Irina Suárez Miranda always wanted to be a soldier. It was a question of vocation. It was her dream and she promised not to rest until she achieved it.
At that time she was a young, pretty, slender mulatto woman who knew how to play the piano because she had learned it at the Pedro Junco conservatory; She was the only child, loved and, to a certain extent, spoiled.
During his years there were no places for “Los Camilitos”. The only option was to go to Isla de la Juventud, but his mother did not agree. But a door has opened for this woman who has already been alive for 54 years, has served 30 years in the Revolutionary Armed Forces and holds the rank of Major of the Reserve.
Female voluntary military service (SMVF) was the alternative that could bring her closer to military life. Despite her mother’s claims that “I didn’t have a male child,” she decided to enroll in 1989.
“I always liked military life, I had the option of joining the SMVF and from there I went to the Antonio Maceo inter-arms cadet school, where I spent four years and graduated with a degree in Social Sciences in 1994,” says Irina.
“I spent my service in the Women’s Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment in Havana. She was a piece manager, she was in charge of a team of nine women. At that time I obtained the rank of Third Sergeant,” she recalls now, having retired since 2019.
When referring to that stage of her life, Irina assures that the SMVF taught her to strengthen character, to face challenges: “As a result, I always manage to find a solution to my problems, I try to overcome obstacles, find an answer, not to be weak. Managing a team of women is not easy.
“The race also helped me in my training and for all the tasks that would come later. I remember that I longed to graduate dressed to the nines, but my graduation was in the middle of the special period, with the campaign dress and at the same school. My parents were there, proud.”
Since then he has dedicated himself to military work. “Los Camilitos”, the Viñales, Pinar del Río and Consolación del Sur sector, as well as a unit in Havana and the Military Region know of his dedication and commitment.
“The FAR system is very organized; I don’t like attention, I am very disciplined, and I am that way thanks to my military training. I think I couldn’t work in the civil sector, because I am adapted to the rigor, to the schedules.”
He only advises the new generations that if they opt for the SMVF they are sure that they really like it, that they have a sense of belonging and that they are aware that it has its demands.
At 54, she talks about her mother and her 25-year-old daughter who graduated in violin with a Gold degree at the Higher Institute of Art, who now plays with the Camerata Romeu; Through her blood runs Irina’s piano and the inheritance of her grandfather who was a musician in a military band.
Since 2020, this woman has been working in civil service as an executive staff of the Political Section of the Military Region and dreams, she has never stopped dreaming, of the olive green uniform; she eager to be able to take him, again, sometime as if she were the first.
