Throne Day: HM the King Chairs in Tetouan Oath-taking Ceremony of Graduate Officers of Major Military and Paramilitary Schools

HM King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces (FAR), accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and HRH Prince Moulay Rachid, chaired, Monday afternoon at the Mechouar Square in the Royal Palace of Tetouan, on the occasion of the celebration of the 24th anniversary of the Sovereign’s accession to the Throne of His glorious Ancestors, the oath-taking ceremony of officers from the classes of 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023, who graduated from various military and paramilitary institutes and schools, and officers who were promoted.

HM the King, may God assist Him, has named these classes « Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem ».

After saluting the national flag as the national anthem was playing, the Sovereign delivered the following address:

« Praise be to God,

May peace and blessings be upon the Prophet, His Kith and Kin

Honorable Officers,

The conditions imposed by the pandemic prevented me from receiving previous groups of graduates from military, security and territorial institutions.

Today, it is my pleasure to receive you for this oath-taking ceremony, in my capacity as the Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces.

I am all the more satisfied as you have been provided with modern instruction and in-service training that are worthy of the dedication, mobilization, vigilance and commitment to national duty which characterize our Armed Forces.

I have decided to name the four Groups of Graduates for the years 2020-2023 after Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, given the special esteem in which I and the loyal Moroccan people hold Her Royal Highness. It is also in recognition of all that Her Royal Highness has been doing to promote social benefits for the members of the Royal Armed Forces as well as her action to serve women and children.

I therefore invite you to shoulder your responsibilities as best you can, and to show integrity, discipline, as well as sincere, unflinching patriotism, thus remaining loyal to your everlasting motto: God, the Homeland, the King.

Wassalamu alaikum warahmatullah wabarakatuh. »

Following the oath-taking ceremony, HM the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan and HRH Prince Moulay Rachid, reviewed the various detachments of the graduated officers.

The sworn-in classes include officers from major military schools. They are:

– The Royal Military Academy

– The Air Royal School

– The Royal Naval School.

– The Royal School of Military Health Services

Added to them, Special Corps officers and newly-promoted officers from the ranks of the Royal Armed Forces, the Royal Gendarmerie and the Auxiliary Forces.

In addition to the graduates of active officer training schools, there are reserve officers from major paramilitary schools, graduates of the following schools and institutes:.

– The Mohammedia School of Engineers

– The Royal Institute of Territorial Administration of the Ministry of the Interior

– The Royal Institute of Police

– The National School of Forest Engineers

– The Customs Training Center

Afterwards, HM the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of FAR, promoted several chief officers to the ranks of General and Colonel-major, and authorized the dissemination of the promotion board of FAR staff for the year 2023.

This Royal gesture reflects the high concern of His Majesty the King, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of FAR, and the special and permanent attention with which the Sovereign continues to surround the family of the Royal Armed Forces.

HM the King had received, on July 29 in Tetouan, Lieutenant General Mohamed Berrid, Inspector General of FAR and Commander of the Southern Zone, chairman of FAR Advancement Commission, who submitted to the High Royal Appreciation the conclusions and results of the advancement work of the officer and non-officer personnel of the Royal Armed Forces.

During this audience, the chairman of the Advancement Commission expressed to HM the King the deep gratitude and great pride of the members of the Commission for the marks of concern and the High Guidelines and Royal Instructions, which inspired and led the work of the said Advancement Commission, during all its phases.

The conclusions of the commission and the progress table received the High approval of HM the King who gave His High Instructions so that His Congratulations be transmitted to the newly promoted, encouraging all the personnel of FAR to persevere in the accomplishment of the noble mission assigned to them, faithful in this to the sacred motto: « God – The Homeland – The King ».

The Oath-taking ceremony took place in the presence of the Head of Government, the speakers of the two Houses of Parliament, HM the King’s advisors, members of the government, senior officers of the General Staff of FAR, foreign military attachés accredited in Rabat, as well as other civil and military personalities.