Granada, (EFE).- The citizens of Granada have flocked to the Armed Forces Day parade, presided over by the Kings, and in which more than 3,100 soldiers, 150 vehicles and 70 planes and helicopters have participated.
With shouts of “Long live the King” and “Long live the Kings” the numerous citizens who from early morning have come to see the parade have received the monarchs, defying the rain forecasts that, fortunately, have not come true .
The monarchs are received by the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, and the president of the Junta de Andalucía, Juanma Moreno, who upon arrival received applause and shouts of “president, president.”
They were later greeted by the Chief of the Defense Staff (Jemad), Admiral Teodoro López Calderón; and the acting mayor of Granada, Francisco Cuenca.
The king, as the supreme command of the Armed Forces, is dressed on this occasion as a general admiral of the Navy.
Also occupying the rostrum of authorities were the Minister of the Interior, Fernando Grande-Marlaska, the Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcárce; the director of the CNI, Esperanza Casteleiro; the director of the Civil Guard, Mercedes González; the Government delegate in Andalusia, Pedro Fernández; and the president of the Andalusian Parliament, Jesús Aguirre.
hoisting of the flag
On behalf of the military leadership, the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, General Amador Enseñat; from the Navy, Admiral General Antonio Martorell; and from the Air and Space Army, General Javier Salto.
After the royal greeting to the authorities, the traditional paratrooper jump took place carrying the Spanish flag, which this year for the first time was carried out by a woman, Corporal Carmen Gómez Hurtado of the Parachute Acrobatic Patrol of the Air Force and the Space.
The hoisting of the flag, the tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain and a parade by the Eagle Patrol, have given way to the air parade.
Around 70 aircraft have flown through the skies of the capital of Granada, including F-18, Eurofighter, Harrier and Pilatus planes, as well as helicopters from the Army, Army, Navy and Civil Guard.
As usual, seven Eagle Patrol planes have closed the air parade by flying over the skies of Granada in which they have drawn the colors of the Spanish flag.
Granada and Motril
Next, more than 150 vehicles, including battle tanks and armored vehicles, marched along the 3,100-meter route, followed by the parade on foot that closed the Legion with its mascot, on this occasion, a dwarf goat from North Africa. named Julius Caesar.
After the central act, in a toast, the King had a memory for the 3,000 men and women who are deployed abroad in the 17 missions in which Spain participates and for the Chief of the Navy Staff, Admiral General Antonio Martorell Lacave, who died last March.
During the almost two hours that the parade has lasted, the shouts of “Long live the King” and “Long live the Kings” are continuous by the citizens who have followed the act from their balconies and from the street.
This year the Armed Forces Day has had a double celebration, with a first day yesterday in the Granada town of Motril, in which eleven Navy ships and two Civil Guard patrol boats staged a naval magazine, presided over by the King , in which around 2,000 soldiers participated. EFE