09 September 2010 - Discussion Meeting - 'The Brazilian National Defence Strategy: an Army perspective'
On Thursday 9 September Lieutenant General Gerson Menandro Garcia de Freitas, Deputy Chief of Army General Staff (Policy and Strategy), Brazilian Army, spoke on “The Brazilian National Defence Strategy: an Army perspective”.
In late 2008, Brazil’s Ministry of Defence published its National Defence Strategy. A presentation at the IISS in October 2009 detailed key elements of this document, the factors driving its development, and implications for Brazil’s armed forces and defence industry. In this latest event, General Menandro discused the implications of the Strategy for the Brazilian Army and progress to date in implementing its recommendations.
General Menandro is a graduate of the Military Academy and was commissioned as an Infantry Officer in 1975. He has held the following posts, among others: Assistant in the 5th Section (International Relations) within the Army General Staff; Assistant to the Army Commander’s Cabinet (Reorganisation and Deployment of Land Forces); Commander of the 36th Mechanized Infantry Battalion in Uberlândia, Minas Gerais; Assistant-Secretary to the Army Commander; Army Secretary-General; and Chief of International Affairs and Peace Operations within the Army General Staff. General Menandro has also served as a Military Assistant at the United States Military Academy, West Point; a Military Assistant concerning agreements with armies of the United States of America, the Republic of Korea and the People’s Republic of China; and Coordinator-General of the group of International Military Specialists at the UN Convention for Certain Conventional Weapons in Geneva.
In 2010 General Menandro was appointed Deputy Chief of Army General Staff (Policy and Strategy), having been promoted Lieutenant General on 31 March 2010.
The meeting was chaired by James Hackett, Editor of The Military Balance, and took place in the fourth floor meeting room at Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, Temple Place, London WC2R 3DX.
