A RESERVA VOLUNTÁRIA REPRESENTA PORTUGAL
NA CONFEDERAÇÃO DOS RESERVISTAS DA NATO

ESTABLISHMENT, PRESIDENTS AND CIOR MEMBERSHIP​

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    The Portuguese Reservists League (Liga dos Reservistas de Portugal – Reserva Voluntária) (LRP-RV) was founded in 2016. Since then we have organized and managed Municipality Branches (15) spread over the country and islands (they train and certify active Voluntary Reservists), Specialized Departments (9), NATO Ambassador Delegations (11), school Navy and Army Young Cadet Units (20) and Security and Defence Teaching Teams (17) certified by the Portuguese Chiefs of Defence.

 

    All these intervening structures organize through the school year, activities that have the support of the Portuguese Armed Forces, in order that local citizens and students can be received in Regiments, Naval bases, Ships and Submarines, Maritime Police and Life Saving in Ports, Military and Naval Museums and Schools. Reservists have already exceeded 100 Military and Naval facilities “adopted” by the local programs, where community citizens and students participate in adequate activities that foster their missions, capabilities and careers.

 

    Voluntary Reservists, are also supported, by local and national institutions and similar associations (48), obtaining through signed protocols the cooperation of their associates and the use of shared facilities, in order to support the multiple activities mentioned.

 

    The actual President is Army Lieutenant (Reserve) Helena Amorim Maciel. The first President (2016-2020) was Navy 2nd. Lieutenant (Reserve) Ricardo Vieira Rosinha.

    LRP was accepted as representative of the Portuguese Voluntary Reservists in August 2019 CIOR Council in Tallinn. The actual Portuguese CIOR Vice President is Navy Commander João Bellem Ribeiro, whose main mission is to represent the NATO Reserve Associations in his country. Actually the Voluntary Reservists have already 65 acting members certified in their own communities, as partners of the Chief of Defence Staff, and 165 certified as NATO Ambassadors by LRP.

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SHORT STORY AND VOLUNTARY RESERVE PROGRAMS

 

    The Reservists League in Portugal is the first civil/military association devoted to organize Reservists Voluntary activities in cooperation and in support of the Portuguese Armed Forces and NATO Alliance. Though we are assuming for the first time in Portugal “the role of the Reserves in the rear”. The following procedures are the Reservists day-by-day off-duty engagements. Our country needs us again now in order to be resilient and make win “the battle of the arguments”.

 

    The Voluntary Reserve is actually managing 6 Voluntary Reservists programs developed in each municipality spread all over the continent and islands, supported by the Chief of Defence Staff and the three Military Branches:

 

-1- Program with NATO and CIOR, named “Voluntary Reservists as NATO Ambassadors in their own communities”. 30 NATO countries were invited in 2020 by the Deputy Secretary General, Mircea Geoanã to join this NATO Program. Portuguese Reservists were the first ones to join by interacting in debates in the communities civil-society associations and in local schools, promoting NATO aims and capability of collective Alliance defence. Voluntary Reservists are gradually being trained and certified in NATO subjects by the Portuguese NATO Defence College Association.

 

-2- Program with the Portuguese Chief of Defence Staff, named “Citizenship and Armed Forces”. Reservists League signed a Protocol with the Chief of Defence (CEMGFA) in order that, each Municipality Reservists Branch (Núcleo Concelhio de Reservistas Voluntários) should promote in their local schools, debates with students about NATO values, missions and outcomes on what concerns collective defence. Participating Schools, Reservists and students are certified with CEMGFA diplomas. During the last three years, before and after pandemic restrictions, Voluntary Reservists interacted with more than 3.000 students and 6.000 community citizens, and escorted the most interested ones to visit nearby military facilities.

 

-3- Three Programs have been established involving the first group of Voluntary Reservists, in February 2012 with the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Navy, in July 2012 with the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Army and in 2017 with the National Maritime Authority, allowing the local Reservists associations to “adopt”, a Regiment, a Naval base, a Ship or Submarine, a Military or Naval Museum or School, or even a Battlefield Centre of Interpretation, a Military Monument, or a Military Re-enactment, in order to escort during the school year, groups of interested students, visiting those facilities and interacting there with Veterans or Military in service personnel. Those voluntary groups of students in schools are called “Sea Cadet Units” and “Army Cadet Units”, following a weekly program managed by the Voluntary Reservists, acting as Unit Commanders or Instructors during the school year. Cadet’s programs in Portugal are all managed and trained by Voluntary Reservists.

 

-4- Program with the National Defence Institute (IDN), which organizes courses training Reservist instructors and their own Auditors. These instructors prepare young “Defence Volunteers” among interested students in schools, adopting a debate methodology in order to promote the Defence culture, Population Security (Resilience) and the values, missions and outcomes of the Portuguese Armed Forces and Allies. The Reservists managed to propose and influence the official promulgation of a new school program teaching those concepts in a Civic Education compulsory area. The program was named: “Education towards Security, Defence and Peace”. For several years now, the local Reservists are invited to teach this program in the schools of their sons and grandsons.

 

-5- In their own communities, Voluntary Reservists organized in their own Municipality Branches, participate with other local cultural associations, and with the support of the local Mayor, in Heritage Programs and Military Touristic tours, related to a nearby Battlefield, centre of Interpretation, Military monument or Military Re-enactement initiative.

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-6- Military Program of Generations Exchanges. Voluntary Reservists gathered in their Local Branch, cam offer part-time voluntary participation in supporting the Regimental Days, and other ceremonial days like historical commemorations, interacting this way with their actual in service comrades.

 

PORTUGAL DEFENCE FORCES AND RESERVISTS

 

    After the conscription system has ended in Portugal, and beyond Regular Forces serving in the three military branches, the actual most common non-regular system of military service is called the Contract Regime (Regime de Contrato - RC) as stated in Article 32º Lei do Serviço Militar 174/99.

 

    The Contract regime can be extended up to six years of active service. Although, more recently, it has been extended for some most needed specialities.

 

    The reserves in Portugal are also the last serving years of the Regular Service personnel, and so we can have Reserve in Effective Service and Reserve out of service.

 

    And we have two recruitment regimes that have never been used and are actually being regulated; the Recruitment Reserve for those that have never attended military service; and the Disposal Recruitment for those who served and can be called again.

 

    All Voluntary Reservists that have already accomplished their contractual years or a full career in the military service, they are authorized to wear their military uniform using the last graduation they were promoted before living active service and they are certified by the Armed Forces.

 

    So the Voluntary Reserve in Portugal includes all military personnel which are actually collaborating regularly in a voluntary basis, participating in one or more of the above mentioned 6 programs, actively collaborating with the Portuguese Armed Forces, and are members of the association “Liga dos Reservistas de Portugal (LRP-RV)”, integrated in local branches in their own communities, or even, being members of other military associations, have got protocols signed in with the LRP-RV, for this specific purpose.

 

    In 2021, the Portuguese military active service personnel include 27.250, and Reserves, out of active service, include 211.700.

 

 

CIOR Mid Winter Meeting 2023, 31/1 to 3/2

Brussels NATO Headquarters

Portuguese CIOR Vice-President

Commander João Bellem Ribeiro