The Role Of The Brazilian Navy In The Amazon Region CSC 1984 SUBJECT AREA Strategic Issues THE ROLE OF THE BRAZILIAN NAVY IN THE AMAZON REGION The Writing Program Command and Staff College Carlos R. O. Candido Pereira April 2, 1984 THE AMAZON REGION The Amazon Region The Amazon Region comprises an area of seven million square kilometers, covering the territory of several South America countries: Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and Brazil. About 4.8 million square kilometers are in Brazil's territory, comprising about 56% of the total area of the country. This is the largest fluvial basin of the world. About four million square kilometers are covered by tropical jungle. The Amazon river is more than 6,400 kilometers long with some 4,080 kilometers within Brazilian territory. There are at least 200 important tributaries, 17 of these are over 1,600 kilometers long (Tocantins, Tapajoz, Xingu, Purus, Madeira, Trombetas, Negro, Japura, etc.). All of these are navigable. The Madeira flows a distance of 4,800 kilometers, collecting 90 tributaries of its own before joining the Amazon. The average width of this big river is 16 kilometers although at its mouth it is 400 kilometers. The Amazon discharges 3,400,000,000 gallons of water per minute at its mouth. This discharge is five times that of the Mississippi river. Alongside the "sea river", as the Brazilians call the Amazon, there are some important cities. These are advanced outposts of civilization on the edge of the Amazon jungle. Belem, with 1,500,000 inhabitants, is a prosperous metropolis where a growing and new industrial complex is a reality. Manaus, the capital of the state of Amazon, is some 2,400 kilometers from the ocean and a very important city in the region. With more than 800,000 inhabitants it is today undergoing a new era of progress and plenty. There is a free zone with all of its advantages including the prospects of fiscal incentives. Besides these two important cities, there are hundreds of small cities, towns and villages which are close to the main river on the edge of the jungle. However, the fact that 4% of the national population is in the region is a statistical phenomenon. There are hundreds of miles without any inhabitants at all and the concentration in large cities makes the density as stated. It is in reality a desert with a few small groups of people scattered through the entire region. Among them are some indian tribes that are already being given incentives to integrate themselves into the urban life. The Amazon Basin is an area of great natural wealth even though the climate, the jungle and the dangers of disease have prevented Brazilians or outsiders from developing the resources of the Amazon systematically. Products gathered from the jungle are shipped from the river settlements down the Amazon to the Atlantic port city of Belem. Cabinet woods, such as mahogany, ebony, and rosewood, Brazil and palm nuts, and waxes are among the jungle products of the Amazon Basin. Rubber, collected from wild rubber trees by the local people, used to be an important export from this region. The Amazon Basin, because of its developed resources, may be the land of the future for Brazil. If proper methods are used, many parts of the area could probably be trans- formed into rich farm lands to feed Brazil's population. Transportation is being improved. The highway system that may solve the Amazon problems is well planned; however, there is still much to do. The actual economic situation of the country reduced the investment in this area. Only part of the entire system is constructed. After its completion, this road network will integrate the entire country giving the capability to make a secondary and in some cases primary means of commerce between the northern region and the well developed south and east. The Amazonian flora and fauna are luxuriants. In the forest the plants struggle for space. The boughs of a tree encircle the older tree, stifle it, and grow a tracery of branches around the void left by the earlier tree trunk, dead and rotted away. The fauna contains crocodiles, fierce panthers and monkeys of every sort. It is particularly rich in birds such as parakeets, egrets, flamingoes and pink ibises that become white in captivity. The Presence of the Navy in the Amazon Region The country has an administrative division of Naval Districts that are supposed to support the Naval Forces operating within various areas. There are seven Naval Districts. The district areas do not follow the various state boundaries regularly, not only because of the proximity of sea, rivers, and lakes, but also because of the relative importance of various regions themselves. The 4th Naval District is located in the Amazon Region. It covers the states of Para, Amazonas, Acre and Rondonia and the terri- tories of Amapa and Roroima. In 1850 when the Amazon Region became a Province and the Amazon River became opened to the navigation of the international ships, through an Imperial Decree of September 7, 1867, the necessity of the creation of a Naval Force in this region became imperative. Then, on June 2, 1868, an Imperial announcement established the Amazon Flotilla with the headquarters in Manaus. For many reasons the location of the headquarters constantly changed from Manaus to Belem. At the beginnings of the century the 4th Naval District was created as noted before. The Commandant is a Navy Rear Admiral and has under his command three operational forces: The Naval Detachment of the North, the Marine Barracks, both located in Belem, and the Amazon Flotilla located in Manaus. Beyond the three forces, there is the Naval Base of Belem to support the Naval Detachment of the North. The Navy has in the Amazon Region, one hospital and one radio station, both located in Belem. It also has two Ports Capitanay, one in Belem and the other in Macapa, and several Capitanay agencies spread out over the region. To know what role the Navy is playing in the region, examples of its missions must be shown. The missions are: 1. Aid to river navigation. 