Yesterday, 6 November, the handover ceremony for the Commander of Air Base No. 11 in Beja took place, where Colonel Monteiro da Silva, Pilot-Aviator, was appointed as the new Commander, replacing Colonel João Rosa, Pilot-Aviator, in an event presided over by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General João Cartaxo Alves, which also marked the 61st anniversary of that unit.

In the presence of military personnel and civilian workers from BA11, the new Commander praised the commitment and spirit of camaraderie of all members of the unit, values on which he intends to continue to ‘raise BA11 to the highest standards of operational excellence’.

In his speech, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, General João Cartaxo Alves, publicly thanked the outgoing Commander, Colonel João Rosa, for his last two years of service, and conveyed to the new Commander, Colonel Monteiro da Silva, his conviction that the new challenges will be met based on the ‘attributes he has shown throughout his military career’. The Air Force Commander also stressed that BA11 is becoming increasingly important to the Air Force, leveraged by the ‘value, excellence of performance, competence and knowledge’ of all military and civilian personnel at the unit.

For his performance as Commander of BA11 over the last two years, Colonel João Rosa was awarded the Silver Medal for Distinguished Service, which is intended to reward relevant and extraordinary military service, or notable acts of any nature connected with the life of the military institution, which in any case bring honour and prestige to the country or to the institution itself.

At the ceremony celebrating the Unit's 61st anniversary, military personnel from the unit were also awarded decorations, commemorative scrolls for 25 years of service in the Air Force were presented, tribute was paid to the dead and civilians, and the National and Unit Standard Bearers were presented.

Colonel Monteiro da Silva, a pilot, joined the Air Force Academy in 1996, having completed the Pilot Training Course at BA11 in TB-30 Epsilon and Alpha-Jet aircraft. Between 2003 and 2006, he was stationed at Squadron 101 – “Roncos” and, in 2007, he transferred to Squadron 301 – “Jaguares”, at Air Base No. 5 (BA5), in Monte Real, where he flew F-16s, assuming the role of Commander of that squadron in 2017.