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Excellencies

Upon taking office as Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff you are assuming, General Valença Pinto, the highest office in the military hierarchy, in a session which took place with the normality, serenity and security that the “changing of the guard” procedures determine and are recommended by the cohesion and stability of the Armed Forces.

A word of thanks is due to Admiral Mendes Cabeçadas, at the time when he resigns office at his request, for the distinction and competence with which he exercised his functions and for his elevated sense of service to the Country and to the Military Institutions.

General Valença Pinto assumes the office of Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff at a time of profound changes and alterations in the Armed Forces, a situation which is not new for the military institution, if we recall the adjustment, at the end of the fifties, to the doctrines of the Atlantic Alliance, the reorganization caused by the African war and, later, the post cold war reduction and readjustment of the disposition and the updating of doctrines and concepts.

We are today facing a new cycle of change. We are witnessing a growing internationalization of security and defence issues, with the increasing importance of the external component of national defence. The commitments assumed with the international organizations to which we belong, the effort shared with friendly and allied countries on behalf of peace and development, the participation in Humanitarian and Peace Supporting Operations and the fight against a new type of global threats, in which terrorism, drug trafficking and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are included, are all factors which demand alterations in the type, organization, forms of employment and re-equipment of the military forces.

Internally, the necessary alterations and reform are equally, and naturally, a consequence of the effort of modernization of the Country of which the Military Institution is an active part, in terms of access to new technologies and to the know-how and skills of the Information Society, with special import on the technological component in the training of Cadres and Troops.

If, at the level of each Branch, it is necessary to proceed with the effort of rationalization, improvement and adaptation of resources and structures, favouring the effectiveness of the operational components, there is also considerable potential for reform within the scope of the joint employment of the Armed Forces and for the best use of their common resources and structures.

It is thus in this time of change that Your Excellency is invested with the authority that the law confers upon you for the exercise of your competences and the consequent acceptance of the responsibilities thereto attached.

These include carrying out a new cycle of reform, based on the development of new capacities, structures and mentalities in areas of a recognized joint nature, such as the operational employment of the forces and of the military educational and health systems to favour a better liaison and complementarity between the Branches and the indispensable operational connections with the Armed Forces of our Allies.

The setting up of conditions for the achievement of these objectives must await the restructuring of the higher defence echelons and the strengthening of the remit of the Chief of the Armed Forces General Staff. The effective performance of the functions of Operational Commander demands the permanent capacity for the survey of forces and means and the existence of a Joint Operational Command.

Equally in the areas of military education and health, with due respect to the specificities of the Branches, there is still room for more integration, thus permitting the more effective use of the available resources.

As I had the opportunity to refer when I took office, I will try to follow closely, in connection with the other sovereign bodies of State, the process of restructuring and modernization of the Armed Forces and I will encourage the joint work of the Branches in order to strengthen the operability of the forces and promote an adequate rationalization of means.

The Armed Forces are a secular and structuring institution of the Nation, a force for national cohesion. The functions committed to it comprise a large spectrum of missions, from those relative to military defence and security, to those related with the well being of the people and with development.

Special consideration is being given to the support for the achievement of the objectives of State regarding foreign policy, a domain where the actions of the Detached National Forces in the various operational theatres has given much prestige to the Armed Forces and contributed towards the strengthening abroad of the image of the Country. As Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, I wish to praise the effort and professionalism that our soldiers have shown on these missions and stress the pride of the Nation in their performance.

The perennial quality of the Armed Forces, their nature and institutional dimension, transversal to the various sectors of the State, require that the Country accepts a commitment which will allow the effective achievement of the missions conferred upon them. The several sovereign bodies of State must congregate their efforts for this purpose, guaranteeing the effective support to the actions of command of the higher echelons and for the conditions required for the normal operation of the Armed Forces.

General Valença Pinto

Your Excellency’s distinguished qualities and professional skills are widely recognized, as proven by the dynamic actions and strategic vision shown in the concept and implementation of the recent transformation of the Army, giving it greater flexibility and providing it with improved operational readiness.

Likewise, the knowledge you have of the remaining Branches of the Armed Forces and of the international organizations of Security and Defence in which Portugal is inserted provide you with increased authority, in due time and after careful reflection, to present the surveys that will allow the political powers to take the best decisions to face the challenges of modernization with which the Armed Forces are currently presented.

I am certain that Your Excellency will find the most adequate manner to comply with the demanding mission which has been conferred upon you, for the good of the Country and the Armed Forces, and for which you may count with the support and the institutional solidarity of the President of the Republic.