Yesterday, the Spanish Ejército de Tierra (literally, “Land Army”) made an attempt to recruit new personnel in Felanitx.

I suppose that with La Crisis we confront a new situation in Spain’s labour market. Unemployment has risen to numbers previously unheard of in Spain. The Army perhaps now senses a window opening where people may feel attracted to work for the Armed Forces that previously would not have considered such an employment.

Last month the Spanish Armed Forces reorganised its Reales Ordenanzas de las Fuerzas Armadas (something like a new code of ethics). You may have read in the papers that Spain is one of the few nations entrusting matters of Defence into the hands of a female member of Cabinet. The (Catalan) lady in question, Carme Chacón Piqueras, was pregnant at the time of being sworn in to her new office; a baby boy was born shortly after the start of her new responsibilities. A new code of conduct indeed. By the way, nine out of a total of 17 cabinet ministers in José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero‘s government are female.

Conscription was abolished a few years ago in Spain. The Spanish Armed Forces have now gone fully professional. If Wikipedia can be trusted, a total of 178,000 personnel are currently employed in the defence of Spain, with some 86,000 in the Ejército de Tierra, 11,500 in the Armada (Navy) and some 80,000 in the Ejército del Aire (Air Force).

The Regimiento de Infantería Ligera “Palma 47” is the Spanish Army’s main division in Mallorca.

The photo was was taken in Felanitx, Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The date: March 11th, 2009. The time was 10:30:58.