Dear Community and Collaborators of TC 48 FOUNDATION,

It is with profound sadness that we inform you of the passing of Brigadier (Retired) Gustavo A. PIUMA JUSTO, a member of the Advisory Board of our Foundation.

His contribution and dedication to our cause will be forever remembered with gratitude, along with his constant advice and encouragement in pursuit of the objective to locate the aircraft.

Brigadier (R)  Piuma Justo was   a member of the EAM thirty-first class and traveled in the T43, on the same final training trip in which TC-48 took part.

He graduated from the Military Aviation School in 1965 and took the military aviation course in 1966. 

In 1982, he took part in the South Atlantic and the Falkland Islands operations, as a combat crew of the Mirage V airplanes.

On May 21, he was overthrown in air combat, during the Battle of San Carlos, when the British forces were landing.

In 1983 he was sent to the Middle East as a military observer for the United Nations, serving as patrolling officer near Golan, Lebanon, and Jerusalem.

On April 2, 1983, the President of the Nation gave him the medal “The Argentine Nation to those Injured in Combat”.

In 1995 he was promoted to the rank of Brigadier and was appointed Director of the Military Aviation School and Head of Córdoba Air Garrison.

In 1999, he became part of the Technological Applications Center of the University of Salvador.

On May 22, 1991, he received the Emblem for the Falklands Islands Campaign and the Medal of the Honorable Congress of the Nation, granted to Falklands Islands combatants, Law 23118.

On August 17, 1993, he received the medal “The Argentine Nation to the Courage in Combat”

At the same time, we would like to announce that the position left by Brigadier Piuma Justo has been extended to Comodoro  (Retired) Roberto BRIEND, who has honored us with his acceptance as a Member of the Advisory Board. We are thrilled to welcome him to our team.

Comodoro Roberto BRIEND  is a member of the thirty-first promotion of the Argentine Military Aviation School. During the Final Instructional Voyage X, he was a passenger on the T-43, where TC-48 also participated.

He graduated from EAM in December 1965 and completed the Military Aviator Course during the years 1966/67.

He served as a Flight Instructor in the Specialization Course for Fighter Pilots at the IV Air Brigade, and he was a pilot and Flight Instructor on Canberra aircraft at the II Air Brigade. He specializes in the Prevention and Investigation of Air Accidents.

He participated in the South Atlantic Conflict as a crew member of C-130 and KC-130 aircraft. Between May 1 and June 14, 1982, his crew completed seven aerial refueling missions and four aerial supply missions, landing three times at BAM Malvinas.

Between October 1983 and November 1985, he was stationed in the Middle East as a Military Observer for the United Nations, serving as Operations Officer and Deputy Chief of the Golan Observers Group, based in Damascus, Syrian Arab Republic.

He held the positions of Chief of the Air Doctrine and Policies and Strategy Departments of the General Staff of the Air Force. He was the Head of the II Bombing Group and I Aerial Photographic Group at the II Air Brigade in Paraná, Entre Ríos.

On May 22, 1991, he received the Emblem of the Campaign of the Malvinas Islands and the Medal of the Honorable Congress of the Nation, awarded to the Malvinas Islands veterans, Law 23,118.

In 1994, he voluntarily requested his transfer to the Retired Status of the Air Force.

From 1995 to 2005, he served as a Official of the United Nations. He was the Head of the Aviation Section in the United Nations Missions in Western Sahara and the Republic of Guatemala. He was the Head of the Air Security Section in the United Nations Missions in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of Haiti and worked in the Air Security Section at the UN Headquarters in New York.

Between 2007 and 2017, he held the positions of Chief of Aeronautical Professional Area and Academic Subsecretary at the Argentine Military Aviation School Cadet Corps.

On September 29, 2023, he received the “Order Heroes of Malvinas” decoration with the rank of “Medal of Honor for Valor in Combat.”

For more information about our updated Advisory Board, please visit the corresponding section on our website: ABOUT US.

We appreciate your understanding and ongoing support.

MARIANO TORRES GARCIA

PRESIDENT

TC 48 FOUNDATIO