2. Hydrographic operations. 3. Good neighborhood with friendly countries 4. Support to civilian population (medical, sanita- tion, etc.). 5. Transport of military material as well as general cargo for civilian agencies. 6. Scientific research. 7. Meteorological information. Since it was mandatory that there be an augmentation of the tasks assigned to the 4th Naval District last year, there was one idea to create another battalion size Marine Barracks in Manaus. It is to play a security role through- out the area. The Marines in the area, as part of the 4th Naval District assumed several missions. The principals are: 1. To provide combat forces for employment in riverine operations for the defense of Naval Base and installations. 2. To develop in cooperation with other Naval forces and agencies, as well as with other armed forces, the tactics, techniques, and methods employed by forces in the conduct of riverine operations. 3. To provide detachment for security and protection of Naval installations and agencies. The Marine Barracks in Belem is one Battalion (-) which is composed of two companies. The Naval Detachment of the North, another operative force under the 4th Naval District, is primarily designed to accomplish sea patrol mission up to a distance of 200 miles from the coast. It is also used in rescue operations. The ships assigned to this force are Corvettes and Patrol Ships. The Amazon Flotilla is composed of two river patrol ships which are 63.56 meters long, "Pedro Teixeira" and Raposo Tavares" and three other smaller boats which are 45 meters long. In order to provide better and more support to the region the Navy created a Naval Aerial Detachment in 1979 located in Manaus. This new equipment gave to the ship a great flexibility. Ship navigation is dangerous in the region so the helicopter has helped them. Another contribution of the helicopter is in medical, odontological, sanitary and social assistance to the riverine population. It is not only the Navy that has its presence in the Amazon Region. There are thousands of military people working daily in the region including the Army and Air Force. 1. The Army has: - Headquarters Military Command, 8th Military Region - One Infantry Battalion specialized in jungle operations - 6th, 7th, and 8th Frontier Company - 8th Engineer Battalion - Jungle Operations Training Center 2. The Air Force has: - Headquarters 1st Air Zone - 1st and 2nd Transport Group - Flight Protection Nucleous - Airfields - The International Airport of Manaus New Ships Faced with the imperious necessity of attending to its intense and growing foreign trade, Brazil has within the last three decades developed a vast naval constructions program, achieving such expressive results that it has assumed a prominent position among the principal ship- building countries of the world. It is a noted fact that Brazilian shipyards have supplied the national merchant fleet considerably and provided orders that originated from some of the most renown international shipowners. At the same time Brazil achieved significant progress in naval military construction reaching such a level of development that today Brazil has the ability to design and build modern war ships. The Rio de Janeiro Navy Shipyard was founded on December 29, 1763 and is one of the country's most sohisticated Naval building and repair facilities. During the last decade, consolidating two centuries of accumulated experience, the Navy Shipyard carried out a comprehensive updating and modernization program on the aircraft carrier "Minas Gerais", river patrol boats and coastal patrol craft. Technologically advanced Frigates were also built. In this work we will talk about the new ships especially built to operate in the Amazon Region. 1. River Patrol Ships Among the kinds of ships that sail in fluvial net, especially in shallow waters, none have the outstanding performance of river patrol ships because these ships were a especially designed for this purpose. They are light weight and versatile and have great maneuverability to moor at rivers borders. They are used to patrol, to transport troops and materials, and to render medical and dental assistance to the river based population. The larger version has four MANV6 V16/18 TLS Diesel engines for propulsion and-the following main character- istics: Length -- 63.65 meters; maximum beam -- 9.71 meters; displacement -- 690 tons; draught -- +- 1.70 meters; main engines -- 3,840 horsepower; speed -- 16 knots; range -- 6,800 miles; guns -- one 40 mm, two 81 mm mortars, and six 12.7 mm machine guns. It is equipped with facilities to operate with one helicopter along with the two landing craft equipped with 7.62 mm machine guns. Its complement is of approximately 60 men. The smaller version has two MANV6 V16/18 TL Diesel engines and the following characteristics: Length -- 46.3 meters; maximum beam -- 8.45 meters; displacement -- 340 tons; maximum craught -- 1.37 meters; maximum speed -- 14 knots; main engines -- 1,824 horsepower; range -- 6,000 miles; guns -- one 140 mm, two 81 mm mortar and six 12.7 mm machine guns. It also has two landing crafts equipped with 7.62 mm machine guns. Its complement is approximately 40 men. Both ships have physician and dental consultation rooms and a sickbay which provides the best assistance to the river based population. 