The general of Brigade Patricia Ortega has received the general sash with which her promotion to the military leadership is recognized, and she thus becomes the first woman to reach that rank in the Armed Forces in the history of Spain.
In his speech, Ortega wanted to thank his superiors "to appreciate my merits sufficiently to propose me for the high distinction of access to the general secretary" and also to the Minister of Defense for proposing his promotion to the Council of Ministers for his promotion.
In addition, he has wanted to make the Armed Forces visible and has recognized that until "here we do not arrive alone, because we are a company that works as a team". "I want to thank all those who have accompanied me for their professionalism and loyalty, all this is yours, comrades," he said.
And in reference to his promotion, he reiterated that "this is not the success of a single person, it is of the whole institution, it is not only the uniform, it is the success of all my colleagues and partners".
This military act was chaired by the acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who said that "today is a very important day for the Army." And he stressed that "this act recognizes the effort not only of General Ortega, and of women who entered the armed forces 31 years ago, but also of those 15,000 women who belong to the Army in any job."
On a day like today, which commemorates the 50th anniversary of the departure of man to the moon, the minister wanted to thank "the work of all members of the Armed Forces, who work every day in anonymous" "That was a historic milestone" in which astronauts with military training and other professionals from a whole country turned to something as important as reaching the moon, "said Robles.
In this regard, the minister added that "that is what I want for Spain, for my country, that people want to make a bigger Spain, a better Spain and with leadership in Europe."
Ministry of DefenceThe Chief of Staff of the Army, General of the Army, Francisco Javier Valera Salas, has served as godfather of the ceremony and has been in charge of imposing the sash to the new general of the Army, "for having accumulated merit and ability what you have for it. "
Varela also stressed that Ortega "has overcome 30 years of sacrifice, dedication and a process of constant training and is ready to assume these functions." "It's a triumph of normality," he concluded.
The ceremony was attended by family and friends of General Ortega, commissions and representatives of the three armies, and various military and civil authorities.
The last friday the Council of Ministers approved the Royal Decree, at the proposal of Minister Robles, by which Colonel Patricia Ortega was promoted to general of the Brigade of the Polytechnic Engineers of the Army.
Ortega becomes the first general woman in the history of the Spanish Armed Forces, a decisive milestone in the culmination of the process of integration of women in the Army and a further advance in the struggle for gender equality in our country.
Precisely, one of the challenges posed by Margarita Robles, after assuming the direction of the Department in June 2018, was the promotion and increase of the presence of women in the Armies and in the Navy.
The rise of General Ortega occurs after adding thirty years of service since he agreed to his body and scale and after having completed three years in the job of colonel, having passed the general promotion course and be declared suitable for such promotion.
Thirty years of service
Patricia Ortega was born in Madrid on May 11, 1963 and will mark a before and after in the Armed Forces after becoming the first general woman in the history of Spain.
Agronomist from the Polytechnic University of Madrid, Ortega joined the Army in September 1988 at the General Academy of Zaragoza, the same year that allowed access to women in the Armed Forces.
After his first year of training in Zaragoza, Ortega went to the Superior School of the Army, center where he finished his studies as captain of the Polytechnic Engineers of the Army, in the specialty of construction and electricity. After passing through the Park and Maintenance Center for Transmission Material, he joined the General Subdirectorate of Projects and Works of the Infrastructure General Directorate, where he developed the bulk of his career between 1994 and 2014. Here, in 2009, he became in the first woman lieutenant colonel of the Spanish Army.
His promotion to colonel took place in 2015, year in which he was assigned to the General Directorate of Infrastructure of the Army.
Since March 2019, it is assigned to the Engineers Laboratory of the General Subdirectorate of Aeronautical Systems of the Esteban Terradas Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA).
Among his decorations include the Plate, Commandery and Cross of the Royal and Military Order of San Hermenegildo; the Cross to the Military Merit with white badge; the Cross to the Naval Merit with white badge; and the Cross to the Aeronautical Merit with white badge.