Brasília (DF) – It was supposed to be just another operational parachute jump exercise in Sergeant Luis Eduardo Silvério’s routine. But on the night of May 22, 2019, the winds were different. Shortly after exiting the aircraft and opening his parachute, Silvério was jolted: another soldier’s parachute had just tangled with his. With the two devices intertwined, no height to support them and no way to activate the reserve equipment, they were both plunging to their certain deaths.
Given the few seconds he had to make decisions, Sergeant Silvério checked to see if his partner was all right – and he was. From then on, a battle began against the mass of tissue that, wrapped around the two soldiers, made tragedy inevitable. In the fight for his life, Silvério tried to use what he knew of the wind’s movements. He pulled, shook, supported, tried to reduce the speed of the fall – until it inevitably hit the ground. The two of them fell in the middle of the BR-153 highway, a meter away from the high-voltage wires. “I got up, went to see how the other soldier was, and he had just hit his shoulder on the ground. I even hit the ground hard, but I didn’t get hurt”.
To get to the point of deciding to save himself and someone else, Silvério went beyond the instinct for survival: he stuck to well-established principles. “In the missions we carry out, we are hardly ever alone. Either we’re in a group, or we’re with a partner. And from the beginning of our military life we learned that we have to take care of ourselves and those who are with us.”
The courage and esprit de corps demonstrated by the sergeant are some of the principles that make military activity so unique – and which guide the attitudes of all members of the Brazilian Army. Starting today, you’ll be following stories that show how military life not only demands, but above all encourages the development of attitudes that make the Army what it is: an institution based on solid values.
Bravery and sacrifice
January 12, 2010. Captain Pedro Aires Pereira Júnior was still in his first days on the peacekeeping mission in Haiti when a magnitude 7 earthquake destroyed the country’s capital. Immediately, all the Brazilian Army personnel on the ground were assigned to support the rescue of survivors of the tragedy. At the time, Captain Aires volunteered to join one of the patrols.
On almost every street corner, desperate Haitians approached the Brazilian troops for help, begging them to help them pull out buried relatives and acquaintances. One of them ran up to Captain Aires’ team, pointing to the rubble. Under the rubble, a French teacher was surrounded by walls that could collapse at any moment.
“During the rescue, which lasted around three hours, there were some aftershocks. In one of these, part of the building collapsed completely, which led our team to assess the conditions and decide whether to remain on site. Everyone agreed to continue the rescue, but the Haitians who were supporting us didn’t want to stay,” recalls the soldier.
Without support, but already too involved in the rescue, Captain Aires, accompanied by Captain Nilo, raced against time and the lack of resources to save the teacher’s life. With the help of power jacks from cars abandoned on the streets, they managed to make the rescue. “After a few days, the head of the school contacted us to thank us for the military’s support, informing us that the teacher had been taken back to her country alive.”
According to Colonel Aires, military activity requires bravery and detachment in order for soldiers to fulfill their duty. “This was evident in the case of the earthquake in Haiti. There, the Brazilian troops responded effectively in a short space of time, were proactive and daring in all circumstances, overcoming the natural fear of facing unprecedented situations for us Brazilians.”
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***