On November 12, Vice Admiral José Carlos Mathias, Vice Chief of Strategic Affairs of the Brazilian Joint Staff, visited the Perry Center and participated in a dialogue on joint military education and strategic planning methodologies. Vice Admiral Mathias’s delegation from Brazil included Rear Admiral Sergio Ricardo Segovia Barbosa, Deputy Chief of American Organizations; Major General Osmar Lootens Machado, Chief of Delegation of Brazil to the Inter-American Defense Board; Captain Silvio Aderne Neto, member of the Delegation of Brazil to the Inter-American Defense Board; and Commander Walter de Souza Mello, Ms. Gabriela Siqueira Borges Coutinho, and Mr. Julio Seixas Fabiano Soares, who serve as advisors for the Brazilian Representation at the Inter-American Defense Board. Mr. Jay Cope, Senior Research Fellow at NDU’s Institute for National Security Studies, led the discussion on joint military education programs and strategic planning methodologies. Perry Center participants included Director Mark Wilkins, Dean of Academic Affairs Luis Bitencourt, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Scott Tollefson, and Visiting Professor Walter Earle.

Vice Admiral Mathias stressed – and was seconded by Perry Center Director Mark Wilkins – the importance of this visit for bilateral defense relations between Brazil and the United States, and particularly the relevance of the academic environment offered by the Perry Center to provoke frank discussions on topics of mutual interest.