The course was held in different locations such as Ladario, Rio de Janeiro, Manaus, Petrolina and Natal
Air Force Agency: GITE, by Corporal Júlio
The Aerial Rescue Squadron (PARA-SAR), based at Campo Grande Air Base (BACG), held, on July 12, the graduation ceremony of the Air Force Commands Course (CCFA), chaired by the Chief of the Ground Operational Preparedness Subchief, Infantry Brigadier Alexandre Okada, and the BACG Commander, Air Brigadier Eric Breviglieri. The course lasted 89 days and was held in different locations, such as Ladario (MT), Rio de Janeiro (RJ), Manaus (AM), Petrolina (PE), and Natal (RN). Six military personnel graduated, two officers and four graduates, all from the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
The Air Force Commands Course aims to provide students with knowledge that enables them to carry out special operations missions, including instructions on Facial Recognition, Advanced Air Guidance, Direct Action and Counterterrorism, among several other topics in the military and aeronautical fields. For three months, the students participated in activities in the most diverse operational environments in the country, such as jungle, sea, caatinga, wetlands, mountain and urban area, being tested both in physical and psychological condition.
During the closing ceremony, PARA-SAR Commander, Infantry Major Rafael Dias Ramos Loureiro, Pastor 178 – the number that represents the count of those who manage to complete the course, congratulated the soldiers who managed to fulfill the proposed objective until the end. “The numbers reflect the process of natural selection, which is fundamental to preparing men who are not only capable of performing the most challenging missions assigned to them, but, above all, who have the psychological profile necessary to persist in this goal, despite any challenge presented,” the officer emphasized.
The training of military personnel
The Air Force Commandos Course was first coordinated by the Specialized Tactical Instruction Group (GITE, per its Portuguese acronym), based at the Natal Air Base in Parnamirim, RN. Currently, GITE is responsible for planning and coordinating the Commando Course.
According to the Commander of the Military Organization, Lieutenant Colonel Fernando Wilson Silva Do Couto, this version of the course included phases carried out in practically all environments in which combatants can be assigned to operate in the national territory, such as jungle, caatinga, mountain and urban environments. “Despite the challenge for the organization of the course, enabling training in this variety of environments makes the training of the new ‘Pastors’, as the course members are known, much more complete, and the success in the endeavor is a source of pride for the course coordination and for GITE”, he concluded.
Photos: GITE