CCOMSEx
Since June 1st, 2021, after Exposition Ordinance C Ex No. 1.521, dated May 10, 2021, came into effect, the entire Brazilian Army has been using the term VETERAN to refer to the military personnel from the remunerated reserve and retired personnel. However, despite this fair appreciation, the Institution still did not have a date in its annual calendar of activities to dedicate a day to pay homage to those who, despite no longer belonging to the active service of the Land Force, still feel the olive-green blood running through their veins.
Therefore, after a deep historical research, the Brazilian Army established, through the Ordinance Nº 1.762, of June 10, 2022, the date July 18 as Veterans Day. This date was chosen due to the importance and magnitude of the event that occurred in our country’s history on that day: the return of the brave soldiers from the first echelon of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force (FEB) from the theater of operations in Italy.
On July 18, 1945, the transport ship General Meyghs docked at the pier of the port of Rio de Janeiro, the country’s capital at the time, in the midst of a crowd estimated at 800,000 people, a significant number considering that the city’s population was less than 2 million. The population’s appreciation and consideration for our little soldiers, who arrived victorious after making the “snake smoke” in the fields of Italy, was evident in the demonstrations imbued with strong emotion and intense civic vibration during the military parade that took place on Rio Branco Avenue, after the landing.
Today, more than 76 years after this demonstration of admiration for the Brazilian military members of our FEB, the Brazilian Army still enjoys the same prestige and the same credibility before the Brazilian population, fruit of its glorious and undefeated past and, also, of its refined professionalism and its recognized professional competence in the present, acting in the constitutional missions that are assigned to it and responding to the most varied demands of the Brazilian society.
The institution of Veteran’s Day, besides the symbolic value it represents for military personnel who have left the active service of the Army, meets guideline No. 11 of the Army Commander: “Maintain close ties with the Active Reserve… stimulating the conviviality with active military personnel and their families, as well as striving for excellence in meeting their demands with the agencies of the Force that provide services to the internal public.”
In this context, the Directorate of Personnel Assistance (DAP), as a technical-normative support body of the General Department of Personnel (DGP), responsible for planning, guiding, coordinating, controlling, supervising and evaluating the activities related to veterans, has, in recent years, been seeking the use of information technology tools, in line with the federal government legislation, aiming at the social welfare of the military family on the occasion of the granting of benefits correlated to military pensions and the amenities provided in the care of veterans and pensioners.
Currently, the veteran can schedule, through the internet, appointments in the Veterans and Pensioners Sections and, by means of a unique system integrated to the Army’s Corporate Database called SIGA-SIPWEB System, speed up the processes for granting benefits, with digital certification and without the need for physical processing of the processes.
However, the most impacting and facilitating tool for the veteran was the digital proof of life, which allowed the annual updating of the records for the proof of life, which used to be done in person, to be done by the beneficiary through the biometric system, the mobile application, or other available technologies.
These innovations are the result of the Army High Command’s vision and are aligned with the goal of valuing and recognizing the contribution of all members of the Force who have left active service. These men and women, with their attitudes, have made the Brazilian Army one of the most credible institutions in the country, several years after that distant July 18, 1945.
Brazilian Army Veteran, be proud of yourself, because you are a pride for your country!
FAB pays tribute to Veterans Day
To celebrate the date, the Brazilian Air Force (FAB) produced a video in honor of Veterans Day, remembered on July 16. July 16th, 1945 is considered an emblematic date for the Brazilian Air Force (FAB).
On this day, the veterans who fought in the skies over Italy returned to Brazil after serving in World War II. In honor of the date, the FAB produced a special video, dedicated to the Air Force Veteran.
*** Translated by the DEFCONPress Team ***