Starting on 23 May, the Brazilian Army, Air Force, and Navy will conduct an enormous joint exercise in the Amazon region, mobilizing around 4,500 men for operations simulating war in the jungle, the Defense Ministry announced.
Starting on 23 May, the Brazilian Army, Air Force, and Navy will conduct an enormous joint exercise in the Amazon region, mobilizing around 4,500 men for operations simulating war in the jungle, the Defense Ministry announced.
“This is a significant operation, the largest in recent years, and will include activity and simulations by the three branches of the armed forces, with a meaningful number of personnel, with a unified central command,” a Defense Ministry spokesperson told AFP.
According to the ministry, Joint Operation Amazonia 2011 aims to “improve the training of the three branches in order to act in a coordinated and effective manner in conventional conflicts in a jungle environment,” and will additionally provide the impetus for “civic-social” actions with the area’s population.
The exercises will be held in an area “of approximately 800,000 square kilometers,” the ministry announced, from the city of Manaos to Yauarete, on the border with Colombia, and encompassing important Brazilian cities situated along the major Amazonian rivers.
The exercises will begin on 23 May, and operations are expected to conclude only on 3 June. According to the ministry, Brazil will still organize similar operations this year in other regions of the country, especially in border areas.
The ministry spokesperson indicated to AFP that Navy hospital ships and Army mobile clinics are expected to participate in order to bring medical and dental care to the inhabitants of isolated regions in the jungle.