This Wednesday (1st), the Brazilian Army promoted Claudia Lima Gusmão Cacho, 57, during a ceremony in Brasília. The position is among the main ones in the Force hierarchy.
In a speech, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General Francisco Humberto Montenegro Junior, stated that Cláudia Gusmão’s promotion has “special historical significance” and represents “the maturity of an Army that recognizes its talents fairly and that values its professionals to the exact extent that they distinguish themselves in the exercise of military activity”.
In addition to Claudia, the ceremony at the Army Club promoted 16 colonels to the rank of brigadier general, 11 brigadier generals to the rank of division general and 2 division generals to the rank of Army general – who will become part of the High Command.
The act that confirmed the change of officers (PT) on Tuesday (24), the deadline for signature. The measure was demanded by the Minister of Defense, José Múcio.
Born in , Claudia Gusmão is a pediatrician and joined the Army in 1996. She became part, as a temporary officer, of the 42nd Motorized Infantry Battalion, in .
She later passed the Army Health School and completed, in 1998, the Medical Officer Training Course. The enrollment of the first class of medical officers, dentists, pharmacists and higher-level nurses at this school took place a year earlier, in 1997.
These positions did not allow, however, advancement to the highest positions in the Army career, such as generalship. The change would come in 2012, when women were authorized to join official military military classes, which allows promotion.
Over these three decades, Gusmão headed the Health Echelon of the 1st Military Region Command, was deputy director of Legislation and Medical Inspection of the Health Directorate and headed the Medical Inspection Division of the Health Inspectorate of the Northeast Military Command. She was also deputy health inspector for the 9th Military Region Command.
Gusmão was also part of the board of directors of three Army hospital facilities: the Garrison Hospital, the Campo Grande Area Military Hospital and the Army Central Hospital. Among his decorations, he has already received the Order of Military Merit medal in the officer rank, the Peacemaker Medal, among others.
According to data from Brazilian women, in 2023, there were around 13 thousand women in the Army, corresponding to 6% of the contingent. Navy and Air Force had, respectively, 11% and 22%.
