Their new sixteen colleagues in the ranks of the Air Force personnel, along with nearly two hundred other graduates of the Brno faculties of the University of Defence, will be greeted on Thursday, July 31, by military aircraft pilots flying over Freedom Square in Brno during the graduation ceremony. Shortly after the event begins at half past eight, and after greetings from the rector-commandant Brigadier General Jan Farlík and the 1st Deputy Minister of Defence František Šulc, combat helicopters will fly over the assembled units. The roar of the jet engines of Gripen aircraft will then resonate over the square during the final march. This year, a total of 220 successful graduates from the University of Defence are leaving for units, of whom 193 studied at the Brno faculties. It is these graduates who will be ceremonially commissioned on Thursday, July 31, as part of a ceremony traditionally held in the central square of the university’s seat city — Brno’s Freedom Square. The core of the ceremony is the commissioning of the graduates by the best student of the Faculty of Military Leadership — Lieutenant Kryštof Harant. For the first time in his function this year, the rector-commandant of the University of Defence, Brigadier General Jan Farlík, will place the university insignia in the form of a sword on his shoulder.
Honored guests will attend the ceremonial commissioning of the graduates of the only military university in the Czech Republic — 1st Deputy Minister of Defence František Šulc, 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Army Lieutenant General Miroslav Hlaváč, and the State Secretary in the Ministry of Defence, represented by Dr. Jaroslav Daněk. The ceremony will also be attended by, among others, the Chairman of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security Committee of the Senate of the Parliament of the Czech Republic Pavel Fischer, member of this Senate committee Jana Mračková-Vildumetzová, Chairman of the Defence Committee of the Chamber of Deputies Lubomír Metnar, and a foreign guest — Rector of the General Milan Rastislav Štefánik Armed Forces Academy in Liptovský Mikuláš Brigadier General Aurel Sabó.
Among the graduates of the Faculty of Military Leadership, the most represented specializations are Military Logistics and Commander of Mechanized and Tank Units. At the sister Faculty of Military Technology, these are Military Pilot, Cybersecurity, and Combat and Special Vehicles.
The ceremony will begin with the report of the parade commander to the 1st Deputy Minister of Defence. Then three Mi-171 helicopters will fly over Freedom Square. After the opening speeches of the 1st Deputy Minister of Defence, the 1st Deputy Chief of the General Staff, and the rector-commander of the University of Defence, the symbolic act of commissioning the graduates will take place through the best graduate of the Faculty of Military Leadership, Lieutenant Ing. Kryštof Harant. During the final ceremonial march, JAS 39 Gripen fighter jets will fly over the units. This year, the ceremony will culminate, as tradition dictates, with the graduates throwing their caps into the air as a symbolic conclusion of their studies.
In the afternoon and evening hours, a second ceremonial moment connected with the end of studies will follow, this time in an academic spirit. A total of five graduation sessions will take place in the FEKT VUT auditorium under Palacký Hill.
Author: Viktor Sliva, photos: author and illustrative archival footage from 2024
