Taubaté (SP) – Twelve aircraft and more than 190 military personnel from Army Aviation were employed during Operation Black Needles (OPAN), which ended on September 17. OPAN is a combat simulation of external defense, which trained more than 4,300 military personnel from the 2nd Army Division in various types of operations. The activity began on September 10 with Operational Readiness, held at Fort Ricardo Kirk, in Taubaté. The military and equipment were assembled, including more than 70 armored vehicles and 290 vehicles and weapons that would be used throughout the operation.
The activity was attended by the Southeast Military Commander, Army General Tomás Miguel Miné Ribeiro Paiva; the Commander of the 2nd Army Division, Division General Luís Cláudio de Mattos Basto; the Aviation Commander, Brigadier General Fábio Serpa de Carvalho Lima, among other military authorities. Soon after the readying, the troops started moving to the simulated combat.
The place chosen for the training in 2022 was the Vale do Paraíba region, with activities in the cities of Caçapava, Taubaté, Guaratinguetá, Lorena, Areias, Cachoeira Paulista, and São José do Barreiro, following to Resende (RJ). During this period, the Army Aviation, which mobilized 193 men and women, acted in aeromobile assaults, troop infiltration, fire support with rocket and machine gun fire, external cargo transport, among others.
The objective of the training was to maintain the state of readiness of the troops in offensive and defensive operations, and in cooperation and coordination with agencies, besides exercising command action and leadership skills at all levels.
Training of the Army Aviation Detachment of the Northern Military Command
Belém (PA) – On September 20, 2022, the Army Aviation Detachment of the Northern Military Command (Dst AvEx / CMN) conducted the first training of its professional staff in order to increase the operationality of its Search and Rescue crews and operators.
The Search and Rescue Teams (SAR) performed abseiling, winch evacuation training, McGuire technique exfiltration exercise, and Fast Rope infiltration. And, finally, evacuation training was conducted using an apple, simulating a terrain without the possibility of landing the helicopter.
At the end, an instruction was given by the TASA Team, responsible for the supply in campaign, on the techniques for the correct supply of the helicopter in a Jungle environment.
The Detachment has been increasing its employment capacity with its HM-4 Jaguar helicopters, so that it can operate with maximum operationality and availability to meet the Northern Military Command’s missions.