Academia General Militar.

The flag of the Academia

It is one of our most precious assets; its falls treasure thousands of kisses from the Army and Civil Guard Officers who have pledged the Oath of Allegiance since 1886. That year, on the orders of Queen Maria Cristina, the Flag was handed over to the Academia General Militar, which at that time was located in the Alcázar de Toledo.

Our Flag, which is carefully safeguarded in an allocated room, was not the first flag that "la General" possessed. The original one was the so-called "the University Flag", simply because this one was the flag used by the Toledo students who stood up against the Napoleonic invasion.

The Flag of the Academia inside its glass cabinet. (Photo: AGM)

This first Flag was replaced by the current one in a moving ceremony in the Alcázar de Toledo Parade Ground, where General Blanco handed over such a precious gift to General Galbis. Then, General Blanco said the following words: "HM the Queen Regent has deigned to grant me the honorable commission of delivering in her royal name the Flag that she has dedicated to the Academia General Militar, as testimony of her great appreciation and special interest that this Institution, on which the future of the Army is mainly concentrated, deserves".

Many are the vicissitudes that the Academia General has undergone since then during the three epochs, with their ebbs and flows, until it definitely reached its current location.

The changing of the Flag bearer at the Academia Parade Ground (Photo: AGM)

This national ensign has on its canvas the original embroidered coat of arms in the center and the Borgoña cross in the background. The spear was made in damascene steel in the National Arms-Making Factory in Toledo. The date of the creation of the Academia General – February 20th, 1882 – is engraved in the upper-half of the flag. The cube represents the four cardinal virtues. The metal tip and the moharra have also been skillfully crafted. The mast is made of bamboo.

It has a large number of honorific awards given by civil and military organizations, including the representative Gold Medal of the city of Zaragoza as a symbol of the intimate relationship that links La General with this city on the banks of the Ebro River.

A cadet kisses the Flag with deep emotion. (Photo: AGM)

Beyond its intrinsic value as a national Flag is a nexus of union between all those that have joined the Army and the Civil Guard; kissing it with intense earnestness and parading beneath it in threes implies that the Mother Country receives them within its ranks with joy and enthusiasm.

“… whoever serves in this Academia and pledges the Oath of Allegiance on its flag, no matter how he tries to be a traitor, he will never succeed”. Gral. Galbis July 15th, 1886. Alcázar de Toledo Parade Ground.