Today is a glorious day for the Homeland, for our Military Forces.
The soldiers of land, sea, air and river of Colombia, gathered this morning around our flag to renew their oath of loyalty to the Constitution, the Law and the principles of our armed institution.
Colombians will hear this morning the cry of hundreds of thousands of soldiers, as a single voice that will rise up through the skies of Colombia to say “Yes, I swear!”
The phrase “Yes, I swear!” will be the renewal of a sacred commitment of each soldier to the people of Colombia, to whom he deserves all loyalty.
The Yes, I swear! will be the felt commitment of each soldier with his honor, with his uniform, with our armed Institution, a commitment he cannot disappoint.
As Minister of Defense, I ask each soldier to pronounce that "Yes, I swear" in defense of legality and ethics. It must be pronounced from his heart, to make it his way of life, to live it every day.
That allegiance to the Constitution, the Law and the principles of the institution, becomes a non-tradable virtue within the institution. Something that nobody, nobody!, Can put a price on.
If you, dear soldiers, continue to do so, you will not only be elevating the honor of our Military Forces, but your own lives.
If you continue to do so, you will be the pride of the Homeland, of your families, and it will be the best legacy for your children.
I want this crusade for the respect for the Law within the military institution to be a permanent operation. It is introduced by the General Command of the Military Forces today to Colombians to strengthen the culture of Integrity transparency in their ranks.
Dear soldiers and officers: The Military Forces must ALWAYS be an institution without any blemish. They must be respectful of the Constitution, the Law, and ethics and respectful of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law and military honor.
I say that they should ALWAYS be neat, and I highlight that they must be neater today than ever, because our institution is threatened and you are called to defend our institution today.
To carry out this enormous task we need all the legitimacy and it derives of the respect that we earn of the Colombian people, through transparency.
This renewal of the oath of commitment is framed within the guidelines established in the manuals and codes of ethics of the Institution, which has always promoted a philosophy of rectitude and good behavior of the military and non-military members, for the implementation and transversal deployment in all administrative, logistical and operational processes.
This request is for all the soldiers, so they get involved in this crusade for the respect of the law, it is in the same way accompanied by institutional decisions that go in the same direction and I want to highlight one from the General Command of the Military Forces and that the people must know:
The position of Delegate Inspector for Intelligence and Counterintelligence is created in each of the Branches, with the specific mission of inspecting in a specialized way, the Intelligence and Counterintelligence processes, guaranteeing the faithful fulfillment of the mission, the Constitution, the Law of Intelligence and its regulatory decrees.
Source: Sectorial Communication - Ministry of National Defense
