General Military Academy

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General Military Academy
Coat of Arms of the General Military Academy
Active	1882–1931, 1940–present
Country	Spain
Allegiance	Spain
Branch	Spanish Army
Type	Training
Role	Basic training of future officials of the Army and of the Civil Guard
Website	General Military Academy
Commanders
Director	Jerónimo de Gregorio y Monmeneu

The General Military Academy (in Spanish: Academia General Militar) is a higher training center of the Spanish Army, responsible for the initial training for officers of the Arms and Corps of the Army, and for the officers of the Civil Guard. It is currently located in Zaragoza.

History

First era

The General Military Academy was founded under the

The Academy was dissolved on February 8th, 1893 by the then Minister of War, General López Domínguez. From then on the Armed Forces and Corps had their own separate training centers.[2]

Second era

In 1927, during the reign of Alfonso XIII, and under the

After the Second Republic was established and the military reforms were applied in June 1931 by the provisional Ministry of War, the center was closed. Azaña didn't trust the instructions provided at the center and believed its budget was huge in a moment in which military spending was trying to be cut.^[5] Conservative, anti-republican officials, thought the closure of the Academy was an attack to the very spirit of the Army, since the Academy was the only place in Spain in which soldiers of all kinds studied together.^[6] Franco was devastated, and after the end of the Civil War he restored the institution.^[7] However, he obeyed Azaña's commands at the time and closed the Academy.

Third era

After the end of the

The academic program consists of a structured core of subjects depending on the cadet's chosen specialty as a future Army officer, balanced between the arts and sciences. For Civil Guard cadets, additional training is focused on their law enforcement role. Regardless of major, all cadets graduate with a Bachelor of Science degree with assistance from the Central Defense University and the University of Zaragoza.

Undergraduate program - military

As all cadets are commissioned as lieutenants upon graduation, military and leadership education is nested with academic instruction. Military training and discipline fall under the purview of the Office of the Commandant of Cadets. Entering freshmen, or 4th class cadets, are referred to as New Cadets, and enter the academy on Reception Day (in September) to start off their military service training as future officers and are recognized as full cadets in a ceremony in January the following year, where they make their pledge to the National Colour and receive ceremonial daggers. The 2nd, 3rd, and 4th years of study as cadets and their final year as commissioned second lieutenants, aside from the usual academic work in military and civil subjects, also involve specialty training in the combat arms of the Army in their respective combat training schools, and for the Civil Guard, alongside military instruction its cadets receive speciality training within its own institutions for law enforcement training in various specialties suited for potential graduates.

References