Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic: National Security
Navy
A Dominican navy was first established in 1873, when the
country acquired a gunboat built in Scotland. By the time the
navy was disbanded in 1916 during the United States Marine
occupation, the fleet had acquired only two more gunboats
and four armed launches. Several elements of the navy were
incorporated into the Dominican Constabulary Guard in 1917
to function as a small coast guard. The navy remained an element
of the National Army until 1943, when the Dominican
National Navy was formally established as a separate service.
During the next year, the navy began activities at the naval base
at Las Calderas; in 1948 a separate naval school opened there.
The navy received a number of coast guard cutters from the
United States just before the outbreak of World War II. Three
additional cutters were transferred after the transport Presidente
Trujillowas sunk by a German submarine in 1942. The Dominican
Republic was not actively involved in the war although it
made base facilities available to the United States. As a consequence
of the purchase of numerous war-surplus vessels as part
of a postwar expansion program, the Dominican navy became
the most powerful in the Caribbean, with personnel numbering
3,000, including one marine battalion. Naval strength had
leveled off by the time of the 1965 civil war when naval units
participated in the shelling of Constitutionalist positions in
Santo Domingo. After 1965, aging vessels were not replaced,
and the naval inventory steadily declined.
As of 1999, the active naval complement was 3,800 officers
and men, a reduction of 25 percent from ten years earlier. Navy
headquarters are located at the 27 de Febrero Naval Base in
Santo Domingo. The other principal base is at Las Calderas.
The navy also has facilities at the ports of Barahona, Haina, La
Romana, Monte Cristi, Pedernales, Puerto Plata, Samana, and
San Pedro de Macoris.
The navy chief of staff supervises the operations of the
regional commands. The Santo Domingo Naval Zone includes
the naval headquarters and the various naval organizations
located in the capital. The headquarters of the Northern Naval
Zone, at Puerto Plata, are responsible for the Atlantic coast
from the northern border with Haiti to the Mona Passage. The
Southern Naval Zone, headquartered at Barahona, covers the
southwest coastal area to the Haitian border. The Eastern Naval
Zone, with headquarters at La Romana, covers the eastern end
of the island.
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