U.S. Navy Admiral Craig S. Faller visited the Brazilian Army’s Paratrooper Infantry Brigade, the Multipurpose Helicopter Carrier Atlântico, and the Brazilian Navy’s Submarine Naval Base in Rio de Janeiro.
Following his February 11 visit to Brasília, U.S. Navy Admiral Craig S. Faller, commander of U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), continued on to Rio de Janeiro the next day to strengthen security cooperation ties between both countries. Adm. Faller met with Brazilian Army (EB, in Portuguese) General Edson Leal Pujol, commander of the Army’s Military Area Command, and visited the EB Paratrooper Infantry Brigade (Bda Inf Pqdt, in Portuguese), the Multipurpose Helicopter Carrier Atlântico, and the Submarine Naval Base at the Itaguaí Complex.
Adm. Faller and Brazilian civilian and military leaders addressed cooperation and the progress of bilateral partnerships on defense and security in support of regional peace and the stability of the Western Hemisphere. “In Rio de Janeiro, the commander of U.S. Southern Command, Adm. Faller, continued to familiarize himself with the capabilities of the Brazilian Armed Forces for combined work with SOUTHCOM,” said Brazilian Navy Rear Admiral Guilherme da Silva Costa, deputy director of International Affairs at the Ministry of Defense (MD, in Portuguese).
U.S. Ambassador Liliana Ayalde, civilian deputy to the commander at SOUTHCOM; U.S. Air Force Major General Andrew Croft, Air Forces Southern commander; U.S. Marine Corps Sergeant Major Bryan Zickefoose, SOUTHCOM’s command sergeant major; MD Brazilian Navy Captain José Maria de Lima Sobrinho, as well as other officials, joined Adm. Faller as part of his delegation. “He visited the Paratrooper [Infantry] Brigade, which is an important driver; the Multipurpose Helicopter Carrier Atlântico, an excellent platform for various operations in the South Atlantic; and the Itaguaí Complex, currently one of the main national defense projects in South America,” said Rear Adm. Guilherme.
At Bda Inf Pqdt, the U.S. delegation attended an institutional lecture from EB Major General Pedro Celso Coelho Montenegro, Bda Inf Pqdt commander, focused on the brigade’s organization and training of the air-ground units for Operation Culminating, involving joint maneuvers among the Brazilian and the U.S. armies from 2017 to 2020. Operation Culminating will end with a combined exercise in Fort Polk, Louisiana. “The history of Brazilian military parachuting began in Fort Benning, in the United States,” Maj. Gen. Montenegro said. “The meeting was an opportunity for Bda Inf Pqdt to memorialize the historical ties formed since the 1945 creation of the Parachute School, and to strengthen the existing friendship and integration with the U.S. Army.”
Adm. Faller attended various field demonstrations, including water jump techniques and procedures, and visited military materials and equipment stations. “For Bda Inf Pqdt, it was an opportunity to display the worth and professional skills of my squadron, showing a military leader of a friendly nation the air-ground beliefs, values, and mystique,” said Maj. Gen. Montenegro.
Brazilian major general at U.S. Army South
Adm. Faller’s visit to Rio came days after the news of the nomination of a Brazilian major general as U.S. Army South’s deputy commander for interoperability. Adm. Faller made the announcement on February 7 during his posture statement before the Senate Armed Services Committee.
In his statement, Adm. Faller highlighted Colombia, Brazil, and Chile as partners for a regional and global security strategy, and declared that “Russia, China, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua and a system of interrelated threats “challenge the security of our partners and the region.” The officer added that “addressing these challenges requires whole-of-government efforts led by partner nations at a pace they can sustain, to strengthen democratic institutions and expand economic opportunity. Often, improving security is the first step.”
According to Adm. Faller’s statement, the Brazilian Armed Forces will join the U.S. Special Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force (SPMAGTF) in 2019. SPMAGTF operates in crisis situations that require humanitarian aid and disaster response. Brazil will also lead the multinational naval exercise UNITAS Amphibious 2018/2019, scheduled for August 2019. The United States conducts the annual combined exercise with other Latin American navies.
Brazil and the United States are the two most populous democracies in the Western Hemisphere. The partners maintain an increasingly close bilateral relationship in the defense arena, including specific fields such as research and development, information, training and academic exchanges, joint military exercises, and commercial initiatives related to defense matters.
“The visit left a positive impression. The meeting was an excellent opportunity to reinforce trust and cooperation ties between Brazil and the United States, in the context of diplomacy,” Maj. Gen. Montenegro said.