His Majesty the King, accompanied by Queen Letizia, presided over the central institutional act of the Day of the Armed Forces, held in Seville. The celebration has been specially dedicated to commemorate the 30 years of participation of the Spanish Armed Forces in peace missions abroad.
The ceremony, begun with the solemn raising of the flag, has continued with the tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain, especially dedicated to pay tribute to the 173 soldiers who died in international missions, with the presence of their relatives.
An air parade, in which more than 80 aircraft and helicopters from the three Armies and the Civil Guard took part, and another ground one with more than 2,600 participants and 210 vehicles have completed the events of this celebration, in which they have paraded through first time the military professional associations.
The monarchs have been completed and accompanied by the president of the Autonomous Community of Andalusia, Juan Manuel Moreno; the acting Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles; the acting mayor of Seville, Juan Espadas; the Chief of Staff of the Defense, Army General Fernando Alejandre; and the Chiefs of Staff of the three Armies.
Also present at the ceremony were the incumbent Foreign Affairs Minister, Josep Borrell, and the ministers of the Armed Forces of Senegal, Me Sidiki Kaba, and of the Central African Republic, Marie-Noëlle Koyara.
Statements by the Minister
In statements prior to the central act of this festivity, the acting Minister of Defense has highlighted the affection shown by the city of Seville to the Armed Forces.
Margarita Robles has expressed her pride for 'the honor of being Minister of Defense', emphasizing that this festivity is' an acknowledgment of the quiet and serious work of our military, especially in very difficult places, to guarantee the maintenance of peace '
The Minister of Defense has especially remembered the three thousand men and women today deployed in international missions and has had a special memory for those killed in these operations.
Parades
The events began at 12:00 hours with the arrival of Their Majesties to the royal gallery, located opposite the Maestranza Bullring in the Paseo de Colón in Seville.
Ministry of DefenceLater, the solemn act of hoisting and honoring the flag and the tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain, in which S.M. The King deposited a laurel wreath at the foot of the mast where the banner had been hoisted.
After the tribute, the air parade took place, in which 49 'Eurofighter' aircraft from wings 14 (Albacete) and 11 (Morón de la Frontera, Sevilla) took part; F-5 of Ala 23 de Instrucción (Talavera la Real, Badajoz); F-18 of wings 15 (Zaragoza) and 12 (Torrejón); as well as polymorphs 'Hercules' of refueling in flight; A400; A310, Falcon 900, Cessna CitationV; CN-295; C-212 'Aviocar', P-3 'Orion' of antisubmarine patrol and CL-215 fire extinguisher of the wings, groups and squadrons 31, 35, 37, 43, 45, 48, 403, 721, and of the Air Service of the Civil Guard; as well as 'Tamiz' training apparatus of the General Air Academy.
Likewise, 36 helicopters from the different units of the Air Force, the Aeromobile Forces of the Army, the Air Force of the Navy and the Air Service of the Benemérita have paraded.
Then, the ground parade with the passage of the command (Brigade X 'Guzmán el Bueno') and representatives of veterans, associations of disabled people of the FAS and voluntary reservists began.
Next, the armored, motorized and mechanized units have paraded. Among them the 'Leopard' battle tanks, the 'Pizarro' mechanized vehicles and the M-109 self-propelled artillery; "Patriot" launchers and missile launchers, "Lynx", RG-31 and "Centaur" tactical vehicles, as well as high-mobility special operations vehicles, anti-mine vehicles, various pieces of towed artillery, and specific vehicles of the Marine Corps, the Mobile Air Control Group, Military Emergency Unit and Civil Guard.
Subsequently, the participation of foot groups composed of the Honors Group of the Royal Guard, a Mixed Battalion of the Navy, a Joint Squadron of the Air Force, a Battalion of Students of the Civil Guard, a company of the Unit Military Emergency and a Mixed Battalion of the Army.
The parade has closed a Mixed Battalion of specific passage of the Army formed by three companies, two of the Legion, and one of Regulars, and the units on horseback of the Royal Guard and the Civil Guard.