Chief of the Air and Space Force Presides Over Solemn Flag Raising Ceremony

• The ceremony, held in honour of ‘San Isidro’ (Madrid Patron Saint), took place in the ‘Jardines del Descubrimiento’ at ‘Plaza de Colón’

The Chief of the Air and Space Force (JEMA in Spanish), Air General Francisco Braco Carbó, presided over today’s solemn flag raising ceremony held in the ‘Jardines del Descubrimiento’, ‘Plaza de Colón’. The event commemorates the feast of ‘San Isidro’, patron saint of Madrid. The JEMA was accompanied by various civil and military dignitaries, including the Mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida Navasqüés.

Through this ceremony, the Armed Forces pay tribute and express their recognition to the city of Madrid. On this occasion, the flag was raised by the ‘Guardia Civil’. The Mixed Honour Company consisted of four Sections, with Command, Engineers Squad, and the Band of the Reserve and Security Group N.1 of the ‘Guardia Civil’.

The Sections belong to the ‘Inmemorial del Rey’ Regiment N. 1 of the Army, the Navy Headquarters, the Honour Squadron of the Air Force Security Group, and the Reserve and Security Group No. 1 of the ‘Guardia Civil’.

The sequence of events was as follows:

• Honours to the Chief of Air and Space Force(JEMA)
• Inspection of the Mixed Honour Company
• Flag raising
• Parade of the Mixed Honour Company

The flag raising ceremony at ‘Plaza de Colón’ is held monthly on a routine basis. Additionally, four times a year it is conducted as a solemn flag raising ceremony. The first of these solemn events is on 15 May, in celebration of ‘San Isidro’ feast day. The second takes place on 19 June, the anniversary of His Majesty the King’s proclamation, presided over by the President of the General Council of the Judiciary. The third is on 12 July, marking the anniversary of the Constitutional Court’s commencement, presided over by the Court’s President. The final one occurs on 6 December, Spain’s Constitution Day, co-presided by the Presidents of the Congress and the Senate.

The flag measures 300 square metres (21 x 14 metres) and weighs 35 kilograms. It was first raised in 2001, when the previous 21-metre mast was replaced by the current 50-metre mast. This mast features a rotating head to align with the wind direction, preventing the flag from wrapping around it. The mast itself weighs nearly 20 tonnes and is anchored on a base resting on four pillars above the underground car park at Colón.