Shared cameras, discipline and live fire exercises, what awaits Leonor at the Zaragoza Military Academy

Your classmates will have to have passed a cut-off grade of 12.2 in the EBAU and physical tests

MADRID, 19 Mar. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Life at the General Military Academy of Zaragoza - where Princess Leonor will enter the next academic year - is governed by strict rules of discipline and hierarchy that are applied on a day-to-day basis for the cadets. Shared rooms, internal regime, live fire exercises and demanding physical tests are some of the things that the eldest daughter of the Kings will experience from next August.

"The daily life of the cadet is marked by the accuracy in all the acts and the observance of the rules of discipline, hierarchy and unity, these essential characteristics to achieve the maximum efficiency of the Armed Forces".

This is how the academy for officers of the Army is presented, which will have Princess Leonor among its students next year. As announced this week by the Government, the eldest daughter of the Kings will begin her military training in August with a first year in Zaragoza, divided between the first and second years, which will be followed by another two years in the Navy and Air Force schools. .

The rules for new students are summarized in a series of "military virtues" summarized in the 'Cadet Decalogue', which brings together what are considered fundamental rules for future members of the Armed Forces.

Upon arrival at the Academy, Leonor, along with the rest of her classmates, will be assigned to the I Cadet Battalion and will meet the military commanders who will be in charge of her instruction. Then she begins a module for adaptation to military life and the students are housed in cabins with capacity for two, four or up to twelve people; they go through the hairdresser, they are given their basic military equipment and they begin with their first sessions of closed order.

Military sources have explained to Europa Press that the regime is a boarding school, with a usual program that takes place from Monday to Friday, with weekends off unless the students are on maneuvers or arrested.

In addition, the students of the educational centers of the Armed Forces are entitled to a monthly salary of around 400 euros during the first two years and 600 from the third; although the Palacio de la Zarzuela has specified that the princess will renounce it.

Although the Government and the King's House have designed a specific curriculum for the princess, an important part of military training involves her instruction "as combatants" and practices in command of small units.

For this, Leonor will have to join in activities as diverse as marches, topographical tours, shooting exercises or live fire exercises; all in both day and night environment, and with the weather conditions that exist at that time.

Physical preparation is considered one of the fundamental aspects of military training, with the aim of "creating sports habits in students and introducing them to different military sports", such as orientation, shooting patrols or military pentathlon.

In any case, Leonor's classmates will already have to have passed some strict tests before their access to the academy, mandatory and qualifying. Specifically, they will have to demonstrate their good physical condition by reaching the minimum mark in vertical jump, push-ups, speed, resistance and swimming tests.

But a previous filter will be marked by the grade obtained in the EBAU, since the Armed Forces officer academies require a high cut-off grade for access, similar to that of many engineering courses. Specifically, in the last year of the Army Academy, the cut-off grade for those who will be the first companions of the princess was 12.2. As for the Navy, the cut-off mark was 12.3 and, in the case of the Air Force, 12.7.

The students who entered the General Military Academy of Zaragoza in the last year joined on August 17. There were a total of 405 cadets who had obtained a place through the direct entry modality. And also, it was the first course that was able to recover normality after the pandemic and on the first day they had the opportunity to tour the center's facilities with their families.

Defense Minister Margarita Robles remarked that Leonor will become the first female Captain General of the three Armies. The current presence of women in the Armed Forces is 12.9 percent, rising since 1999 when the incorporation of women into the military was approved under the principle of equality "with all its consequences."

However, the percentage is higher in recent years in the military academies. In the year 2021, according to official data from the Ministry of Defense to Europa Press, the total number of women admitted increased by 6.5% compared to the previous year. In addition, in the last five years, the percentage of women who applied to participate in the selection processes went from being 11% of the total number of applicants to 19%.