The Eastern Military Command (CML) begins this Monday (2) the first stage of female military service, with 159 women incorporated as soldiers in Rio de Janeiro. The first face-to-face selection stage includes document checking, health assessments and interviews.
The first female recruits in the history of the Brazilian Army will be distributed in health, teaching and support units. The long-term goal is for female troops to reach 20% of the number of soldiers by 2035. In addition to the 159 volunteers in Rio de Janeiro, the CML is responsible for troops in Espírito Santo and Minas Gerais and should incorporate 37 women in Juiz de Fora and 26 in Belo Horizonte.
Volunteers
Young women, born in 2007, who voluntarily enlisted will go through a specific selection process. In Rio de Janeiro, one of the stages of the process will take place at Palácio Duque de Caxias, the historic headquarters of the Eastern Military Command, in the central region of the city. Initial administrative procedures will be carried out on site, including document checking and evaluations.
Unlike mandatory male enlistment, volunteers join by choice, without fines or sanctions for non-enlistment. Upon incorporation, that is, once the selection stages have been completed, the service of recruits becomes mandatory.
Furthermore, the Army guarantees full equality of conditions: women recruits will have “the same rights and responsibilities” as male recruits – salary, health plan, food allowance, retirement time and other benefits provided for in the Military Service Law -, with the addition of maternity leave.
“It is a symbolic moment for the Army, which reinforces the value of women in its ranks,” highlighted Major Hugo Chermann, spokesperson for the Women’s Military Service in Rio de Janeiro. “Our commitment is to conduct this process with transparency and professionalism, guaranteeing equal opportunities for all volunteers”, he added.
Currently, there are female officers and enlisted personnel working both in operational roles and in leadership, leadership and command positions in the areas of health, administration and the Army’s military line.
For medical colonel Ana Paula Reis, director of the Praia Vermelha Military Polyclinic and with almost 30 years of career in the Army, the opening of this cycle is historic.
“With this, from 2026 onwards we will have women in all positions and ranks of the military career. Female soldiers will be able to have us as an example of recognition and leadership, thus enriching management as a whole and reinforcing the ethical values of the institution”.
