The General Officer is Medical Major Brigadier Carla, who was promoted to the rank last Saturday (25/11).
Air Force Agency, by Cap Emília
For the first time in history, Brazil has a three-star Armed Forces General Officer: Medical Major Brigadier Carla Lyrio Martins, who was promoted to the rank last Saturday (25/11).
Her career is full of pioneering examples. She was also the first woman promoted to the rank of General in the Brazilian Air Force, the first to command a Military Organization in the FAB and is also part of the first mixed class – male and female – of the Institution’s Medical Officers Board.
When she was promoted to Brigadier in 2020, she commented on the importance of that moment. “Achievements come from hard work and sprout naturally and gradually. They are results that make me proud and propel me towards new challenges. Each of these successes I share with the extraordinary people who have been and are part of my journey, who support me and help me fulfill my mission,” he said.
“In 2020, when I rose to the rank of General, it was a milestone in my career. From then on, a unique impulse came over me. I’m already naturally enthusiastic, but really being able to participate in spheres of greater decision-making power has been fundamental to guaranteeing the interests of the Organization and shaping directions,” he says.
With her new choice and her promotion to Major Brigadier, the last rank in the Medical Corps, she points out that she has a very exciting feeling of recognition for the work she has done. “If I could define my career in one word, it would be ‘commitment’. In the Brazilian Air Force I dedicate myself to it and to Brazilian society and I’m very proud to be walking this path. Now, in this new post, I have another drive: to continue contributing to our mission being carried out with ever greater professionalism.”
The General Officer also emphasizes the importance of the female role in the institution. “If I could say something to the generations of new female soldiers, I would say: persist, have courage, train continuously because the opportunities are there. It’s possible and I’m the example. And the presence of men and women working together is what makes the Force more resilient, more modern and coherent with the evolution of society,” she concludes.
Her career
Major Carla joined the Air Force in 1990 and was promoted to the rank of Brigadier in 2020. She specializes in Aerospace Medicine, Hematology and Hemotherapy and has a postgraduate degree in Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance and in Management Development in Health Services Management.
She worked as a doctor in the First Fleet of the Tenth Aviation Group – Poker Squadron, in Santa Maria (RS); and was a member of the clinical staff of the Health Squadron of the Air Force Academy (AFA), the Fortaleza Air Base, the Department of Aerospace Science and Technology (DCTA) and the Galeão Air Force Hospital (HFAG).
She was Director of the Brigadeiro Eduardo Gomes Gerontological Home; Director of the Aeronautics Central Hospital; Deputy Director of Operational Health at the Aeronautics Health Directorate and Director of the Galeão Air Force Hospital, among other positions. With her new promotion, she has been appointed Director of the Higher Defense School, a position she will soon assume.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team *** Photos: SO Johnson Barros and Sgt Müller Marin/CECOMSAER and Personal Archive