It has been two years of command and many challenges for Army General Valério Stumpf Trindade. The troop of the CMS (Comando Militar Sul – Southern Military Command) supported the population in several missions, from the fight against covid-19, to the distribution of food and medicine during the pandemic, to the distribution of drinking water during the drought in Rio Grande do Sul and the relief of thousands of families displaced by floods.
During this period, the Army was also present in the duplication of the BR-116 highway and in large operations to combat illegal cross-border activities. With success in all his actions, General Stumpf leaves the South of Brazil for a new challenge in Brasilia, to be Chief of the Army Staff (EME).
He will be in charge of coordinating the main activities of the Land Force. On Friday (13), during a ceremony at the 3rd Cavalry Regiment of Guard (3º RCG), in Porto Alegre (RS), General Stumpf transmitted the position of Military Commander of the South to Army General Fernando Jose Sant’Ana Soares e Silva.
In his speech, he recalled moments in charge of the CMS. “During the period in which I was at the head of this area military command, I witnessed the patriotism and commitment of its members. Here I found soldiers imbued with professionalism, based on solid discipline, loyalty, and camaraderie. Here I was able to work with highly professional soldiers, legitimate inheritors of the heroic traditions of the military garrisons of the south,” he said.
The military ceremony was attended by several civilian and military authorities, such as the Vice President of the Republic, General Hamilton Mourão, and the Army Commander, Army General Marco Antônio Freire Gomes, who read the eulogy to General Stumpf.
“General Stumpf leaves recorded in the history of CMS the professional and moral value of a worthy soldier of Caxias¹. He fulfilled with dedication, excellence and honor his duty before the army, society and Brazil, leading his commanded by example and making himself the pride of his family and friends,” he said.
The official portrait of General Valério Stumpf Trindade will be kept in the Gallery of Former Commanders of the CMS, in the Army Headquarters, in the Historic Center of Porto Alegre. The new CMS Commander, General Soares, was born in the city of Rio de Janeiro. Prior to his new position, he held the position of Military Commander of the West.
“In the Army, we give continuity to the work. Our intention is to maintain these actions and seek to improve any process that can be improved. Always with the objective of defending our Homeland and serving Brazilian society,” he stated.
At the end of the Command Handover Ceremony, the troops paraded in honor of their new Commander. Groups with historical uniforms reminded the history of CMS. In the parade of vehicles, a sample of its firepower. The CMS has 75% of the Land Force’s armored force.
Source: Southern Military Command / Agência Verde-oliva
Defcopress Note:
¹ Caxias is the patron saint of the Brazilian army – Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, the Duke of Caxias (Porto da Estrela, August 25, 1803 – Valença, May 7, 1880), nicknamed “The Peacemaker” and “The Iron Duke”, was a Brazilian military man, politician, and monarchist. Caxias followed a military career, as did his father and uncles. He fought in 1823 against Portugal in the Independence of Brazil and then spent three years in Cisplatina as the government tried unsuccessfully to resist the secession of the province. Caxias remained loyal to Emperor Pedro I during protests in 1831, despite his family members abandoning the monarch. Pedro I abdicated in favor of his son Pedro II, whom Caxias served as master-at-arms, teaching him fencing and equestrianism, eventually becoming his friend.
English version by Defeconpress: