RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian Army is ready to be an expeditionary troop and act “inside and outside Brazil”, according to General Tomás Paiva, commander of the Southeast Military Command, who accompanied an actual defense exercise of national troops with soldiers from the United States at the Academia Militar das Agulhas Negras (Aman) [Brazil’s equivalent to the U.S. Army’s West Point] in Resende, Rio de Janeiro, on Wednesday, December 8.
The exercise is part of Core 2021, joint training operations conducted by the two armed forces since Monday, 6, in cities in São Paulo and Rio.
According to the general, the joint training evaluates how the Brazilian troops are prepared both in weaponry and combat strategies. “A military force with dissuasive employment has to be ready to be an expeditionary troop and act in Brazil or abroad, as has already been done in Haiti. For example, we may be requested for actions in Africa, and we are well prepared,” he said.
For 35 minutes, the Brazilian army troops sustained enemy attacks to defend a strategic position known as “bridgehead” in the hills of rural Resende. The opposing troops’ advance was stopped by .50 caliber machine gun fire from four Esquilo helicopters in the first minute of the war.
Six Guarani and Cascavel armored vehicles fired on the enemy positions. At the same time, the line of defense with soldiers camouflaged in ‘burrows’ made intense rifle and machine-gun fire on the targets.
During the defensive shooting exercise, live ammunition was used. For safety, Estadão newspaper followed the action from a rear area – the journalists wore helmets and ballistic vests provided by the Army.
Thirty thousand IA2 556 rifle shots were fired, 12 thousand MAG 762 machine gunshots, 4.5 thousand .50 machine gunshots, 12 60mm mortar grenades, 24 81mm mortar grenades, 32 84mm cannon grenades, 10 90mm cannon grenades, as well as 45 hand grenades and 34 105mm shell grenades.
Paiva accompanied the operations alongside the commander of the Bulldog battalion of the 101st Air Assault Division of the United States, Colonel Michael Harrison. “This exercise allows us to visualize the firepower that we can put into action at the same time,” he said.
CERTIFICATION
According to Harrison, at the end of the exercises, the Land Operations Command will certify the readiness of the force to act in any part of the country and abroad.
The Brazilian Army mobilized 750 military personnel for the exercises. The American Army sent 250 men to Brazil. The protocol for joint operations was signed in 2010. According to Col. Harrison, the Brazilian troops will also train in the United States on a date still to be defined.
The Core 21 exercises will continue until December 16. One of the joint activities highlighted is on the 14th, when the American and Brazilian soldiers exchange weapons and use them in the so-called integration shoot.
Colonel Harrison praised the performance of the Brazilian soldiers. “Our soldiers will return to the United States better prepared for having trained with them. The results demonstrate the importance of the partnership between the United States and Brazil,” he said.