Since the early 1960s, the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces (FAR), Army General Raúl Castro Ruz, was concerned that the Cuban Revolution should take care of the orphans who had lost their parents during the liberation struggle, an idea also shared on several occasions with Vilma Espín. To this initial purpose was added the need for the formation of a quarry that would nurture the military education centers with adequately prepared young people who would overcome the subjects and be trained as officers of the FAR.
The idea of the Camilitos did not arise from making schools first and looking for students later, but from beginning to gather experiences in similar centers that existed in other countries, references were investigated to meditate, discuss and examine solutions to the problem of the quarry for the cadet schools, since the preparation of officers in all specialties requires an educational preparation that makes the required knowledge accessible to the student.
At the beginning, several names were considered, such as Ignacio Agramonte Military School or Quintín Bandera, among others, but in the end it was decided to name them Camilo Cienfuegos. They were finally created on September 23, 1966 by indication of the Minister of the FAR.
The first military school “Camilo Cienfuegos” (EMCC) was founded on September 23, 1966 in the premises of the former Loyola Military Academy located on the central road to Pinar del Rio, 1½ km from the bridge of the Novia del Mediodia, in areas near the town of Punta Brava in the municipality of La Lisa, in the present province of Havana. It was designated UM 4914, in honor of the number carried by the Commander in Chief as a political prisoner in the Isla de Pinos Political Prison.