The Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese) is hosting the 35th cycle of the Conference of American Armies (CAA), an international military organization made up and led by armies of the Americas. The theme for this 2022/2023 biennium will be the CAA’s contribution to the process of transformation and preparation of the “Army of the Future,” for the expansion of cooperation and integration in facing the challenges and threats that may affect the security and stability of the Americas.
EB Lieutenant General Alcides Valeriano de Faria Júnior, CAA secretary general, told Diálogo that the theme for the biennium serves as a guideline to identify the depth of topics of common interest. “This is what drives the planning and execution of CAA operations in the corresponding cycle,” he said. “This topic will be addressed during the Commanders’ Conference cycle, although its analysis, approach, and development will take place during all the events of the cycle,” Lt. Gen. Alcides added.
Work schedule
The CAA’s 35th cycle already has six specialized conferences scheduled for the 2022/2023 biennium. The first will be held in Mexico and will focus on “The Transformation Processes of CAA Armies, Objectives and Perspectives,” on May 23-27, 2022. The second event will be held in the United States and will address “Interoperability and Strategic Planning,” July 11-15, 2022. While the theme of the third event will be “The CAA in the Context of Cybersecurity and Defense,” and will be held November 7-11, 2022, in Argentina.
In 2023, activities will begin in Guyana with the conference “Balancing Available Resources, New Technologies and Business Opportunities,” February 13-17. Nicaragua will host April 17-21, with the theme “Challenges in Security and Defense in the 21st Century.” The 35th cycle will close with a conference on “Modernization Processes and New Doctrines Development” that will be held in Chile, June 12-16, 2023.
“In addition to the specialized conferences, EB proposed the creation of four specialized study committees with the voluntary participation of foreign military service members from Chile, the United States, Ecuador, and Guatemala, who will stay for the entire cycle in Brazil,” Lt. Gen. Alcides said. “The topics addressed will be: Interoperability, Intelligence, Science and Technology, and Teaching and Preparation. The CAA provides a permanent and continuous process of integration and academic exchange, in addition to increasing bilateral/multilateral contacts between participating armies and providing support to achieve the organization’s objectives,” he added.
EB assumed the presidency in a ceremony held in early November 2021 at La Nación Military College, in Buenos Aires. On that occasion, Lieutenant General Agustín Humberto Cejas, then Argentine Army commander, relinquished duties as president of the CAA to General Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira, EB commander.
The CAA was created in 1960. Its presidency is held on a rotating basis, and Brazil hosted the event in 1968, 1994, and 2006. The current members of the conference are Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Barbados, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, the United States, Uruguay, and Venezuela, with the participation of the Central American Armed Forces Conference and the Inter-American Defense Board as observing military bodies. The armies of Belize, Guyana, and Suriname act as observers, and the Spanish Army participates as a special observer.