2011 Chilean Military Parade
| 2011 Chilean Military Parade | |
|---|---|
| Date | 19 September 2011 |
| Venue | O'Higgins Park |
| Locations | Santiago, Chile |
| Country | Chile |
| Participants | 8,039 military and police personnel |
The 2011 Chilean Military Parade was held at O'Higgins Park in Santiago on 19 September 2011 to commemorate the Day of the Glories of the Army.
Presided over by President Sebastián Piñera, the military parade involved more than 8,000 personnel from the Chilean Armed Forces and Carabineros de Chile. A pre-parade figure of 8,039 participants was reported by contemporary sources.[1][2][3]
The edition was organized as an austere parade emphasizing military personnel and their capabilities rather than a large display of equipment. It also marked the first participation of a combined formation of the Army's Mountain Aid and Rescue Patrols (Patrullas de Auxilio y Rescate en Montaña, PARME) and included personnel from the Chilean–Argentine Cruz del Sur peacekeeping force.[4][2][1]
The parade took place shortly after the CASA C-212 accident at Juan Fernández, in which 21 people were killed. Air Force personnel participated wearing black mourning insignia, while personnel from Aviation Group No. 8, the unit to which the aircraft belonged, did not participate.[5][2]
Background
[edit]The annual military parade is held on 19 September as the principal ceremony commemorating the Day of the Glories of the Army. The 2011 edition was the second presided over by Piñera during his first presidency.[6]
Major General Antonio Cordero Kehr, commander of the presenting forces, announced before the event that the parade would place greater emphasis on the personnel, capabilities and professionalism of the armed forces than on military equipment. The approach resulted in a comparatively reduced display of heavy matériel.[4][2][7]
The ceremony occurred 17 days after a Chilean Air Force CASA C-212 Aviocar crashed near the Juan Fernández Islands on 2 September. Organizers decided not to hold a separate commemorative act during the parade, although the Air Force incorporated mourning symbols into its presentation.[4][2][5]
Parade
[edit]Piñera arrived at the O'Higgins Park ellipse shortly before 15:00 local time aboard the presidential Ford Galaxie, accompanied by Defence Minister Andrés Allamand. He reviewed the academies of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Carabineros before proceeding to the official tribune.[6][8]
The commanders-in-chief of the Army, Navy and Air Force—General Juan Miguel Fuente-Alba, Admiral Edmundo González and General Jorge Rojas—and Carabineros director general Gustavo González Jure attended the ceremony.[6]
Piñera received the traditional chicha en cacho from members of the Club de Huasos Gil Letelier, followed by a folkloric presentation. Major General Antonio Cordero Kehr then requested presidential authorization to begin the march-past.[6][1]
The Military School opened the march-past to the Radetzky March, leading the echelon of the service academies. It was followed by the Navy, Air Force and Carabineros formations, with the Army forming the final institutional echelon.[1][4][3]
Contemporary advance reports placed the planned strength of the parade at 8,039 personnel, including 3,657 Army personnel, 1,485 Navy personnel, 1,337 Air Force personnel and 1,560 Carabineros. The Army's final account confirmed more than 8,000 participants and 3,657 personnel in its own echelon.[2][1]
Air Force and Carabineros
[edit]The Air Force participated in the ceremony while mourning the victims of the Juan Fernández accident. Personnel marched with black mourning insignia, while members of Aviation Group No. 8 did not participate.[5][2]
The aerial presentation included F-16 aircraft.[7] The Air Force had been scheduled to field 1,337 personnel.[2]
Carabineros fielded approximately 1,560 personnel. Its presentation included training establishments, border personnel, motorcycle units and mounted formations.[2][8]
Army contingent
[edit]The Army echelon comprised 3,657 personnel and was commanded by Brigadier General Víctor Arriagada, commander of the Lautaro Special Operations Brigade.[1][3]
For the first time, the Army presented a combined formation of its Mountain Aid and Rescue Patrols. The formation comprised personnel from the 2nd Cazadores Armoured Brigade, 8th Tucapel Infantry Regiment, 16th Talca Infantry Regiment and 3rd Yungay Reinforced Regiment.[1][4][9]
