Alfredo Reinado

Alfredo Alves Reinado (11 November 1968 – 11 February 2008), sometimes spelled Reinhado, was a major in the military of Timor-Leste, the Timor Leste Defence Force (F-FDTL). He deserted on 4 May 2006 to join approximately 600 former soldiers who had been sacked in March 2006 after complaining of regional discrimination in promotions, sparking the 2006 East Timor crisis. Reinado was one of the leaders of the rebel soldiers, and the highest-ranking deserter.

Reinado was captured by the Indonesian military (TNI) during their invasion of East Timor in 1975, and served as a porter for TNI in Sulawesi and Kalimantan.

He escaped to Australia in 1995 as one of 18 Timorese refugees who fled in a leaky boat and was detained at the Curtin Immigration Detention Centre in Derby, W.A. He later worked in the shipyards in Western Australia. After the referendum in which East Timor voted for independence, Reinado returned to the country to captain a tugboat owned by Rooney's Shipping. On the request of the Timorese government, Reinado entered the military of East Timor (Falintil-FDTL, or simply FDTL) and was appointed commander of the Naval Unit (which consists of two patrol vessels donated by the Portuguese Navy).

However, due to his acerbic style, he was eventually transferred to the Army headquarters in the capital Dili by Brigadier-General Taur Matan Ruak, the commander of the FDTL.

Reinado's father and sister live in Australia. Over several years, Reinado travelled to Australia to receive military training from the Australian Defence Force, studying defence management in October 2003 and emergency management in August 2004. In 2005 he completed a three-month navy training module at the Australian Command and Staff College in Canberra. Reinado has also received training from the Portuguese military and the Brazilian military. He was eventually assigned to the military police, where he was in charge of a platoon of 33 troops.

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