Over two hundred students enrolled in the five-year military study programs at the Brno-based faculties of the University of Defence have met the necessary conditions to defend their final theses and demonstrate the knowledge acquired throughout their studies by passing the State Final Examination. At the Faculty of Military Leadership, these examinations are being held from Monday, July 7, to Thursday, July 17, with 115 students appearing before the examination boards. The largest groups are from the specializations in Military Logistics (28) and Command of Mechanized and Armored Units (16).
At the Faculty of Military Technologies, the State Final Examinations took place earlier this week. Among the total of 87 candidates, the most represented specializations were Military Pilot (16), Cybersecurity (13), and Combat and Special Vehicles (12).
Students who successfully pass the final exams will experience two ceremonial milestones on the last day of July. The first is the traditional military commissioning ceremony, which has become customarily held in the heart of the university’s host city – Brno’s Freedom Square (náměstí Svobody).
The commissioning ceremony will be attended by senior representatives of the Ministry of Defence, the Czech Armed Forces, and regional administration. The Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces will be represented by First Deputy Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Miroslav Hlaváč, and the Ministry of Defence’s State Secretary will be represented by Dr. Jaroslav Daněk. Other distinguished guests include the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Security, Pavel Fischer, the Chairman of the Chamber of Deputies‘ Defence Committee, Lubomír Metnar, and an international guest – Brigadier General Aurel Sabó, Rector of the Armed Forces Academy of General Milan Rastislav Štefánik in Liptovský Mikuláš. They will observe the highlight of the ceremony from the grandstand – the symbolic commissioning of graduates, conducted by the top-performing student of the Faculty of Military Leadership. For the first time, the university insignia, represented by a ceremonial sword, will be placed on the graduate’s shoulder by Brigadier General Jan Farlík, Rector-Commander of the University of Defence.
The final part of the ceremony will feature a celebratory parade by the graduating units, during which they will be saluted by military helicopters and Gripen fighter jets in a flyover.
As in previous years, the anticipated climax of the commissioning ceremony will be the traditional tossing of caps into the air – a symbolic conclusion to the graduates’ academic journey, followed by congratulations from fellow students, family members, and friends.
In the afternoon and early evening, the second ceremonial event marking the end of studies will take place – this time in a strictly academic setting. A total of five graduation ceremonies will be held in the auditorium of the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication at Brno University of Technology, located on Palacký Hill.
Text by Viktor Sliva; photos by the author and archival images from 2024
