King Felipe VI closes the XXV Armed Forces Defence Staff Course

• At the closing ceremony, he was with the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Defense

His Majesty the King has presided over the closing ceremony of the XXV Armed Forces Defence Staff Course (CEMFAS), accompanied among other authorities by the Minister of Defence Margarita Robles Fernández and the Chief of Defence, Admiral Teodoro E. López Calderón.

The XXV CEMFAS, which was held at the High Center for National Defense Studies (CESEDEN), was attended by 139 students; 112 nationals (54 Army, 24 Navy, 19 Air and Space Force, 1 from General Service, 10 'Guardia Civil', 2 National Police, and 2 Diplomatist) and 27 officers from 21 allied and friendly countries.

The objective of CEMFAS is to train future officers to be posted  in national and international General Staffs, in the Joint Defence Department and in other bodies of the Government Administration where their presence is deemed necessary.

The closing ceremony began with a speech by Lieutenant General Miguel Ballenilla y García de la Gamarra, CESEDEN Commander, who thanked H.M. the King for attending. Then, the Director of the High School of the Armed Forces, Major General Pablo Guillén García, took the floor.

After reading out the appointments as new graduates of the Defence Staff of the students who completed the course with satisfactory results, the Minister of Defence thanked His Majesty the King for his presence, and expressed the commitment and loyalty of the Armed Forces to Spain.