Lieutenant General Alejandro Escámez Fernández is no longer the Chief General of the Canary Islands Command, he is no longer our Captain General. The Council of Ministers on the 18th has dismissed him from his post to immediately appoint him Second Chief of Staff of the Army (2nd JEME). He was one day short of having been captain general of the Canary Islands for a year, because he was appointed as such, while still a division general, on October 19, 2021.
The inauguration took place 10 days later in an internal act because the pandemic was pressing. I cannot speak for him but I am convinced that he has accepted that fate out of obedience. Pedro Calderón de la Barca said it in his famous verses: «Here the most important feat is to obey and the way it has to be is neither asking nor refusing». I can assure you that she has not asked for it, it was a decision by the Minister of Defense in the reorganization of the command leadership of the Army, a reorganization forced by the transfer to the reserve of Lieutenant General Carlos Palacios Zaforteza, curiously also his predecessor here in the Canary Islands. He hasn’t refused it either, and knowing General Escámez’s personality I can confirm that next Thursday he will be in his office at the Palacio de Buenavista putting all his enthusiasm into his new and exciting duties.
I was going to write that an exceptional record of service endorses him, but I am deleting the adjective because in these last generations of high-ranking militia officers their records seem to be cloned: all of them have taken countless national and foreign courses, all of them master several languages, all of them have participated in missions abroad and everyone has a multitude of decorations, it is difficult to find exceptions.
General Escámez began his military career on the island as a lieutenant in the Tenerife Infantry Regiment Number 49 back in 1985. Perhaps he could have finished it here, but there is no doubt that the change has been for the better.
Despite the fact that his command has covered, apart from our archipelago, the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla, which has forced him to travel frequently, since he arrived he has carried out a great activity of integrating the armed forces into civil society. To this end, it established that once a month a flag-raising be carried out in Weyler Square, just in front of the Palace of the Captaincy, to which entities and institutions are invited to participate, and after the act they are taken to a Guided visit to the jewel that houses the palace, its Throne Room.
I had the honor of being present at one of them, as a member of the Real Casino, and it was unforgettable. He also opened the doors of buildings and military installations so that they could be visited by citizens. Very recently, at his request, as the end of the National Holiday of Spain, a massive swearing-in of the flag was held for civil personnel in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, which resulted in an act of patriotic exaltation on the part of chicharrera society.
The two concerts by the Music Unit of the Canary Islands Command, which were held for this reason at the Real Casino and theater Guimerá were a good example of the union between citizens and their armed forces, just what General Escámez has intended.
I cannot ignore the consideration, respect and affection that he has shown to that group of retired soldiers, to which I am honored to belong, which is known by the peculiar name of the used club. Whenever his obligations have allowed him, he has attended, integrating himself as one more, in the monthly meals that have been celebrated during his stay with us.
General Alejandro Gonzalo Escámez Fernández, for that is his full name, has been with us for very little time, but it has been more than enough to learn about his commanding ability, his chivalry and his good work, which he has not done more than keep the prestige of the institution it represents very high.
