“I can not deny it. When I found out that she would be the first woman to hold the position of commander of the Cadet Battalion, I was nervous, ”says the captain of the Fragata Liliana Ortiz Reina.
He explains that it is something normal “because of the immense responsibility and importance of the position. Obviously I asked my parents what they thought of this new assignment at my job and they only expressed happiness while encouraging me to continue to fulfill my lifelong dreams. They expressed that ‘here we are and we are proud’ and that he should respond with height because it is a very big responsibility”.
Liliana is the first woman in the history of the Navy to reach the position of commander of the Cadet Battalion of the Almirante Padilla Naval School, where future naval and Marine Infantry officers are trained, in charge of protecting the blue of the flag and the rivers that cross the national geography.
The captain of Fragata, who is the daughter of a major general of the Marine Corps, Iván Fernando Ortiz, in good retirement, and also has an uncle and two cousins who are Navy officers, at first she did not think of entering the strength and wanted to study Business Administration.
“I always leaned towards the Administration, but when I was in tenth grade, in 1997, the news came out through different media that the first women could join the National Navy to be line officers. That’s when I made the decision and told my parents that I wanted to enter the Naval Academy. My dad initially had a bit of doubt and he explained to me that he was just starting this project and that it was better for me to study for a degree and then start as a professional.”, he explained.
The official today recalled that “it got into my head that I wanted to enter the training center as a line officer and I insisted on my father to support me. However, I managed to do a semester of Industrial Engineering at the university, but I did not fix myself and I opted for military life”.
He indicated that “at my insistence, my parents met, analyzed the situation, agreed and decided to support my decision and allowed me to advance the entire incorporation process. I passed all the demanding requirements and exams, that is, on January 14, 2000 I was already at the Almirante Padilla Naval School.
He added that “from this transcendental moment for my military career, my mother, Liliana Aurora, a bacteriologist by profession and a native of Sogamoso, and my father from Campoalegre, Huila, supported me at all times throughout all these years.”
Since I was a child
In her dialogue with EL NUEVO SIGLO, the officer narrated that “from a very young age I accompanied my father to physical training with the cadets and to ceremonies. My father was an officer in the Cadet Battalion many years ago. With all these processes, how can you not love the National Navy and here I am after 23 years of having entered the Naval School”.
“It is no secret to anyone that the first months at the School are difficult, hard and nostalgic for being separated from family, but when you are doing what you like you are happy and my only desire was to study and get ahead. My experience as a student was enriching due to continuous learning, permanent challenges and high expectations for knowing and being able to live life as an officer”, she assured.
He said that “when I entered the Naval Academy, the clash between the male students of sharing studies with women was not so hard, they were already a bit used to it. Absolute respect always prevailed, but we all had the same processes, without any exclusion for being women”.
“In the institution, absolute respect for women prevails. Of course, our performance and our way of being also take precedence. I cannot say that here in the institution they have been macho. We women line officers have the same opportunities as men. Throughout my career I have done extremely well and I love what I do and I am happy, ”she said.
She revealed that when she graduated as a corvette lieutenant, she was assigned to the ARC Malpelo, an oceanographic vessel, “where I held the position of officer in the Logistics Department for a year. Then I was assigned to the Training Ship Gloria for a year as head of the Ratchet Division ”.
He recounted that “I spent a year in the ARC Independiente Frigate and a year in the ARC Almirante Padilla. In these frigates, by decision of the high command, I held the positions of head of the Navigation and Communications Division, head of the Electronic Warfare Division and head of the Artillery and Missiles Division, among other positions”.
“Years later, after holding other positions on land, I returned to the frigates again, because my career, let’s put it that way, is directed towards those ships, where I served as head of the Armaments Department, head of the Operations Department and the year Last time I was second commander of the Admiral Padilla Frigate,” he added.
Ortiz Reina explained that “as the first woman to hold the position of commander of the Cadet Battalion of the Naval School, the responsibility is enormous, because I am part of the training of future navy officers.”
“My greatest wish is to be able to leave a mark on the students in their training and to be able to pass on my knowledge so that they may serve them in the future as naval and Marine Corps officers. I want to leave a legacy so they can move on and meet their goals,” he said.
She pointed out that “my father held the position of head of the Department of Military and Physical Education in the Cadet Battalion and today I am the commander. I feel joy and pride, but I reiterate that it is an enormous responsibility and I think that the fact of being a woman generates certain expectations in the sense of how the officer is doing, because it is the first time that we have a woman as commander of this unit.” .
He reiterated that “holding this high position is a source of enormous pride and for this reason I push myself every day not only to carry out my position with dignity, but also to be a better officer and a better person to be able to offer students all our knowledge.”
“I hope that with my good performance and with the application of all the teachings as an officer, I will open the doors for other women so that they can reach this high position. Also for them to hold other positions of equal or greater responsibility, ”she asserted.
Application
On the other hand, the frigate captain asked the other officers that “it is necessary to make an effort in the assigned positions to demonstrate that women are in the same capacity as men to occupy positions and positions of institutional responsibility.”
“I ask God to give me the opportunity to reach the highest rank of a naval officer, it is my desire and I would like to reach the position of admiral. For this reason I make an effort in the study and at work. If the opportunity is not given, because God puts all the ways and what he decides, I will be there and I know that it will be the best decision for my future, for my home and for my family, “he said.
He added that “at this time, two women who entered the institution as professionals are advancing the course to obtain the rank of admiral. God willing, in December we will have the first two women with that high degree and she is an example to follow for all the officers who are in the Navy”.