Pioneered by the Navy, the tool is used to develop a leader’s emotional intelligence
By First Lieutenant (RM2-T) Thaís Cerqueira
Do you know what a leadership track is? It is used to improve participants’ emotional intelligence, allowing them to learn about their individual and collective capacities and limitations. The country’s first military leadership course was created by the Brazilian Navy (MB) more than ten years ago and is located at the Leadership School of the Almirante Sylvio de Camargo Instruction Center (CIASC), on Ilha do Governador, in Rio de Janeiro. Every year, around 2,000 people, including military and civilian personnel, are trained on the course.
The leadership track is made up of 11 different events that train a wide range of attributes to promote awareness and improve aspects of leadership. The skills most required during the exercises are emotional intelligence, courage, teamwork, communication and decision-making skills. The exercises aim to overcome situations of stress and adversity, such as rescuing a riverine population from a flooded area, retrieving a wounded person from a downed aircraft or even coordinating hostages in a minefield.
As well as promoting leadership among MB officers and non-commissioned officers, the space hosts teams from the Special Police Operations Battalion (BOPE) of the Rio de Janeiro Military Police, the Rio de Janeiro State Military Fire Brigade, private companies, colleges and other institutions. In March 2024, the airstrip hosted the first class of the Combat Journalism Coverage Course and, the previous year, it was also the setting for the MB Women’s Peace Operations Internship.
The track was inaugurated on August 29, 2013, by the then Commandant General of the Marine Corps, and given the name Sergeant Lucas Leadership Track, a posthumous tribute in recognition of the dedication to service in the MB shown by this military officer. The MB has six other leadership tracks distributed among military organizations: at the Admiral José Maria do Amaral Oliveira Aeronaval Training and Instruction Centre, at the Admiral Domingos de Mattos Cortez Training and Instruction Centre in Brasilia, at the 1st Riverine Operations Battalion, at the 2nd Riverine Operations Battalion, at the 3rd Riverine Operations Battalion and at the Rio Grande Marines Group.
Source: Agência Marinha de Notícias