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Document created: 1 March 06
Air & Space Power Journal - Spring 2006

Maj Marco Antonio Cuin, Brazilian Air Force
Lt Alexandre Pereira Reynaldo, Brazilian Air Force*

The Força Aérea Brasileira (Brazilian air force) traces its origins to the second decade of the twentieth century. Established on 23 August 1916, the Naval Aviation School, Brazil’s first military-aviation school, became the cradle of our air force. The opening of its doors on Enxadas Island in the state of Rio de Janeiro, then the nation’s capital, marked the first steps on the path to airpower for the Brazilian nation. Following these efforts, on 10 July 1919, the Brazilian army established its Military Aviation School, located in Campo dos Afonsos—also in the state of Rio de Janeiro—filling an important gap in our ability to train aviators capable of confronting the new reality of aerial combat. After developing separately, consistent with prevailing worldwide trends, the navy and army air arms combined to form the new Brazilian air force on 20 January 1941. Campo dos Afonsos remained the home of the School of Aeronautics and of the fledgling service’s future officer-aviators. The service had already become involved in World War II, a conflict that threatened Brazil and ravaged the European continent.

Realizing that busy Rio de Janeiro air traffic would not permit such a large school to conduct flight training without endangering flight safety, studies began in July 1942 for the purpose of choosing a new location for the School of Aeronautics. After careful analysis, the air force selected the city of Pirassununga—situated in the interior of the state of São Paulo. Thus, the 1st Air Force Detachment formed on 17 October 1960 to begin preparing the new site for the school. On 10 July 1969, the School of Aeronautics in Rio de Janeiro was renamed the Academia da Força Aérea (Air Force -Academy) and moved in 1971 to Pirassununga, where it began training cadets to become officer-aviators, management officers (acquisition, contracting, budget, etc.), and security-forces personnel (and does so to this day).

On 10 January 2003, the Brazilian Air Force Academy greeted another group of young volunteers determined to join its ranks. From a total of 227 Brazilian cadets, the academy selected 177 for aviation, 35 for management, and 15 for security forces. Moreover, for the first time in the history of Brazilian military aviation, women had an opportunity to demonstrate their worth in this field of endeavor. About 150 female candidates applied for 20 allocated aviation slots, all filled after a tough competitive exam.

Such requirements as the emergency parachuting course and military field exercise came as no surprise to these female cadets because they had performed them since 1996, the year women broke through the academic barrier by entering the management course for officers. Thus, they performed well in the required activities, and these brave warriors, motivated by a strong desire to overcome the obstacles and challenges of military-academy life, advanced as expected through all phases of their freshman year despite some feelings of uneasiness during this historic period. Circumstances were such that the novelty of the female cadets would carry over into the second year of the Aviation Officers’ Training Course, when the first phase of basic military flight training began.

The year 2004 presented an opportunity to lift the veil of skepticism present in the minds of some people and to demonstrate, in practice, the skills of Brazilian women. Something previously unthinkable and dismissed out of hand was about to happen. The first women aviation cadets began military flying, giving rise to concerns shared by military and civilian society alike and spurring considerable media attention and questions. How well would the women do? How would they react, comport themselves, perform, relate to instructors, and resist fatigue? Would their menstrual cycles cause problems? Would these and other aspects manifest themselves as they had in other air forces? A number of questions, motivated by a lack of knowledge and by the pioneering nature of women pilots in the Brazilian air force, would become clear only in the light of actual experience.

As the date to begin flight training approached, some cadets decided not to continue. Three women declared themselves unsuited to military life and requested discharge, leaving 17 warriors to begin flight training. As always occurs in such a course, wherein trainees must complete various phases with a high degree of proficiency, some of the cadets (including men) encountered difficulties, eliminating them from the program. Thus, 12 female cadets finished that stage. Among those, one requested discharge after having completed all the flight-training phases conducted by the 2nd Air Training Squadron. As of this writing, the remaining 11 should graduate from the Brazilian Air Force Academy at the end of 2006.

It is important to emphasize the degree of dedication these aviation cadets demonstrated in all the tasks that confronted them. Militarily, they distinguished themselves by their discipline and zealous personal demeanor. Academically, they achieved significant results—witness the high class ranking that most of them achieved. Consequently, the performance of these brave women is gradually dispelling any lingering myths and questions as well as favorably affecting people’s expectations of them.

The Brazilian air force intends to use these new aviators to help maintain its combat capability and will treat them the same as their male counterparts. The gradual, deliberate rise of this new component of our operational combat arm will facilitate its successful integration into the current career landscape, historically dominated by men. We must always bear in mind that Brazilian air force members must be imbued with the proper attributes to fulfill their duties, particularly the defense of our airspace and the sovereignty of our nation. Brazil can rest assured that leadership and esprit de corps, combined with the traits of courage, altruism, tenacity, determination, perseverance, and other virtues inherent in good warriors, are deeply ingrained in each woman aviator.

*Major Cuin is commander of the 2nd Squadron, 10th Aviation Group, Brazilian Air Force. Lieutenant Reynaldo is executive officer of the 3rd Squadron, Corps of Cadets, Brazilian Air Force Academy.

Disclaimer

The conclusions and opinions expressed in this document are those of the author cultivated in the freedom of expression, academic environment of Air University. They do not reflect the official position of the U.S. Government, Department of Defense, the United States Air Force or the Air University

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