Lieutenant Commander María Ángela Fuentes Calderón, with 20 years of service in the Colombian Navy, is the first woman to get the first position of the General Staff Course and graduated with honor, a military course which Military Officers take to ascend to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel or Commander.
In a military ceremony, Captain Fuentes received the Francisco José de Caldas medal, in the category of Merit that is awarded to the first positions of the different courses of law that military personnel carry out throughout their career to ascend to the next step. This medal was in the same way given to the officers who occupied the first position of the National Army and the Colombian Air Force, taking into account that this course is carried out jointly conducted by the Military Forces.
Lieutenant Commander Fuentes is an administrator and professional in Naval Sciences of the Almirante Padilla Naval School, she is part of the first course of female Officers of the Surface Executive Body, trained to exercise command and leadership of ships in the context of naval operations in the maritime, river and territorial field.
She has completed two master's degrees, one in Administration of the Technological University of Bolívar and another in sustainable development of the University of Monash (Australia), studies conducted in the frame of a Colfuturo fellow.
During her career, he has served in different afloat units such as the oceanographic ship ARC Malpelo and the multipurpose ship ARC Buenaventura; she has also served as Operational Officer of the Coast Guard Station of Cartagena and as Second Commander of the first crew of the ship ARC Punta Soldado.
Within her land destinations, he has been responsible for the planning of international operations in the Directorate of Naval Operations of the Colombian Navy, as well as the inter-institutional management in the Directorate Against Drugs with national and foreign institutions for the V and VI versions of the Orion Naval Campaign, which is a multilateral operation led by the naval institution in the fight against maritime drug trafficking.
Her work, institutional commitment and professionalism have been recognized with important distinctions such as the Order of Naval Merit Almirante Padilla and the Medal of Distinguished Services to the National Navy, among others.
Source: press-Colombian Navy
