(L-R) Yuriko Backes, Luxembourg's Minister of Defence; soldier Kleiton Goncalves Dos Santos;
Credit: © Armée Luxembourgeoise
On Friday 12 September 2025, the Luxembourg Army held the 206th solemn oath ceremony for recruits at the National Strike Monument in Wiltz, in the presence of Luxembourg's Minister of Defence, Yuriko Backes, General Steve Thull, Luxembourg's Chief of Defence, Colonel Alain Schoeben, Commander of the Armed Forces, Carole Weigel, Mayor of Wiltz, as well as members of the Army.
During the ceremony, 47 volunteer soldiers took the oath after successfully completing four months of basic training. They pledged obedience to the Constitution, the laws of the State, military regulations, and loyalty to the Grand Duke and to faithfully serve the Crown and flag in the performance of their military service.
The soldiers will next follow advanced and then specialised individual training, in order to best prepare them for deployment across different units, always with the aim of creating robust, more operational and available troops.
The “oath” ceremony reflects the “esprit de corps” of the Luxembourg Army. Faithful to tradition, recipients received the “fourragère”, symbolising the conversion of recruits into full-fledged soldiers. Furthermore, five recruits were rewarded for their "excellent" performance during their basic training, namely soldiers Kleiton Goncalves Dos Santos (1st ranked), David Da Silva Ferreira (2nd ranked), Joé Pistola (3rd ranked), Emanuel Viana Ramoa Da Silva (best marksman) and Rafael Millim (best athlete).
The recognition medal for missions abroad was conferred by Grand Ducal decree, on the proposal of the Defence Minister, to soldiers or other persons of Luxembourgish or foreign nationality who have participated in a military mission. The Luxembourg Army described this distinction as an integral part of a nation's military traditions that is awarded in recognition of professional merits during such missions. A total of 33 Luxembourg soldiers and seven foreign soldiers from Germany, Belgium and France received medals at the ceremony.
“Investing in defence is not an end in itself. We have plans to defend the Euro-Atlantic area. We know what we need for that. These are the equipment we must buy, the infrastructure we must build. But above all, it is personnel we must recruit, train and prepare. It is all of you, who commit yourselves every day to our defence,” said Minister Backes in her speech.
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