Vice Admiral Carlos Chagas Vianna Braga

Commander, Fleet Marine Force Brazilian Marine Corps

Vice Admiral Carlos Chagas Vianna Braga was born on September 30, 1964, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Vice Admiral Carlos Chagas holds a PhD in International Relations from the Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC-RIO). The primary subject of his doctoral thesis was the use of force: “Between absolute war and absolute peacekeeping: searching for a theory of the use of force on behalf of the international community”. He has published extensively on defense, strategy, international interventions, and peacekeeping.

He graduated from the Brazilian Naval Academy in 1985, first of his class in the Marine Corps. He graduated from the United States Marine Corps Command and Staff College, Marine Corps University, in 2000, with honors and a Master’s degree in Military Studies; and from the Brazilian Naval War College, first of his class, in 2003, with a Master in Naval Sciences. In 2012, he graduated from the Brazilian War College.

His main field experiences include a tour in Haiti as the Assistant to the first MINUSTAH Force Commander, in 2004-2005; the coordination of the Marines operations in support to security forces in Rio de Janeiro, during the intervention in 2010; and, most recently, he was the Chief of Staff of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games Joint Area Defence Command, responsible for successfully coordinating all defence and security operations, including more than 22,000 military personnel, during this major international event in 2016.

He started his career as a platoon leader in the 3rd Marine Infantry Battalion and then moved to the Air Defense Artillery branch. As an Air Defense Artillery officer he took part in the incorporation of the Bofors-Giraffe ADA system in 1989, attended US Army Air Defense Artillery Officer’s Basic and Advanced courses, and held every post from platoon leader to Battalion Commander.

His assignments also include a two-year tour in the then Ministry of the Navy; Operations Officer in the Fleet Marine Force; Head of the Doctrine and Research Department at the Marine Corps HQ; Commanding Officer of the Marine Logistics Battalion; Chief of Staff of the Commandant of the Brazilian Marine Corps; Commander of the Brazilian Navy Physical Training Centre; Commander of the Brazilian Marine Corps Training Centre and School of Naval Peacekeeping;

Carlos Chagas Vianna Braga was promoted to Vice Admiral in 2019 and his last assignment was Special Adviser to the Minister of Defense and Chief of the Defense Social Communication Center.