Por Segundo-Tenente (RM2-T) Thaís Cerqueira – Rio de Janeiro, RJ
In order to train personnel in assistance and protection activities against chemical agents of war and industrial toxic substances, the Brazilian Navy (MB), in cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), is holding the second edition of the Exercise on Assistance and Protection against Chemical Weapons for Portuguese Speaking Countries (EXBRALP), from July 11 to 15, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ). Besides Brazil, professionals from Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, and São Tomé and Príncipe are participating in the training.
The EXBRALP is the final phase of the OPCW’s Assistance and Protection training. The coordination of the exercises is the responsibility of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovations (MCTI), with the participation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE) and the operational execution will be done by the Ministry of Defense, through the Brazilian Navy.
To mark the beginning of the exercise week, an opening ceremony was held on Monday (11) with the presence of First Secretary Alexandre de Pádua Ramos Souto, General Coordinator of Administration and Projects at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), who highlighted the work of the OPCW. “I emphasize that the OPCW is the cornerstone of an international arrangement that managed to balance science and politics to increase the security of the States parties to this convention.”
According to Navy Captain Flavio Lamego Pascoal, Commander of the Brazilian Navy’s Defense Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Center (CBRN), who will conduct the week of lectures and exercises, “initiatives such as EXBRALP favor the standardization of techniques and procedures, as well as the improvement of doctrine. All of this reinforces the Navy’s action in the regional context and with the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries”.
For Doctor Sérgio Antônio Frazão Araújo, MCTI’s General Coordinator of Sensitive Goods, “Brazil has already fully integrated the activities, particularly those of assistance and protection, since 2009. Besides receiving training for Brazilian students, MCTI, in coordination with MD and MRE, gives courses and exercises, both for the group of Latin American and Caribbean countries and, in some situations, for countries of the Portuguese Language Community that are members of the OPCW, as in this case”.
Operational Demonstration
One of the differentials of this second edition of the event is that on July 12 there will be an Operational Demonstration, open to the public, at the facilities of the Reinforcement Troop Command on Flores Island (RJ). The demonstration will feature the use of Amphibious Caterpillar Cars, and armored vehicles on wheels capable of operating in a contaminated environment.
Also on display will be a decontamination station and a display of material from the Brazilian Navy’s NBQR Defense Battalion, a mobile laboratory for chemical analysis from the Brazilian Navy’s CBRN Defense Center, an Advanced Trauma Unit with Telemedicine from the Navy’s Expeditionary Medical Unit, and a display of anti-bomb clothing from the Marine Engineering Battalion.
Brazilian Navy News Agency *** Translated by DEFCONPress Team ***