CHDS alumnus and faculty member Colonel Rui Chagas Mesquita has been appointed as the Chief of the Brazilian Air Force Liaison Office to the Brazilian Congress (Chefia da Assessoria Parlamentar do Comandante da Aeronáutica – ASPAER). ASPAER was established in 2004 to strengthen the Air Force’s relationship with the institutions representing the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial branches of the Brazilian government. Colonel Mesquita was a CHDS Visiting Scholar in 2007.