The Ministry of Defense is already immersed in the preparation of the parade which will tour the center of Madrid on October 12 on the occasion of the National holidaychaired by the Kings and attended by the entire Government, the presidents of the autonomous communities and the highest authorities of the State.
In total, more than 4,000 members of the armed forces, state security forces and bodies and other institutions13 percent of whom are women. 85 aircraft (56 planes and 29 helicopters) and 166 vehicles will also participate in the military parade.
One of the new features of this edition will be participation in the parade of Flag of the United Nations (UN)escorted by a picket. It will be in honor of the military deployed abroad, in particular the 670 soldiers who are part of the Spanish contingent in Lebanon.
This tribute coincides with the start of the conflict between Israel and Hezbollah on the border with Lebanon, where most of the Spanish soldiers who are part of the United Nations mission are located. More precisely, they are located in the base Miguel de Cervantes in Marjayoun, near the border.
The Secretary General of the UN, Antonio Guterresannounced to the Security Council that UNIFIL’s “blue cases” in Lebanon would remain in their positions “despite Israel’s request” to withdraw from the area in the interest of their security.
That same week, Benjamin Netanyahu’s government declared Guterres persona non grata and barred him from entering the country on the grounds that he had not strictly condemned the Israeli attack on its territory.
Flags of NATO countries
The flags of Slovakia, Slovenia, Portugal and the Czech Republic will also be included in the parade on October 12, member countries with Spain of one of the eight combat groups deployed by NATO on the border with Russia.
In this edition, in addition to the flag of Spain, the Acrobatic parachute patrol of the Air and Space Force (PAPEA) will jump with the flag of the tenth anniversary of the King’s proclamation. Responsible for this task will be Corporal 1 María del Carmen Gómez Hurtado, while Corporal 1 Francisco Vico López will be the one who will have the honor of carrying the national flag.
