Saturday, December 8, 2007

Military ceremony at Leiria

As part of the official comemoration of the Army Day, the military branch organizes, which year, a military ceremony at October 21st. This year, Leiria was the place chosen by the military for a ceremony which mobilized more than 1.000 troops. Such event also counted with the presence of the Minister of Defense, Professor Nuno Severiano Teixeira. In hs speech, the Minister underlined the modernization of the military branch in what he considers to be the "first great programme since the April 25th, 1974".

I made a report of the event for the Spanish magazine Fuerzas Militares del Mundo as part of an article about the Portuguese Army which I am writing.

The military ceremony included speechs by the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Army as well by the Minister of Defence. After it, during a brief encounter with the press, the Chief of Staff of the Portuguese Army declared that his goal for personnel is to reach a total of 24.500 military, inclunding 14.500 foot soldiers [click to enlarge].

A M109 A5 self-propelled howitzer. Its 155mm caliber canon, as well the improvements in communications and data transfers have put the portuguese artillery up to the level of allied forces [click to enlarge].

Pedro Monteiro

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