2006 Chilean Military Parade
| 2006 Chilean Military Parade | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 September 2006 |
| Venue | O'Higgins Park |
| Locations | Santiago, Chile |
| Country | Chile |
| Participants | More than 7,000 military and police personnel |
The 2006 Chilean Military Parade was held at O'Higgins Park in Santiago on 19 September 2006 to commemorate the Day of the Glories of the Army.[1]
The military parade was the first presided over by President Michelle Bachelet and involved more than 7,000 personnel from the Chilean Armed Forces and Carabineros de Chile.[2]
The ceremony was particularly marked by Bachelet and Minister of National Defence Vivianne Blanlot becoming the first two women to jointly head the event, as well as by the parade debut of ten recently acquired F-16 fighters of the Chilean Air Force.[3][4]
Background
[edit]The parade was Bachelet's first since taking office in March 2006 and was also attended by Blanlot, making it the first edition headed simultaneously by a female president and defence minister. Navy Undersecretary Carolina Echeverría and Carabineros Undersecretary Javiera Blanco were also present in the reviewing stand.[3]
More than 7,000 personnel were prepared for the ceremony, including over 1,200 from the Navy.[2] The Air Force's principal novelty was the participation of ten F-16 fighters recently incorporated into service. Six had been acquired new from the United States and four were second-hand aircraft purchased from the Netherlands.[4]
Celebrations connected with the Day of the Glories of the Army began before the main parade. Naval formations held ceremonies in Santiago, with the battalion of the Arturo Prat Naval Academy and personnel of the Naval Polytechnic Academy rendering honours to Navy commander-in-chief Admiral Rodolfo Codina.[2]
Parade
[edit]Bachelet arrived at O'Higgins Park accompanied by Blanlot. Before the march-past, the Club de Huasos Gil Letelier performed the traditional cueca and offered chicha en cacho to the authorities, later presenting the president with a crystal drinking horn. Bachelet subsequently received representatives of the Mapuche community.[2]
General Patricio Cartoni, commander of the Santiago Army garrison, formally requested presidential authorization to begin the parade. The march-past was headed by the service academies, beginning with the Military School, followed by the Arturo Prat Naval Academy, Air Force Academy and Carabineros Academy.[2][5]
The principal aerial attraction was the flypast of ten F-16 fighters.[6][7] Travelling at approximately 700 km/h, the formation crossed the O'Higgins Park ellipse in less than ten seconds. Five helicopters from Aviation Group No. 9 subsequently flew over the park and received strong applause from spectators.[4]
Female participation was also prominent in the ceremony, particularly because the reviewing stand was headed by Bachelet and Blanlot. Contemporary coverage highlighted their presence, together with the F-16 flypast, as the principal distinguishing features of the 2006 parade.[3]
The reviewing stand also included Senate president Eduardo Frei Ruiz-Tagle, Chamber of Deputies president Antonio Leal, Supreme Court president Enrique Tapia, Interior Minister Belisario Velasco and the commanders-in-chief of the armed forces and Carabineros. The parade continued for more than two hours before the final formations completed their passage through the ellipse.[2]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Parada Militar 2006". Emol (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Armada participa en Parada Militar" (in Spanish). Chilean Navy. 19 September 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Chile: Parada Militar es encabezada por primera vez por una mujer". El Mostrador (in Spanish). 21 September 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2026 – via Tiwy.com.
- 1 2 3 "Menos de 10 segundos duró la presentación de los F-16 en la Parada 2006". Cooperativa.cl (in Spanish). 19 September 2006. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ "La Parada Militar a través de la historia: datos y sucesos inéditos de esta tradición dieciochera". Gob.cl (in Spanish). Government of Chile. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ "20 años de la llegada de los primeros F-16 Block 50 a la Fuerza Aérea de Chile". TallyHo (in Spanish). 31 January 2026. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- ↑ "Los F-16 Block 50 y su aporte tecnológico para el desarrollo de la Fuerza". Fuerza Aérea de Chile (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2026.
