Raquel Peralez
| Raquel Peralez | |
|---|---|
| Commanding General of the Armed Forces of Valoria | |
| Serving from March 7th, 2017 – November 12th, 2023 | |
| Presidents | Lawrence Jackson Benjamin Radcliffe |
| Preceded by | Carl Kirkpatrick |
| Succeeded by | Phillip Caldwell |
| Chief of Staff of the Army | |
| Serving from February 16th, 2014 – March 7th, 2017 | |
| President | Lawrence Jackson |
| Preceded by | Ryan Brown |
| Succeeded by | Chris Holland |
| Personal Details | |
| Born | April 30th, 1956 Boca Raton, Boca Raton, Mayami |
| Allegiance | Valoria |
| Service branch | Valorian Army |
| Years of service | 1974–2023 |
| Awards | |
Raquel Peralez (born April 30th, 1956) is a retired Valorian military official who served as Commanding General of the Armed Forces from 2017 to 2023. Prior to serving as Commanding General, Peralez was Chief of Staff of the Valorian Army from 2014 to 2017. She is the first woman and first person of Hispanic descent to hold either rank.
Chief of Staff of the Army (2014 - 2017)
Commanding General of the Armed Forces (2017 - 2023)
Peralez was bestowed the Fifth Star on March 7th, 2017 by outgoing CGAFV Carl Kirkpatrick.
Retirement (2023 - present)
On October 22nd, 2023, Peralez announced she had informed President Benjamin Radcliffe of her intention to retire.
Her retirement ceremony took place in Boston on November 12th, 2023. She bestowed the Fifth Star onto Phillip Caldwell.
Image and Legacy
Although Peralez herself has remained tight-lipped on the weight of her high-ranking appointments, a wide range of Valorian public figures, Movement and Conference alike, have praised Peralez as a role-model, breaking both gender and racial norms in the Valorian military. Assemblywoman Marie Leblanc has called Peralez "an inspiration to all women, Valorian and otherwise," and Acadian delegate Pénélope Richelieu has credited Peralez as a major influence in her own decision to pursue office.
Throughout her tenure, certain members of the Conference have criticized President Lawrence Jackson for appointing Peralez as CSAM and CGAFV, calling her a "diversity hire" and a number of derogatory terms. Her 2014 appointment as CSAM was arraigned by some as a political move, claiming President Jackson was making such a historic appointment only to curry favor for his re-election campaign. In protest of her appointment as CGAFV in 2017, a group of four Conference Assemblymen called for the impeachment of both Peralez and President Jackson. The protest was widely denounced, and no impeachment proceedings arose out of it.
In July 2022, Assemblyman Ronald Beale alluded to Peralez in a speech, saying "our military's being run by foreign operatives." Beale was highly criticized for the comment, even by his own party members—President Benjamin Radcliffe, a fellow Conservative, condemned Beale's "lack of understanding of basic Valorian affairs" and defended Peralez as an "admirable patriot."