of whom 100,000 were mobilized in active units. Before Somoza overthrow, women had constituted up to 40 percent of the ranks of the FSLN and 6 percent of the officers. Six women held the rank of guerrilla commander in the late 1970s. After the Sandinista victory, however, women were gradually shifted to noncombatant roles or to the Sandinista Police. Many women fighters resisted the redeployment, and their role became a national issue. As a compromise, seven all-women reserve battalions were formed, but these were gradually converted into mixed battalions. Women's mobilization continued in other forms. Women constituted 50 percent of the Sandinista Defense Committees organized in the neighborhoods and up to 80 percent of Revolutionary Vigilance volunteers, who carried out nighttime patrols in urban neighborhoods and at industrial sites. Nicaraguan Army Ground Forces, 1995–present With the transformation of the SPA into the Nicaraguan Army in 1995, the ground forces element became known by its current name – the Nicaraguan Army Ground Forces (Fuerzas Terrestres del Ejército de Nicaragua), formed in 1995. They report directly to the Commanding General of the Army. The militia and the border guard service were both disbanded with the latter forming the Northern and Southern Military Detachments of the Army Ground Forces. Organization Mechanized Infantry Brigade Special Forces Command K-9 Battalion Ecological Service Battalion 1st Military Region 2nd Military Region 4th Military Region 5th Military Region 6th Military Region Northern Military Detachment Southern Military Detachment Corps of Engineers Search and Rescue Duties Battalion Guard Corps See also National Guard (Nicaragua) Contras Nicaraguan Armed Forces Notes Works cited External links Latin American Light Weapons National Inventories Attacks attributed to the SPA on the START terrorism database Nicaragua Military of Nicaragua Organizations of the Nicaraguan Revolution Sandinista National Liberation Front