Corvette Captain (T) Luciana Mendes is the current Legal Advisor for CTF-151, working in conflict areas in the Middle East
By Second Lieutenant (RM2-T) João Stilben – Brasília, DF
For some decades now, joining the Brazilian Navy (MB) has not been exclusive to men. This year, in fact, the Navy became the first force to allow women into all corps and ranks, following the 2023 competition for Marine Soldiers. More than 7,000 women applied, and the 120 who passed started the course in February.
Since the pioneering entry of the first women into the Women’s Auxiliary Corps of the Navy Reserve in 1981, tens of thousands of female military personnel have proven, with each competition, graduation and promotion, that they too can occupy prominent positions and functions.
This is the case of Corvette Captain Luciana Carvalho Mendes, the first female officer to join the staff of Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151). She works as a Legal Advisor, advising Brazilian Rear Admiral Antonio Braz de Souza, in what is part of the largest naval coalition in the world, focusing on the repression of piracy in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and Arabian Sea.
The military’s work has been fundamental to decisions involving the International Rights of the Sea and Maritime Law, enriching decision-making and contributing to more comprehensive and effective solutions in challenging scenarios. According to what has already been reported in this Merchant Navy News Agency (AgMN), the region has been the scene of numerous conflicts, not only with incidents of piracy, but also with a series of attacks by Houthi rebels on merchant ships.
In this fifth report in the special series Women in MB, AgMN interviewed Corvette Captain (T) Luciana Mendes, who told us about her leadership work in a new and challenging operational environment. In the words of Admiral Braz de Souza, she has always worked “with a dedication and professionalism that serve as a reminder that human potential knows no gender limits”.
The characteristics pointed out by the Admiral to describe Corvette Captain (T) Luciana Mendes are a family trait. The officer, who today is blazing a new trail for military women within MB, is following in the footsteps of her mother, Rear Admiral of the Medical Corps (MD) Dalva Maria Carvalho Mendes, the first woman in the country to reach the rank of general in 2012. The anesthesiologist was part of the first class of the Women’s Auxiliary Corps of the Navy Reserve and inspired her daughter’s pioneering spirit.
AgMN: First of all, can you tell us about your journey to becoming a senior officer in the Brazilian Navy?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: I joined the Navy in 2011, in the 2010 competition. I have a law degree and, at the time of the competition, I came second out of 11 places. After the training course, I was assigned to the then Directorate of Military Personnel of the Navy, where I stayed until November 2015, when I went to the Directorate General of Personnel of the Navy. And, in 2020, I went to the Naval Operations Command (ComOpNav) – the body responsible for the MB’s high-level operational functions.
AgMN: How was your first contact with an operational Military Organization (OM), where most of the military personnel are men?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: One thing I often say is that ComOpNav was a real watershed, which pushed me to discover new horizons and made me think about challenges that definitely took me out of my comfort zone. I knew that ComOpNav was different because it was an operational sector, the heart of the Navy. I also knew that I would have more difficult demands, but today I see how relevant this challenge was for me.
AgMN: And what has changed?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: I started to study even more, I resumed my English studies and I learned about the operational side, with a focus on other branches of law. I was seconded for a period of eight months to the Maritime Operations and Protection of the Blue Amazon Command, where I had more contact with operational law. This is the only military organization in the Navy that has law graduates specifically focused on advising in this area. I had the opportunity to work on issues related to the interpretation of legislation on the Law of the Sea and the application of Maritime Power. I’ve also had the pleasure of giving lectures on these topics at a number of Maritime Safety courses.
AgMN: How did your mother, the first Brazilian woman to become a General Officer, inspire you to pursue this career?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: What always inspired me about my mother was her passion for her work, all her effort and dedication. And that was the example she passed on to us at home, which certainly influenced my career choices. Her beautiful career at MB and seeing that, as a result of this work, she was able to achieve prominent roles, made me look for career growth and believe in the possibility of taking part in any mission, especially the most challenging ones.
AgMN: And how did you get to the position of CTF-151 Legal Advisor?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: This is the third time that Brazil has been the protagonist of CTF-151, and each time it has had an officer with a bachelor’s degree in law in the role of Legal Adviser. In the first selection, I wasn’t prepared and it wasn’t the right time for me. The second time, I took part in the process, but I wasn’t selected. And I didn’t give up. The third time, after the English proficiency exams, the physical test and the health inspection, and after a shortlist was drawn up – approved by the Commander of the Navy – I was very proud to see that I had been selected.
AgMN: In your opinion, are women interested in taking part in missions like this? Are there equal opportunities?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: In operational missions, we still see very little participation by women. But specifically here, when we think about the Middle East, there is often still a fear among women about volunteering – because of the way they might be treated, or because of possible cultural restrictions. But I convinced myself that it was possible, that it would be good for me and that I would have to work to make it happen. With regard to opportunities, when a woman wants it, she gets it. You just have to set goals and targets and do your best to make it possible.
AgMN: What can you say about the Navy’s concern to include women in all ranks?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: The presence of women is actually a reflection of what exists in society, with balanced participation in other careers. In the Navy, men and women have their peculiarities, but these differences are aggregators. For me, women are more observant, meticulous, cautious – and that’s an aggregator. The trend is for us to have more and more ways of making a positive contribution to MB.
AgMN: What’s the daily routine like at CTF-151?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: It’s a normal office routine. We have what we call a “battle rhythm” routine, with a series of meetings to deal with various coordination issues and to make decisions, since we act as a General Staff. I, in particular, am in charge of legal advice on the repression of piracy, which is our mission. And so, as anything can happen, I can be called upon at any time. If that’s the case, at any time I’m ready to go back to work or provide advice over the phone.
AgMN: What about the job of Legal Consultant? How does that work?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: Here it’s like a crisis office, where we monitor and act 24 hours a day. As well as advising on real situations, we legal advisors take part in meetings, give lectures and advise on a series of exercises that simulate real situations, with the aim of improving the training of the military personnel who work in CTF-151.
AgMN: What is your view of the crisis scenario?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: What we find in this region is a serious economic crisis, coupled with long-standing problems of corruption and the absence of a state, which makes the situation even worse. With poverty, many people use fishing boats to commit crimes in order to obtain more significant financial returns. Some time ago, we were in a situation where piracy had been suppressed, but since November last year, cases have resurfaced.
CTF-151’s work is about deterrence, in other words, being present. The fact that pirates know that there are coordinated ships that can be called upon means that they won’t commit offenses. And since piracy is a crime of universal jurisdiction, this means that the country that intercepts and captures the pirates can prosecute them. Here in the region, we have many cases tried in Seychelles and Mauritius, thanks to specific agreements signed by the flag countries of the warships.
AgMN: Finally, what message can you give to women thinking of joining the Force?
CC (T) Luciana Mendes: Working in the Armed Forces, and especially in the Navy, is a unique experience, in which we can explore a universe of possibilities, work with people from different backgrounds and cultures, and in different locations, build true friendships, which allows us to challenge our limits, grow substantially and reveal our full potential.
*** Translated by DEFCONPress FYI Team ***