Portuguese Army

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Portuguese Army
Exército Português
Coat of arms of the Portuguese Army
Founded	25 July 1139; 884 years ago (1139-07-25)
Country	Portugal
Type	Army
Role	Land warfare
Size	Military: 14,000 Civilians: 1,500
Part of	Portuguese Armed Forces
Headquarters	Lisbon
Patron	Afonso I of Portugal (civil) Saint George (religious)
Motto(s)	Em perigos e guerras esforçados (English: "Forceful in perils and in battle-post")
Anniversaries	Battle of São Mamede: 24 June 1128 Battle of Ourique: 25 July 1139 Conquest of Lisbon: 24 October 1147
Engagements	Military history of Portugal
Website	exercito.pt
Commanders
Chief of Staff of the Army	General José Nunes da Fonseca [pt][1]
Notable commanders	Afonso I of Portugal Nuno Álvares Pereira John I of Portugal Afonso de Albuquerque Salvador Correia de Sá Matias de Albuquerque Marquis of Minas Joaquim Mouzinho de Albuquerque Francisco da Costa Gomes António de Spínola

The Portuguese Army (Portuguese: Exército Português) is the land component of the Armed Forces of Portugal and is also its largest branch. It is charged with the defence of Portugal, in co-operation with other branches of the Armed Forces. With its origins going back to the 12th century, it can be considered one of the oldest active armies in the world.^[2]

The Portuguese Army is commanded by the Chief of Staff of the Army (CEME), a subordinate of the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces for the operational matters and a direct subordinate of the Ministry of National Defense for all other matters. The CEME is the only officer in the Army with the rank of General (Four-star rank).

Presently, the Portuguese Army is an entirely professional force made of career personnel (officers and NCOs) and of volunteer personnel (officers, NCOs and enlisted ranks). Until the early 1990s, conscripts constituted the bulk of the Army personnel, with a cadre of career officers and NCOs responsible for their training. Conscription was however gradually reduced since the middle 1990s, until being finally formally abolished in 2004.

As 2014, the Portuguese Army employed 5,667 career personnel and 10,444 volunteers, this representing a total of 16,111 military personnel. Of the total military personnel, 2,669 were officers, 3,917 were NCOs and 9,595 were other ranks. Further, the Army also included 1,897 civilian employees.