Officer

Fuzileiro Officer

In the Fuzileiros there are Permanent Personnel Officers and Contracted Officers (maximum of 6 years). The Permanent Personnel Officers go through the Escola Naval (Naval School) where they take their master`s degree, while the Contracted Officers undergo their training at the Fuzileiros School, where they go through basic training followed by a complementary training program.

The Contracted Fuzileiro Officer Course, intends to gift the Contracted Officers with the skills necessary to integrate Fuzileiros Forces and Units in the accomplishment of operational missions as Platoon Commanders.

Terms of Admission

1. The Terms of admission to the Fuzileiro Enlisted Course are published in Diário da República (Republic`s Diary) before each contest;

2 .It is advised that you read it before applying.

Generally the terms of admission

a. Possess Portuguese citizenship;

b. Be at least 18 years old;

c. Possess adequate physical and psychological condition;

d. Not having served time in prison;

e. Have a regularized military condition;

f. Have a minimum education level of 12th grade of school or equivalent, certified by the Ministry of Education;

g. Be 24 years old or younger at the final date of application for the candidates with an education level of 12th grade;

h. Be 27 years old or younger at the final date of application for the candidates with a college degree;

i. If have served before in the military possess a favorable evaluation of service.

Special Terms of Admission

a. Having medical, psychological and physical condition accordance with the tables defines by the Portuguese Navy Chief of Staff

b. Not have, any piercings, tattoos or any other forms of body art on the head, neck, hands and wrists.

You haven’t completed the 12th grade of school, but have completed the 9th or equivalent certified by the Ministry of Education? Then your dream of being a Fuzileiro doesn’t end here! You can join us as a Fuzileiro Enlisted.

Admission Process

The admission process is divided in 4 stages.

Documents Submission

In order to apply you will have to submit the following documents:

School diploma from an official national teaching entity, or certified by the Ministry of Education;
Criminal Record, emitted within 90 days of the final date of application;
Curriculum Vitae;
Photocopy of military card or declaration of having a regular military situation;
Nota de assentamentos (Record Sheet) in case the applicant as previously or is currently serving the Portuguese Army or Portuguese Air Force;
Authorization by the Portuguese Army Chief of Staff, for Army candidates and authorization by the Portuguese Air Force Chief of Staff for Air Force candidates.

Clinical tests, done within 180 days before the final date of the contest with the following information:

FBC with platelets;
Prothrombin Time;
Activated partial thromboplastin time (PTT);
Blood type;
Fasting Glucose;
Urea;
Creatinine;
Ionogram;
Asparto aminotransferase;
Creatine Kinase;
Anti HV1+HV2 Antibodies;
Urine.

The day you come to the selection you must bring:

The originals of the previously mentioned documents;
Health Self Questionnaire (AQS);
Electrocardiogram with report and Chest X-Ray with repor;t
Citizen Card or Citizen ID, Fiscal Card and Social Security Card/number;
Vaccine bulletin in accordance with the national vaccination program.

Physical tests

In accordance with the stablished by the Portuguese Navy Chief of Staff.

Medical Inspection

This stage aims to verify if the applicant presents a favorable diagnosis to perform the tasks required of a Fuzileiro.

Psychotechnical testing

The Psychotechnical evaluation is done by the results of 3 different dimension testing stages

Perceptual-cognitive Dimension - Consists in the evaluation of different perceptual-cognitive aptitudes through a series of psychological tests like general mental aptitude, verbal aptitude, numeric aptitude, memory among others.

Psychomotor Dimension - Consists in the evaluation of different aptitudes, through a series of psychological tests like bimanual coordination, choice reaction tests and multiple reaction tests.

Personality and Motivation Dimension - Consists in the evaluation of different aptitudes, characteristics and skills through a series of psychological tests and a final psychological selection interview.

Basic Initial Training

Your military life will begin in the Recruta (Basic Initial Training – Bootcamp) at the Fuzileiros School, where during 5 weeks you will live by new routines learn new skills and military rules.

From day 1 you will start acting as a group in order to develop the Spirit du Corps and will be trained in leadership skills.

During the 5 weeks you will learn several subjects, starting with the values of the Portuguese Navy and Fuzileiros Corp.

Besides the daily physical activity, the instructors will teach you:

How to command a Platoon (around 20 students)
Regulations and organization of the military structure
First aid
How to march (individually, as a group, with a weapon, without a weapon) in a synchronized and organized fashion
How to safely handle some of the weapons employed by the Fuzileiros
Operational techniques, tactics and procedures both on a small group and on an individual level (Combat Infantry)

At the end of the 5 weeks you will realize you have acquired a vast set of personal, military, naval and technical skills who will help you in the long run, both personally, professionally and in the leading of men.

This inner growth however does not come easy, it involves a lot of perseverance, resilience and camaraderie to resist the fatigue and daily challenges you will experience. You will however have a team of instructors with vast experience who will give you the tools needed to overcome any challenges you face.