2. Hospital Ship This ship was designed specifically to perform missions of medical assistance on rivers with shallow waters. This ship contains excellent hospital facilities and has the capacity to transport and accommodate personnel. It can receive a helicopter and carries two launchers which enables it to reach points inaccessible to other vessels. The medical and dental facilities are composed of two sickbays, which includes a total of six berths; a surgery room; up to three dental offices; a laboratory; two clinics and a compartment for X-rays. The main characteristics are: Length -- 47.18 meters; beam -- 8.45 meters; depth -- 2.90 meters; maximum draught -- 1.75 meters; full load displacement -- 500 tons; cruising speed -- 9 knots; range 4,000 miles; personnel -- 4 officers, 6 doctors and dentist, 15 technical health personnel, and 21 enlisted men. 3. Buoy Tender Although this ship is not built to operate exclusively in the Amazon Region, it is able to provide navigational aids to the rivers of this region. This kind of vessel offers exceptional conditions for the execution of tasks related to the maintenance of navigational aids, especially for transport, placement, retrieval and minor repair of buoys, chains and anchoring weights. This vessel may also be used efficiently to mark the position of obstacles and channels. Its cargo handling equipment consists of a ten ton hydraulically powered davit on the stern, a four ton cargo derrick operated with electric winches, as well as the cargo derricks. Besides the complete interior communications system, the vessel is equipped with modern electronic equipment which permits communication by radio on several frequencies from ship-to-shore or from ship-to-ship. Helicopter Operations By Decree of the Ministry of the Navy, the Aerial Detachment of the Amazon Flotilla was created on December 18, 1979, and was headquartered in Manaus. The Aerial Detachment provides direct support to the ships of the Amazon Flotilla. It is composed of four helicopters (Bell Jet Ranger - 206). The Commander of the Aerial Detachment is a Lieutenant (S.G.) who directs, coordinates, and controls the execution of the tasks provided by the Commander of the Amazon Flotilla. He has four officers and 20 enlisted men under his command. The Detachment consists of: - Administrative Section - Maintenance Section - Operation Section - Aviation Safety Officer A new dimension was added when the helicopter became a vital element of the Navy's weapons and support system. A score suit of new capability provided by the helicopter gave to each ship a greater degree of flexibility. The helicopter has also been used for Civic Action Programs such as medical and social assistance for the riverine populations which have proven to be extremely important. There are many helicopters flying in the Amazon Region and most of them belong to commercial companies. These companies have rendered their services to the PETROBRAS (petroleum works) and they have bases spread out all over the region. The helicopters of the Aerial Detachment use these bases in their missions. Navigation through the rivers of the region is very difficult because they change their routes, and islands can appear and disappear in hours caused by many factors. The helicopter has helped the ships in the tasks of navigational aids. It is not easy to fly over the biggest jungle of the world and this job becomes more difficult when there is only one place to land in case of emergency -- the river. To fly in this area it is necessary to have perfect knowledge of the meteorological conditions, topography and peculiarities of the area to increase the security of the operations. When the Aerial Detachment first began operating, there was a necessity to familiarize the pilots with the phenomenons of the area, such as: 1. IGAPO -- This is low ground, like sand, that is flooded periodically. The pilot that flies over the Amazon jungle has to recognize the IGAPO because many times it seems dry and hard but it is not. To ensure it is safe before he can land, the pilot has to check the consistency of the ground. 2. BANZEIROS -- These are small waves caused by big ships. These phenomenons are dangerous to the riverine populations and can sink small ships, hydroplanes or helicopters that have landed on the river. 3. TANARA -- This is trash, such as trunks and branches of trees that go down the river. 4. REPIQUETE -- This is the rapid rise of the water caused by the thawing of the ice from the Andes Mountains or intense rain that normally takes place in this region. 