Celebrating the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Edchera and oath of allegiance to the flag in Viator

Formation during the ceremony (Photo:BRI II)

The veterans also paraded in the event (Photo:BRI II)

Attendance to the operative demonstration the 12th (Photo:DECET)

"Álvarez de Sotomayor" military base, in Viator (Almería), has accommodated the 13th of January the remembrance act of the 60th anniversary of the Battle of Edchera, where brigade Francisco Fadrique Castromonte and legionary Juan Maderal Oleaga are honoured, the last soldiers awarded with the "Cruz Laureada de San Fernando" by the Spanish Legion and the Spanish Army.

This act coincides with the celebration of the Veterans' Day ("Día del Antiguo Caballero Legionario" in Spanish) and that is why veterans and members of Old Legionary Knights' Fraternities of Spain are called. Furthermore, during the ceremony, 680 civilians carried out an oath of allegiance to the flag.
 

The formation was made up by units belonging to the Brigade "Rey Alfonso XIII", with base in Almería and Ronda; the Regimental Standards ("Guiones" in Spanish) of the 1st Legion's Tercios "Gran Capitán", the 2nd Legion's Tercios "Duque de Alba" and the 13th Bandera, apart from a section of the 19th Bandera of Special Operations "Maderal Oleaga". The act was chaired by the Spanish Secretary of Defense, Agustín Conde, accompanied by the Chief of General Staff of the Spanish Army (JEME in Spanish), General Francisco Javier Varela. It was also attended by the 2nd JEME, General Lieutenant M. Martín Bernardi, and the Chief of the Land Force, General Lieutenant J. Gómez de Salazar, together with the chief of the Brigade "Rey Alfonso XIII", general J.J Martín Cabrero, among other authorities.

During the event, it was carried out the calling of the legionaires of honour to Fernando de la Morena, the Oldest Brother of Mena's Congregation, and Alejandro Nantón, member of the Canary Delegation of Foreign Tercios' Foundation.

Apart from the main event, other activities were also developed such as the static demostration of material, the exhibition of the Honour Sapper Squad ("Gastadores" in Spanish), and the visit to the Brigade's Museum.

Operative demonstration and exhibition of capacities

The previous day, the Spanish Secretary of Defense and the JEME attended to an operative demonstration with a tactical exercise and to an exhibition of capacities in the maneouvre field of "Álvarez de Sotomayor" base.