Brazilian Marines: Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais (CFN)

Recently I was contacted by one of the active duty Brazilian Marines. The nature of his request was basically as follows: we like your rendering of the USMC emblem, could you do the same for us? I have to admit, I am getting similar requests pretty much on a regular basis, and I truly wish I could act on all of such requests. Unfortunately, more often than not, I simply can’t, due to my projects and custom orders work overload. This time, however, I had a window of opportunity and decided to help our Brazilian brothers in arms. The result of this undertaking can be found below.

Corpo de Fuzileiros Navais or CFN is the land combat branch of the Brazilian Navy. Deployed nationwide, along the coasts, in the marginal regions of Amazônia and in the Pantanal, in peacetime it provides for the security of Naval installations and aids isolated populations through civic action programs in the Naval Districts. Externally, it provides security for the embassies of Brazil in Algeria, in Paraguay, in Haiti and in Bolivia. It has participated in all of the armed conflicts in the Military history of Brazil.

The Brazilian Marines trace their origin to 1808 when the troops of the Royal Brigade of the Navy (the Portuguese Marine Corps) arrived in Brazil (then a Portuguese colony) when Mary I of Portugal and her son and regent John VI relocated themselves to the Portuguese South American territory during the Napoleonic Wars in Europe. In retaliation for the invasion of Portugal, Prince Regent, Dom João commanded the invasion of French Guiana, whose capital, Cayenne, was captured on the 14th of January 1809. Later, the unit was involved in several campaigns: the War of the independence of Brazil, conflicts in the River Plate basin, and in the Paraguayan War. During the latter the Corps won distinction in both the Battle of Riachuelo and in the taking of Humaitá. The CFN if has participated in the humanitarian actions promoted by UN in such diverse theaters of operation as Bosnia, Honduras, Mozambique, Rwanda, Angola, East Timor, and recently, in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

With about 15,000 men, all volunteers, professionals in combat on land, air and sea, its mission is to guarantee the projection of the naval power on land, by means of landings carried through with ships and staff of the Navy.

In the case of Brazil this is a complex mission, since the country has a territory of about 8,5 million km² (3.28 million sq. miles), a coast of more than 7,400 km (4,600 mi) with many oceanic islands, and a navigable waterways network of approximately 50,000 km (31,000 mi). This last one includes the Brazilian Amazon. To cover climates and natural landscapes so diversified as Pampas of Rio Grande Do Sul, pantanal of Mato Grosso do Sul, deserts of the Northeast region and Amazonian Rainforest, demands a training of the highest standards, agility and versatility. Therefore, there are units trained in demolition techniques, special operations, combat in forests, mountain and ice, and helicopter-transported operations.

Trained as a Fast Deployment Unit, recently, with the sending of Brazilian military observers, also integrating the Peacekeeping Forces of the United Nations, the Marines have made their presence in distinctive areas of conflict as El Salvador, Bosnia, Angola, Moçambique, Ruanda, Peru, Ecuador, East Timor and, more recently, Haiti.

As always, the above insignia are available on a limited number of selected quality products via my “Military Insignia” galleries at Zazzle. You may simply follow the direct links in the article to navigate to the corresponding galleries

I will also make my insignia designs available free of charge to any military units and personnel, for any non-profit/non-commercial and charitable causes, benefiting troops and their families. In addition, I would make my designs available free of charge to any military branches, formations and units for any non-commercial internal duty-specific purposes, such as unit-related web design, training materials or presentations, as I did on many occasions in the past.

The above information provided in part by Wikipedia, Global Security, and the official website of the Brazilian marines.