5. MARE -- The Amazon river and its tributraries are affected by the sea tide from its mouth to a hundred miles in its interior. This phenomenon is dangerous to both fluvial and helicopter navigation because it changes the banks of the river. The climate in the Amazon Region is equatorial. There is a predominance of cumulus and cumulus nimbus clouds in the afternoon and in the morning at about 1000 hours there is fog. The flight of the helicopter is limited to the first hours of the day and when the weather permits. In the afternoon the air immediately over the top of the trees becomes warmer than the air over the ground. This fact causes less density and low flight becomes dangerous due to loss of lift capability. The evaporation in the jungle is intensive and this produces the formation of another type of cloud -- stratus. The following aspects have to be considered when flying in the Amazon Region: - It is necessary to have communication between the helicopter and the ship or the base during the entire flight. - It is mandatory to fly with flotation equipment. - If it is necessary to make a river landing, the pilot must land in an area that does not have a strong current, which is on the edge of the river, closest to the banks. - The pilot and the passengers have to use life preservers because the rivers of the region are deep. - Using RADAM charts is recommended to help navigation in addition to the Aerial chart. - When the aircraft is parked under the sun, it is necessary to take special care of the electronic equipment. The exposure of the helicopter to the sun for a long period of time with high temperatures can put this equipment out of order. - The altitude-density effect happens in this area due to the humidity and the hot temperatures reducing the performance of the engines. Although the Brazilian Navy doesn't have any doctrine of employment of helicopters, during these four years of operations in the Amazon Region, the Aerial Detachment took part in many military operations, such as: Ribeirex (one each year), support missions to the Jungle Operations Training Center, and exercises with the 5th Construction Engineer Battalion. In these missions we learned that: - The helicopter has several advantages in landing operations such as: surprise, quick movement, capacity in detecting the enemy, fire support, and psycological effects due to low flight. One of the best missions of the helicopter in this area is reconnaissance. - The helicopter restricts the movement of the enemy in the jungle. In addition to those I have pointed out before, the helicopters of the Aerial Detachment carry out the following missions in the Amazon Region: aerial reconnaissance, logistic support, aeromedic evacuation, aerial patrol, para- trooper launches, communication aids, SAR, and aerial sup- port in general. In the Amazon Region safety is paramount. Each flight is a new experience and the crew is always submitted to constant stress when flying over the green sea of the forest. However, I believe that the enthusiasm, dedication and high level of professionalism of the Brazilian Navy Aviation, on duty in the Amazon Region, sharing with the Army and Air Force this hard and anonymous job of helping the population in this area, will integrate the Amazon Region to the rest of the country. Conclusion Brazil has a very large problem to solve in a short period of time. The Brazilian problem is economic, social and political and is going to need a Brazilian solution. This is a nation wide Amazon problem. The civilians as well as the military are aware of it; it is neither new or unknown. It simply is a gigantic problem which must be solved by every Brazilian in this generation or the generation to come. The real problems are: 1. To get the region integrated into the Brazilian social and economic life. 2. To populate the area on a reasonable basis and have the territory explored and developed up to an adequate level. 3. To give the local people the same opportunity as their fellow Brazilians from the northeast, the east, the center and the south. I believe that any external help is welcomed in terms of government agreements. This help must be integrated into the plans and programs that the country already has for the future. However, it must be said that there is no need for any kind of external overall planning or programming far exotic solutions that could mean little to our national policy or national objectives. Such solutions are useless and in some cases attack the country's sovereignity as well as it's social and economic life. For many years the militatry people have done their best to get the proper answer to this challenge. The Navy, as well as the Marine Corps, is looking inland and getting things organized and enough support to have a place in the team. This old and gigantic problem is not to be solved in a short period of time. The actual Brazilian youth is aware of the problem by living and working in the region. They are the future leaders of a nation that has more than 50% of its population under 22 years old and they are motivated. Of course the government and the Brazilian people are confident of the future. The problem is well stated and some of the recommended actions are being accomplished. Some of them depend on the continuation of the actual situation and special support and programs for the Amazon Region. A firm settlement is expected not only from the Navy but also from other civilian agencies in the entire operation. There is a need of settlement in the interior that must be accomplished at the lowest possible cost. Despite the enormous quantity of money involved, it is believed that investiments on highways systems for the region is the cheapest answer to the problem. The discovery of new mineral resources in Serra Pelada, where the gold is found on the surface, and the fertility of the soil can be used to help support the entire country. As a Brazilian, I am confident in our people and in the future of my country. BIBLIOGRAPHY Brazilian Embassy. Ministry of External Relations. Administrative Department, 1966 Brazilian Embassy. The Amazon Region. Washington, D.C., November 1968 Brazilian Navy. The Brazilian Navy in the Amazon. Navy Ministry, 1968 Duckworth, Gerald and Co. Ltd. Brazil in Pictures. London, 1964 Durand Jr., Israel, Roemer. World Geography Today. New York, 1971 Price, Williard. The Amazin Amazon. New York, 1952
