In uniform, with a camouflage hat, protective glasses and a rifle on his shoulder. This is what Princess Leonor looks like in the first images that Zarzuela has made public of her time at the San Gregorio maneuvering field (Zaragoza), where first-year cadets participated in live fire exercises with various weapons.
For a week and a half, the heir to the Crown and the rest of her classmates (612 students, of which 144 are women) moved about five kilometers from the urbanized area and settled in María Cristina’s camp. There, they slept in tents in which they had to keep the weapon with them.
According to the website of the General Military Academy of Zaragoza (AGM), where the princess entered on September 17 to begin her three years of military training, “a fundamental and very important part in the training of future Army officers. of Land is dedicated to training as combatants and to practices in the command of small units.”
During that time on the maneuvering field, the cadets carried out “shooting exercises, crossing the combat track, topographical routes, light steps and crossing water courses,” according to the note sent by Zarzuela.
In this phase of basic military training, the individual instruction of the combatant begins, moral and military training is given, and knowledge about weapons and equipment is imparted. “All of this in both daytime and nighttime environments, and with the weather conditions at that time,” the website states.
This period culminated with a striking test in which the recruits were thrown into the pool dressed in uniform, with their duffel bag on their back and the rifle hanging in the front of their body as a military baptism, a moment that was also immortalized. .
After completing the basic combatant training module, on September 11, the princess earned the right to wear the lady cadet grancé beret, a badge that recognizes her as a combatant in the Army.
It is the same one that was worn yesterday, Tuesday, during the solemn ceremony through which the second-year cadets hand over their sabers to the first-year cadets, which represents a milestone in their training and reaching the status of officers.
The symbolic event, held in the parade ground of ‘La General’ without the presence of family members or the media, was chaired by General Manuel Pérez López, director of the institution, who dedicated a few words to the cadets. Next, the oldest member of the class before the Princess read a text in which he explained the importance of this act. “With this delivery, we create bonds of union forever,” he stressed.
The next event marked in red on the princess’s calendar is October 6, when she and her companions will be presented to the Virgin of Pilar in the Basilica to invoke her protection. This event serves as a prelude to the swearing-in of the flag, which will be held the morning of the next day. With the kiss to the national flag the oath or promise to defend Spain is materialized even at the cost of one’s own life.
The specific study plan designed by the Royal Family and the Government for the princess contemplates that at the AGM she will study two courses condensed into one. Since her entry, Lady Cadet Borbón has already completed the basic military combatant training module and has learned military techniques.
After the oath of flag, she will be regrouped with her second-year classmates, and will begin to study the strictly military subjects of the Infantry specialty, the same one that her father, the monarch Felipe VI, once chose.
Upon concluding her studies in the Aragonese capital in July 2024 with her appointment as Dame Cadet Ensign, the specific plan also contemplates that she continue her training at the Marín Navy Academy (Pontevedra) and, the following year, at the Aire de San Javier (Murcia).
