports and tanks. The states' Military Police and the Military Firefighters Corps are described as an ancillary forces of the Army by the constitution, but are under the control of each state's governor.
  
  Brazil's navy once operated some of the most powerful warships in the world with the two Minas Geraes -class dreadnoughts, sparking a naval arms race between Argentina, Brazil, and Chile. Today, it is a green water force and has a group of specialized elite in retaking ships and naval facilities, GRUMEC, unit specially trained to protect Brazilian oil platforms along its coast. As of 2022, it is the only navy in Latin America that operates a helicopter carrier, NAM Atlântico, and one of twelve navies in the world to operate or have one under construction.
  
  The Air Force is the largest in Latin America and has about 700 crewed aircraft in service and effective about 67,000 personnel.