The patrols had been trained for search and rescue operations in mountainous areas and for providing assistance during emergencies in coordination with regional authorities. Personnel of the Tucapel Regiment were specifically recognized for their work during severe winter conditions in the Lonquimay area of the Araucanía Region.[9]
The Army also presented a historical echelon illustrating different periods of its institutional history. It included historical infantry formations representing the independence period, the War of the Pacific and the period of Prussian influence on the Chilean Army.[1][2]
The historical formations were followed by the Army NCO School, the 3rd Yungay Reinforced Regiment and the Pelantaru Parachute Battalion of the Lautaro Special Operations Brigade.[1][10]
Army Aviation participated with Cougar, Super Puma and Puma helicopters.[4][10][11]
Other Army formations included personnel from the Infantry School, the 1st Buin Infantry Regiment, 2nd Maipo Infantry Regiment and 1st Tacna Artillery Regiment.[1][11]
The mounted echelon included the 1st Granaderos Armoured Cavalry Regiment, which served as the presidential escort and Army presentation unit, together with a historical Krupp artillery battery of the Tacna Regiment.[1][4][8]
Cruz del Sur peacekeeping force
[edit]Approximately 70 Chilean and Argentine personnel from the Combined Joint Peace Force Cruz del Sur participated in the parade. The binational force had recently entered the United Nations standby system for possible deployment in international peacekeeping operations.[2][1]
The Argentine contingent marched with Chilean personnel and included standard-bearers representing the branches of the Argentine Armed Forces.[4][11]
Foreign guests
[edit]The parade was attended by senior foreign military and civilian officials. Army representatives included Lieutenant General Luis Alberto Pozzi of Argentina, Major General Denis Membreño of Nicaragua, Major General Adalberto Garcete of Paraguay and General Jorge W. Rosales of Uruguay.[1][3]
Other foreign guests included Argentine defence minister Arturo Puricelli, Argentine planning minister Julio de Vido, United States under secretary of the army Joseph W. Westphal and Brazilian Army brigadier general Luis Felipe Carbonell.[1][4][2]
The parade lasted approximately two hours and twenty minutes and concluded with the mounted Army formations.[10][8]
References
[edit]- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 "Gran Parada Militar 2011" (in Spanish). Chilean Army. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 UPI (14 September 2011). "Ejército aseguró que la Parada Militar "será austera y basada en el personal"". La Tercera (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 Agencia UPI (19 September 2011). "Día de las Glorias del Ejército: Presidente Piñera encabeza Gran Parada Militar 2011". BioBioChile (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Jefe de las Fuerzas da a conocer programa de la Gran Parada Militar 2011" (in Spanish). Chilean Army. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "La Parada Militar a través de la historia: Datos y sucesos inéditos de esta tradición dieciochera" (in Spanish). Government of Chile. 17 September 2025. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "Piñera encabeza la Gran Parada Militar en la elipse del Parque O'Higgins". Emol (in Spanish). 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 "Ministra Matthei califica de "perfecta" Parada Militar 2011" (in Spanish). Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare of Chile. 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 "¡Misión cumplida, señor Presidente...!". La Cuarta (in Spanish). 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 Martínez, Carlos (19 September 2011). "Durante Parada Militar en RM hacen reconocimiento especial a Regimiento Tucapel de Temuco". BioBioChile (in Spanish). Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Más de ocho mil efectivos de las FFAA se lucieron en la Parada Militar 2011". Puranoticia (in Spanish). 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Presidente Piñera: "Ha sido una Parada Militar impecable como corresponde a nuestras FFAA"". La Tercera (in Spanish). 19 September 2011. Retrieved 19 September 2026.