During this experimental stage where you will have no contractual bond, your pay will be the equivalent to the minimum wage.

After you successfully complete the first 5 weeks, with positive academical, physical and disciplinary results you will be rewarded with the Juramento de Bandeira where you will pledge allegiance to the Portuguese Flag in the parade of the Fuzileiros School in front of your friends and family.

The Juramento de Bandeira is the moment that guarantees your entry into the complementing stage of your training, where the true Fuzileiro Officer Course begins.

Complementary Training

The Complementary Training stage corresponds to the Fuzileiro Officer Course which begins after the end of the Recruta (Bootcamp), this stage as an approximated duration of 9 months.

This is the portion of your training that will turn you into a Fuzileiro, an Officer and an elite combatant, it will perfect your skills, mold your qualities and teach you the values needed to be a Fuzileiro and to lead Fuzileiros while serving Portugal and the Portuguese People.

During this time the recruits will have an above minimum wage pay, and will have a contractual bond.

The Fuzileiro Officer Course is organized into 4 modules:

General Training;
Technical Training;
“Internship” in the Operational Units;

The training takes place at the Fuzileiros School.

General Training and Complementary Training

This stage (around 4 weeks) is destined to give you tools to successfully lead and manage men, moderate conflicts, learn administrative procedures, navigation skills and leadership skills needed to be a Portuguese Navy Officer.

Technical Training

The Technical Training module is what will turn you into an elite amphibious combatant, and is the module that is specifically aimed at your Fuzileiro training.

This stage is divided into 2 components:

The Technical Component (around 15 weeks) which aims to teach you skills related to the individual techniques of a combatant, trough theoretical and practical training. Some of the Skills are:

Combat Infantry – Camouflage techniques, handling of electronic equipment, land navigation, first aid and combat survival techniques, tactical communications, teamwork and leadership skills
Weaponry and Combat Shooting – Live ammunition training, static shooting, dynamic shooting, military shooting, shooting stances, handling of individual and collective weaponry.
Explosives, mines and boobytraps- Identification handling and safe usage of explosives, mines and boobytraps in military actions.
Physical training – Several physical obstacle courses including the Pista de Lodo (Mud Course -Iconic obstacle course of the Fuzileiros Corp), several timed runs, and swimming with obstacles and military gear.
o Insertion Techniques – Learn and perfect rappel techniques and fast rope applied to combat operations.
Amphibious Operations and Means – Handling of the Fuzileiros assault boat, techniques tactics and procedures of amphibious operations, amphibious raids, riverside operations and boarding operations.
Techniques, Tactics and Procedures of Land Combat Operations- Close-Quarters-Combat, Urban Combat, Ambushes, Raids, Offensive Operations, Defensive Operations, Chemical Biological Radiological and Nuclear Defense.

The Tactical Component (around 7 weeks) aims to teach you the skills related to the individual techniques of a combatant through a series of field exercises, where theatres of operations are simulated with the existence of opposition forces.

The last field exercise (lasting around 2 weeks) will englobe all areas addressed during the course, in order to allow you to use all the skills you learned in a multi threat environment and will end with the emblematic Fuzileiros 50 kilometer (31 miles) march ending at the Fuzileiros School.

By the end of the Fuzileiros Course you will have completed the mythical physical and psychological events of the Fuzileiros: the Pista de Lodo, the descent of the Sado River by paddling an assault boat for 50 kilometers (31 miles) and the final march of 50 kilometers (31 miles) with weaponry and gear.

You will have walked more than 250 kilometers (155 miles) with 50 kilograms (110 pounds) of gear and weaponry, you will have paddled more than 100 kilometers (62 miles), you will have done amphibious landings at beaches at night with assault boats from Portuguese Navy ships at high sea, you will have boarded helicopters and you will have done all this in the smoldering heat, the freezing cold, and in the heaviest of rains, exhausted both physically and psychologically, for all this is what it takes to be part of the elite that is the Fuzileiros Corp.

You will be ready to operate under pressure in any corner of the world, from Afghanistan to Africa, in the harshest of environments from the driest of deserts to the most humid of rain forests, working always as a team.

And at the end, before your internship at the Fuzileiros Units, you will receive the coveted Boina Azul Ferret (Dark Blue Beret) of the Fuzileiros, and you will be then apart of this elite family with 400 years of history.

Last but not least the course ends with a “internship” through the several Fuzileiros Units, where you will practice, under supervision, the skills attributed to an Fuzileiro Officer.

As a Fuzileiro Officer you will have the opportunity to have a lasting career in the Portuguese Navy, by entering the permanent personnel as a Permanent Personnel Fuzileiro Officer through the Escola Naval (Naval School).

Apply here to the Fuzileiros

Here you can apply or learn of any existing Fuzileiros Course open contest.

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