Admiral General Antonio Piñeiro Sánchez was sworn in as Chief of Staff of the Spanish Navy.

This morning, Admiral General Antonio Piñeiro Sánchez has been sworn in as the new Chief of Staff of the Spanish Navy (AJEMA) in a ceremony held at the Navy Headquarters and presided over by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles.

The ceremony began with the reading of the Royal Decree whereby Admiral General Antonio Piñeiro was appointed AJEMA. Afterwards, and after the Minister of Defense pronounced the inauguration formula, Admiral General Piñeiro was sworn in and received the baton from the Minister, an emblem that symbolizes the exercise of his command.

Subsequently, Admiral General Piñeiro began his speech with a poignant memory of his predecessor in office, the late Admiral General Antonio Martorell Lacave. He also thanked the Minister for the confidence placed in him to command the Spanish Navy. Likewise, during his speech he pointed out that: ‘my intention at this moment is to continue the unfinished work, started by my predecessor, Admiral Martorell, focusing on his motto: to improve the present and prepare for the future, looking for the agility to efficiently take advantage of the resources that the Government has put at our disposal, and exploiting the synergies that can be achieved in the joint field’.

For her part, the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles ‘thanked those 2,900 men and women who are currently deployed, representing Spain and serving in the Navy’, and then stressed that ‘we have a Navy of which we can be very proud’.

Robles, when addressing the AJEMA, pointed out that ‘you are receiving a Navy that is an example in the world and that has the support of the Government and the commitment of the Ministry of Defense to have a country’s Armed Forces that are a model within the EU and NATO’.

The ceremony concluded with the singing of the Navy's anthem.