[2] To be an institution of the highest level and credibility, systematically integrated, with professional military personnel, orientated on ethics and moral.

The Ecuadorian Armed Forces' history could be traced as early as 1531, when civil war ravaged through the Inca Empire.

After the naval victory and the blockade of Guayaquil by the Peruvian army the land campaign became favorable to the great Colombians, the forces of Gran Colombia, under the leadership of Marechal Sucre and the Venezuelan general Juan José Flores, were victorious in the battle of the Portete de Tarqui but this result did not define the final result of the war.

Backed by Guillermo Franco (an Ecuadorian General) the Peruvian army led by General Ramón Castilla arrived in Guayaquil and forced Ecuador to sign the Mapasingue Treaty which declared the allocation of Peruvian lands null and forced the suspension of the Ecuadorian-English business.

However, occasional clashes kept occurring and flared into another outbreak of serious fighting in January 1981 called the Paquisha War, for the control of three watch posts set up by Ecuadorian troops inside a disputed border area.

In 1995, Ecuadorian troops would become part of the longest-running source of armed international conflict in the Western Hemisphere when both sides encountered again in the Cordillera del Cóndor.

The focus of all fighting would become a small outpost called Tiwintza by the Ecuadorians (and Tiwinza or Tihuintsa by the Peruvians) until the signing of a ceasefire.

The aviation element of the Army was formed in 1954 and originally named Servicio Aéreo del Ejército (SAE).

Finally, in 1996 the BAE gained the status of a full arm within the army recognising its vital role in the Cenepa War of 1995.

At present the BAE No.15 consists of: As of November 2004, the Ecuadorian Land Forces Order of Battle was: Historically, the Army depended on a wide variety of foreign suppliers for virtually all of its equipment needs.