The Segovia Artillery Academy has brought the 2025-2026 academic year to a close with a closing ceremony in which certificates of study and Honorary Segovian titles were awarded to the 52 ensign students of the 314th graduating class.
The event took place in the Order Courtyard of the center, located in the old Convent of San Francisco, coinciding with the commemoration of the 262nd anniversary of the Academy's creation, and brought together civil, military, and academic authorities, as well as the families of the new officers.
The ceremony was presided over by Brigadier General Rafael de Felipe Barahona, Deputy Director of Training of the Training and Doctrine Command, accompanied by the Colonel Director of the Artillery Academy, Antonio Jesús Miró Bujosa. The latter replaced General de Felipe himself a few months ago in the directorship, when he still held the rank of colonel.
Among the civilian representatives, the presence of the mayor of Segovia, José Mazarías, along with several members of the municipal corporation, stood out. Representatives from the Niebla City Council (Huelva) also attended, a town twinned with the Academy for over forty years as it is recognized as the place where gunpowder was first used for warfare in the Iberian Peninsula, in the 13th century.
During the ceremony, various distinctions were awarded to both faculty and students. The first was the Comandante Huelin Prize, created in 2009 to annually recognize the professor who best embodies moral, military, technical, and teaching values throughout the course.
This award commemorates an Academy professor who died in a helicopter accident in 1969 and consists of a replica of the statue of Minerva, the goddess of wisdom, with a shield at the Academy's feet. On this occasion, the recognition went to Sergeant First Class Pousada.
Following this, the Companionship Award was presented, organized by the Conde de Gazola Association, made up of former students of the Royal Artillery College of Segovia.
This award highlights the virtue of camaraderie as a driving force for generous and selfless dedication in favor of a comrade, and is awarded to the ensign student of the officer corps chosen by their own comrades. The badge is a reproduction of a cadet from 1844. In this year's edition, it has been awarded to Ensign Student Cervantes and was presented by the president of the association, Lieutenant General José Miguel de los Santos Granados.
The Segovian councilor, José Mazarías, then presented a specific recognition to Ensign Student López Henche, who has obtained the highest grades in the course. Furthermore, the mayor presented the Spanish flag which, on the occasion of the feast of Santa Bárbara, patron saint of Artillery, had remained in the niche of the Virgen del Acueducto of Segovia, before addressing those present with words in which he highlighted the historic link between the city and the Academy.
This relationship is materialized each year through the granting of the title of Honorary Segovian, which the City Council confers upon students who complete their training at the center.
The 52 ensigns received this title from the mayor and councilors, while the military authorities were responsible for presenting the study certificates. In his speech after the awarding of diplomas, Colonel Director Miró emphasized that the connection between the Academy and Segovia extends to almost three centuries of common history, forged by generations of military personnel who found in the city "training, friendship, and a way of understanding service to the homeland."
Humility and professional future of the new officers
The director highlighted the profile with which the newly graduated officers leave the Academy, because "they leave confident, proud, and with sufficient training to begin making decisions from the moment they join their units," he stated, while also emphasizing "humility as an indispensable quality of military command."
The 52 ensigns will receive their Royal Orders in the General Military Academy of Zaragoza next July and, from then on, will join different assignments in units of the Army.
The day concluded with a tribute to those who fell for Spain, the performance of the artillerymen's anthem, and the parade of the student unit before the authority who presided over the ceremony.