Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was speaking at the ceremony of handing over the swords to the new army officers, at the Military Academy, in the Amadora detachment, in Lisbon.

Speaking to the 39 new army officers, Marcelo stressed that the journey of these soldiers begins “in time of war”, which “is not just European but is a truly global war”.

“A time when everyone understands, or should understand more than ever, why the Armed Forces are so irreplaceable. To make peace, to avoid war,” he defended.

“The urgency of building peace makes the unique role of the Armed Forces increasingly evident. They are not a thing of the past, they are not a holdover from tradition, they are not a luxury of the present. They are not an expendable burden of the future,” he stressed.