The Escola de Comando e Estado-Maior do Exército - ECEME (Brazilian Army Command and General Staff School) - Escola Marechal Castello Branco – is in the Urca neighborhood, in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
It is an educational unit of the Brazilian Army, with the mission to prepare senior officers for general staff functions, command, leadership, direction and advising. In addition, it cooperates with the general and sectoral direction Army bodies developing doctrine for Army preparation and employment.
It is directly in subordination to the Diretoria de Ensino Superior Militar – DESMil (Higher Military Education Directorate), of the Departamento de Educação e Cultura – DECEX (Army Department of Education and Culture).
History
At the time of the transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil (1808-1821), the Headquarters of the Court was established in Rio de Janeiro, which guided and coordinated the activities of the Portuguese Army.
Later, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the implementation Decree of October 2, 1905, established the General Staff School. With its implantation, strategic, tactical and logistic teachings, indispensable for the preparation and the employment of the modern Army, were given regularly to the field grade officers of the Brazilian Army.
At the end of the World War I (1918), the Brazilian government brought instructors specialized in subjects related to the art of war from France. The elements of the so-called French Military Mission, which lasted until 1940), provided an update to the officers of the Military Staff College, both in terms of modern combat processes and publications on weapons tactics, campaign services and military leadership.
The participation of the Brazilian Expeditionary Force in the Second World War brought profound changes in doctrine, curriculum, teaching and work methods, as well as in the environment of the Army General Staff School. The return of the last three members of the French military mission, and the military agreements with the Americans, were a decisive contribution to these changes. Thus, from 1940, a new stage was established in the trajectory of the School, marked by its definitive installation in the present building at Praia Vermelha (Red Beach).
On January 26, 1967, the School was made an Honorary Member of the Portuguese Military Order of Aviz.
Among its 57 commanders, there are many notable figures such as President Humberto de Alencar Castelo Branco and the Ministers Nestor Sezefredo dos Passos, Henrique Teixeira Lott, Zenildo Gonzaga Zoroastro de Lucena, Ivan de Sousa Mendes and Sérgio Westphalen Etchegoyen.
Presentation
Aligned with the Army General Staff guidelines, the School implemented modernization and management improvement projects. At the same time, through specific projects, it preserved historical objects and collections, as well as the memory of previous commanders who entrusted ECEME with personal objects.
The School adopts diverse curriculum and disciplines corresponding to the offered courses, using the Teaching by Competences Methodology. It seeks curriculum which continuously is updated and that is reviewed periodically with the use of a methodology substantiated on scientific basis, specially developed for the Brazilian Army education system.
The school evaluation system has been continually improved, considering students’ performance in school activities, especially in group work and in the results of formal tests.
The School emphasizes integration and group work in its activities, adopts a reading program to stimulate the reading and to extend the culture of the officers and develops a broad external relation with educational entities, civil and military, seeking the cooperation in many areas of education.
The School has a modern cultural space, the library, which brings together a reception hall and an exhibit. The library has a large collection of materials for consultation, besides being linked to other libraries in the country and abroad, it specializes in military science.
In addition to reading selected books and stimulating self-improvement, the School offers its students visits to historical sites such as the Santa Cruz Fortress, the Imbuhy and Rio Branco Forts, the Army Historical Museum, the National Historical Museum, the Museum of WWII Casualties and exhibitions of cultural interest.
Physical training is fundamental for good school performance. Military physical training is included in the discipline plan and supported by the Centro de Capacitação Física do Exército – CCEFEx (Army Physical Training Center).