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The role of command sergeant major is nascent in the Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese). It was established in 2015 to grant more authority and responsibility to noncommissioned officers (NCOs) by allowing them to participate in decision-making and advising the command of military units. Before its implementation, EB tested the new role in a pilot project in which Command Sergeant…
María Inés Uriarte hails from a large family. The oldest of nine siblings, she was born September 1, 1954, in the small Argentine town of Lamarque, in the southern province of Río Negro, Patagonia. Her mother was a teacher and the principal of the local elementary school. Her father worked in the railroad industry. Later she was sent to boarding…
The Chilean Joint Chiefs of Staff focuses its efforts on strategic planning to meet the challenges of the future. The Chilean Armed Forces began 2018 with positive results. Strategic planning, defense policy modernization, joint and peacekeeping operations, disaster response, and humanitarian aid are some of the activities that keep the men and women of the Chilean Armed Forces working together…
The Colombian National Navy cracks down hard on international criminal organizations attempting to transport drugs from Colombia’s Caribbean shores to the United States via Panama. This was evident in Operation Amphitrite (Anfitrite), the first binational operation between the Colombian Navy and the Panamanian Air and Naval Service (SENAN, in Spanish). During Amphitrite, conducted in October 2017, radars detected maritime drug…
The Pacific Operations General Command is ready to assume the operational challenges of the Peruvian Navy. Planning, conducting, and evaluating operational missions are the duties Vice Admiral Fernando Raúl Cerdán Ruíz has as general commander of the Peruvian Navy's Pacific Operations (COMOPERPAC, in Spanish). Since assuming command in January 2017, Vice Adm. Cerdán leads the Surface, Submarine, Naval Aviation, Marine,…
The Belize Defence Force works closely with neighboring nations to dismantle narcotrafficking networks and their transnational connections. Belize, a diverse and multicultural country with English, Belizean Creole, and Spanish as official languages, has strong ties with Central America and the Caribbean. Like its regional neighbors, Belize faces traditional and non-traditional security threats. Brigadier General Steven Ortega, commander of the Belize…
General Nivaldo Luiz Rossato, commander of the Brazilian Air Force, speaks to Diálogo about the administrative and operational reforms implemented within the institution.
When Commissioner Michel-Ange Gédéon assumed his position as director general of the National Police of Haiti (PNH) on April 8, 2016, he promised to keep working to professionalize the 15,000 members of the institution. After 20 months in office, he continues to work on his pledge. Commissioner Gédéon participated at the 16th annual Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC), held in Georgetown,…
Brigadier General Patrick West, chief of staff of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF), was pleased to co-host the Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC) for the first time. The event took place in Georgetown, Guyana, from December 6–7, 2017, bringing together military and security representatives from 16 nations to analyze the security threats affecting the Caribbean. In his opening remarks, Brig.…
Commodore Hayden Pritchard, chief of Defence Staff, Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF), is concerned with the maintenance of the rule of law in the face of gang activity, potential youth recruitment for terrorism, and delinquency of youth. As a Caribbean regional partner, Commodore Pritchard is working to build networks against criminal activities. Commodore Pritchard participated at the 16th annual Caribbean…
Army Major General José Eugenio Matos de la Cruz, deputy minister of Defense for Military Affairs of the Dominican Republic, had a very clear message for security officers and service members who participated in the Caribbean Nations Security Conference (CANSEC): The Dominican Republic will continue to strengthen its activity against transnational crime to reduce drug trafficking and its related crimes.…
The Chilean Marine Corps is an elite force of the Chilean Navy made up of 3,000 men. It’s a special force with unique strategic mobility to conduct amphibious operations on hostile ground. Its high level of training, high capability, and potential for rapid and discrete positioning, are among its main qualities. The corps will celebrate its bicentennial in June 2018.…
