The CHOD has presented the program of events to celebrate the Armed Forces Day 2024.

• Admiral General López Calderón was accompanied by the Mayor of Oviedo as well as by the Mayoress of Gijón and military authorities

The Chief of Defence, Admiral General Teodoro Esteban López Calderón, presented today at the 'Cabo Noval' Barracks the main events that will take place in Gijón and Oviedo from 22 to 25 May to celebrate the Armed Forces Day.

In addition to the mayors of the cities of Gijón and Oviedo, María del Carmen Moriyón Entrialgo and Alfredo Canteli Fernández, he was accompanied at the event by some of the senior military officials responsible for organising this year's Armed Forces Day (DIFAS in Spanish). Among them, the Army Major General Juan Francisco Arrazola Martínez, Commander of the Manoeuvre Support Command; the Marine Corps Brigadier General Manuel García Ortiz, General Commander of the Protection Force; the Air and Space Force Major General Guillermo Cavo Muñoz, Chief of Staff of the Air Combat Command; Civil Guard Brigadier General Tomás García Gazapo, Head of the Traffic Group and; representing the Defence Staff, Brigadier General Manuel de la Chica Camúñez, Head of Cabinet of the Chief of Defence.

The CHOD expressed his gratitude to the mayors of the two cities in Asturias, which will host some of the activities, and to the citizens for their willingness to host the Armed Forces Day celebrations. Admiral López Calderón highlighted that "Asturias is a region deeply linked to the Armed Forces, the birthplace of military figures who have been the protagonists of very significant pages of our history, such as Menéndez de Avilés, Alvaro Navia de Osorio and, more recently, Captain (Navy) Fernando Villaamil or Corporal Luis Noval".

The JEMAD also mentioned that this year marks "180 years since the creation of the School of Apprentices of the Trubia Factory, conceived by the artillery general Antonio de Elorza, which became one of the first vocational training schools for workers in the world. The Asturias-Militia link has been maintained up to the present day as evidenced by this very Barracks, the base of the "Príncipe" Infantry Regiment number 3, and the Gijón Naval Command".

Admiral López Calderón ended his speech at the presentation with a special tribute to all those military personnel who will be away from Spain these days fulfilling their mission and who will also be celebrating the Armed Forces Day, "more than 3,000 military personnel are deployed in different parts around the world on missions for the United Nations, NATO, the European Union, or autonomously, to contribute to international security and stability".

The commemorative events for Armed Forces Day in Asturias will begin on Wednesday 22 May and conclude on Saturday 25 May.

The main ceremony, presided over by Their Majesties the King and Queen of Spain, will take place on 25 May, Armed Forces Day.

It will be held in Oviedo at 12:00h with the following sequence:

Hoisting of and Homage to the National Flag

Tribute to those who gave their lives for Spain

Land Parade

Lowering of the National Flag

In Gijón, from 22 to 26 May, at the Port dock, there will be a naval presence and a display of equipment.

On Friday 24 May, presided over by HM King Felipe VI, the Naval Parade will take place, with the participation of Navy and Civil Guard vessels. It will take place at 15:00 on San Lorenzo Beach.

Following this, a dynamic exhibition of personnel and equipment will also take place on the San Lorenzo beach at 16:30h.

Afterwards, weather permitting, at the same location, an aerial parade will take place at 17:45 on the beach of San Lorenzo with the participation of planes and helicopters.

Subsequently, it is planned that some of the aircraft participating in the parade will have an aerial presence in Oviedo, with a flight over the city between 17:50 and 18:40.

On Thursday 23rd May, at 19:00h, there will be a display of personnel and equipment in Las Mestas where, among other performances, there will be an equestrian exhibition and a canine guides' exhibition.

In Oviedo, there will also be a static and dynamic exhibition in the Paseo del Bombé from 22 May to Friday 24 May.

On May 24, a meeting of military music will take place, presided over by the Chief of Defence, accompanied by the Chief of Staff of the Army (JEME in Spanish), Admiral Chief of Staff of the Navy (AJEMA in Spanish), Chief of Staff of Air and Space Force (JEMA in Spanish), and civilian authorities in the Catedral Square of Oviedo at 20:00h. Previously, there will be a parade performed by all the participating music units.

In addition to the main events to be held in Oviedo and Gijón, a large number of activities will be carried out throughout the country and even in those areas outside our borders where Spanish military personnel are working.