This Friday (21), the Minister of Defense honored the military ceremony alluding to the Aviator’s Day and the Brazilian Air Force Day, at the Brasilia Air Base. The date, celebrated on October 23, honors civilian and military aviators. FAB completes 81 years dedicated to the defense of Brazilian airspace and homeland defense. The ceremony was presided over by the Vice-President of the Republic.
Among the authorities, also present were the Secretary-General of the MD; the Commander of the Air Force; the Commander of the Brasilia Air Base; and the Commander of the Troop that paraded during the event.
Also during the ceremony, aircrafts, including the Smoke Squadron, flew over the site. The Order of Aeronautical Merit was also awarded, to recognize the services rendered to FAB and to the country by military personnel, civilians and institutions.
Airman and Brazilian Air Force Day is celebrated in Brasília
The ceremony in honor of Aviator’s Day and of the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) Day, which is celebrated on October 23, took place this Friday morning (October 21), at the Brasília Air Base (BABR). The troop was formed by Officers and Cadets from the Air Force Academy (AFA) and military personnel from the Brasília Air Force Garrison (GUARNAE-BR). 195 people were awarded the Order of Aeronautical Merit Medal (OMA).
The ceremony was presided over by the Vice-President of the Republic, Antônio Hamilton Martins Mourão, accompanied by the Minister of Defense Paulo Sérgio Nogueira de Oliveira; the Commander of the Air Force, Air Lieutenant Brigadier Carlos de Almeida Baptista Junior; as well as Ministers of State, members of the Air Force High Command, General Officers, and other authorities.
In the occasion, the Aeronautics Commander saluted the recipients. “I congratulate and thank the recipients of the Order of Aeronautical Merit for their support to our Brazilian Air Force, which is the origin of the recognition represented by the commendations they now receive,” he said.
The event also included maneuvers by the Air Demonstration Squadron (EDA), better known as the Smoke Squadron, and the flying over of new FAB aircraft, such as the KC-30, from the Transport Aviation, and the F-39 Gripen, the new fighter plane.
The decorations were delivered to the banners of the following Military Organizations: Institutional Security Cabinet of the Presidency of the Republic; Directorate-General of Nuclear and Technological Development of the Navy; Logistics Command; Parliamentary and Institutional Relations Office of the Aeronautics Commander; Superior Defense School; São Paulo Aeronautics City Hall and Natal Aeronautics City Hall.
The Minister of Economy, Paulo Roberto Nunes Guedes, thanked the FAB for the recognition. “I am very grateful for the decoration. It is a very great honor. Santos Dumont, our hero, father of aviation, here I am next to Gripen, a technological achievement of the Wings that protect the country,” he expressed.
Air Brigadier Roberto da Cunha Follador commented on receiving the medal. “This decoration is a rescue. Every time we come to a graduation like this one on Aviator’s Day, to see the cadets in shape, parading, and the Smoke Squadron, we recover a great feeling of patriotism,” he said.
For the businessman Luciano Hang, who also received the award, the feeling is of gratitude for being able to contribute to Brazil’s growth. “I am very happy, very emotional. Thank you very much to the Air Force for granting me this honor,” he said.
Awarding of the OMA
The Order of Aeronautical Merit is a distinction granted to the Brazilian Air Force military who have rendered notable services to the country, or who have distinguished themselves in the exercise of their profession; to the military of the national and foreign Armed Forces who have become honored by the Brazilian nation and, particularly, by the Air Force; to the Brazilian and Foreign citizens that have distinguished themselves in their areas of performance in the service of the Homeland; and to the national and foreign military corporations, their flags or banners, for services or actions that recommend them to the recognition of the Brazilian nation and, particularly, to the Air Force.
Commemorative Date
October 23 was established as Aviator’s Day and Brazilian Air Force Day because it was the date when Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first flight with the heavier-than-air 14-bis. The historic event took place at Campo de Bagatelle, in Paris, on October 23, 1906, when the Brazilian flew 60 meters in seven seconds, at a height of two meters from the ground, before more than a thousand spectators and the Official Commission of the French Aeroclub.
*** Translated by the DEFCONPress FYI Team ***