PRESENTATION CEREMONY FOR THE 30TH ARMY MAGAZINE AWARDS.

“Military Spirit in the 21st Century”, by General Quero; “The King of Effects is Naked. Philosophy and Crisis of the Effects based Operations Concept., by Lieutenant Colonel Silvela; and “Is it possible to undertake an authentic transformation in our Armed Forces with the Available Resources?”, by General Guinea, have been the three award-winning articles at the 30th Army Magazine Awards ceremony, respectively with first, second and third prize. The presentation ceremony has taken place today, 10th June, at Army Headquarters in Madrid.

The presidency of the ceremony and the awards presentation have been presided by the Chief of the Army Staff, Army General Coll. He has presented the second prize to Colonel Silvela, who has been entrusted with receiving it on behalf of his son, who is at present on tour of duty in Lebanon. The Chief of the Army Staff has described this celebration as “a great day” on which “excellence, courage and loyalty” are highlighted. He conveyed his congratulations “to those who have achieved such a well deserved award” and remembered all those who made possible “this platform of excellence where civilians and servicepersons may express their ideas”, in reference to the magazine, its Editorial Board and Editorial Staff.

On behalf of the winners, General Quero has underlined in his address that the three award-winning works deal with morale: “It proves to be satisfactory and encouraging that the topics chosen by the authors and awarded by the panel of judges are related with spirit and morale order, the essence of the military service”. He also confirmed the high value that the Army Magazine awards have always had for Spanish military thought.

For his part, the director of Army Magazine, General Armada, has taken advantage of his address to assess the 70 year existence of the publication, whose anniversary was celebrated in the month of February. In final assessment, the general has pointed out the fact that the magazine be “the faithful reflection of the Institution at each moment and a privileged platform for all our fellow soldiers”. He also noted as being characteristic of Army Magazine “the absolute lack of censure” and “the boost that had been given to liberalisation and plurality”.
 

The publication has civilian and military collaborators, both Spanish and foreign. During 2009, on its pages special attention has been paid to the problem of international terrorism and the conflict in Afghanistan, without omitting matters such as the action of Spanish forces abroad, NATO, the EU and asymmetric conflicts, among others. Moreover, according to General Armada, “the magazine is a direct Army Command instrument: it serves the Army to gauge its subordinates and as an additional manner to know their concerns and thoughts; and also to disseminate ideas that inspire their decisions, mark objectives and motivate overall action”.