Major General Cristian Guedelhoefer assumed command of the Chilean Army‘s Special Operations Command (Cope) on Friday, February 3, in a ceremony held at the Peñalolén Military Camp.
The Cope groups the Lautaro Special Operations Brigade, the Army Aviation Brigade, and the Intelligence Brigade.
The activity was headed by the Commander in Chief of the institution, General Javier Iturriaga.
It was attended by the Chief of the Army’s General Staff, Major General Rodrigo Ventura, who acted as an intervener in the event.
The Cope began its operation on December 23, 2020, and unified all the Special Forces units of the Chilean Army, grouping together the Special Operations Brigade (BOE) Lautaro, the Army Aviation Brigade (Bave), and the Intelligence Brigade (Binte).
The new commander’s management tasks will be to continue strengthening and consolidating the development and integration of the three units of greater institutional specialization through constant training and employing personnel and equipment.
THE CAREER OF GENERAL GUEDELHOEFER
Major General Cristian Guedelhoefer entered the Escuela Militar del Libertador Bernardo O’higgins in January 1985 and graduated as an ensign of the Infantry Arm in December 1987.
He has the primary specialty of Staff Officer and secondary specialties of Tactical Diver, Commando, Parachutist, and military school teacher in Weapon Tactics.
He held a master’s in Military Sciences specializing in Strategic Planning and Management and completed a Pedagogical Training Course.
In January 2008, he was appointed commander of the Esmeralda Infantry Battalion in the Reinforced Regiment No. 20 La Concepción, and in December of that year, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel.
From 2010 to 2011, he served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, and in 2012 he was assigned to the BOE Lautaro.
In December 2013, he was promoted to the rank of colonel; from 2014 to 2015, he was commander of the Infantry Regiment No. 8 Tucapel; from 2015 to 2017, he served as director of the Military School; and from March to December 2018 as military aide-de-camp to the President of the Republic.
In December 2018, he was promoted to brigadier general and appointed secretary general of the Army, and in December 2020, he assumed commander-in-chief of the II Motorized Division.
A year later, he was promoted to major general and appointed head of the Chilean Mission in the United States, his last posting before assuming the Cope.
With information from Infodefensa