Abolishing the Military:

On December 1, 1948 Costa Rica did away with the military. The picture above is of José Figueres Ferrer breaking a wall of theCuartel Bellavista symbolizing the abolition of the Military. The money that used to be spent on the military now goes to security, education and culture;. The country still has Police Guard forces.

Ministry of Public Security's Public Force:

During 1996, the Ministry of Public Security established the Fuerza Pública or Public Force which reorganized and eliminated the Civil Guard, Rural Assistance Guard, and Frontier Guards as separate entities; they are now under the Ministry and operate on a geographic command basis performing ground security, law enforcement, counter-narcotics, and border patrol functions

Juan Santamaria 1921

Juan Santamaria 1921 He is the national hero of the Republic of Costa Rica.

He was a drummer in the army when Nicaragua tried to take of Costa Rica in 1856.

Juan was killed taking a torch to an occupied hostel. He did light the fire which helped

Costa Rica become victorious.

The military is not all men. There are actually almost as many women as there are men. according to an est. in 2008, there are 1,134,205 for males ages 16-49. And there are 1,095,763 for females ages 16-49. There are no regular military forces; Ministry of Public Security, Government, and Police as last reported in 2008. Some of Costa Rica's planes include the Cessna 206, Cessnna 207, Piper PA-31, and Piper PA-34

https://w ww.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/cs.html

Central Intelligence Agency's Office of Public Affairs. Costa Rica Tourism. - http://www.tourism.co.cr/, 2006-2009. March 2009.

Costa Rica Photos. http://www.costaricaphotos.com/. Published 2007 by Edenia Systems International. March 2009.

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. The free encyclopedia that anyone can edit. Costa Rica Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Costa_Rica. March 2009.