Navy kicks off 60th Operation Unitas

The Brazilian Navy Monday (Aug 19) started the 60th Operation Unitas (Unitas LX/2019), slated to end on August 30. The multinational sea army organized by the US is the oldest in this kind of integration and has been active since 1959. Its goal is to bolster joint efforts between the navies and deepen cooperation and friendship ties.

The operation attained amphibian format in 2008. In this year’s edition, on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro, Unitas will be split into two parts: the sea stage (Unitas Lant), and the amphibian stage (Unitas Amphibious), which is expected to include simulated humanitarian aid through amphibian landing, on Marambaia island, on Rio’s Costa Verde, on August 27.

“Due to its logistic capacity—which includes quick mobilization and action—the Armed Forces will always be used in situations like the earthquake in Haiti, for instance. It’s a real case of what our work can evolve into,” said Counter-Admiral Luiz Roberto Cavalcanti Valicente, commander of the fireteam’s second division.

In the view of Cavalcanti, who also heads the Unitas 2019  task group, the Unitas 2019 engages over 3,300 military agents from countries in the Americas and guests from Portugal, the UK, and Japan. “It’s a unique chance to show our navies work together.”

“There’s an order of permanent operations that all continents are well familiar with, but every year countries decide whether they’re going to join Unitas. As for other continents, invitations are selected. We can’t invite everybody and bilateral deals are struck both by our foreign affairs department and that of the US. This year, Japan’s attaché asked to join us.”