Interview with a cadet of the AGM

In this post we bring you another interview from our Discord channel. In this case, with a colleague from the AGM, we hope you enjoy it.

1- Why did you decide to enter the AGM? What was your average grade in high school? What do you consider the minimum grade needed to get in?

First of all, I wanted to be a soldier because I had been interested in the military since I was a child. I watched many documentaries about the armed forces and became very interested, plus I have many relatives in the armed forces (FAS). But besides vocation, there is also the part that, in addition to doing what I like, I wanted to help, and I believe that the best way to help is this.

I got an 8.88 average in high school. To be sure of getting in, you always have to aim for a 10, but a 9 is very good.

2- How did you prepare for the entrance? Are they very strict in the medical access tests, specifically regarding vision?

I’m not sure whether you mean physical or academic preparation. Physically, I have always been fairly fit, I used to ride my bike a lot, swam a lot, and in the Physical Education exams of the Cooper test, I did quite well. In high school, I would go out running to train for the 1 km and in the end, I found it quite easy. With studies, in high school, I really focused and got good grades, in the university entrance exam I got very good grades in the subjects that count like math and Physics.

The Army is not at all strict about eyesight. The Air Force is stricter and carries out a lot of tests.

3- How was your first month at the AGM? Was the adaptation phase very tough?

It was part of the adaptation phase, I was always very tired, but little by little I got used to it because that's what it's for. But I liked it a lot since there you start getting to know your classmates and your soon-to-be best friends.

The adaptation phase was tough as we come from a very different way of living, you go from summer vacation to being constantly exhausted and sleeping very few hours. I believe this phase is essential because if someone can't handle it, I can tell you that this is not your place, people always leave sooner or later and that is good for those who narrowly missed out on a place.

4- What studies are pursued at the AGM? Is everything stated in the curriculum really done?

Army cadets study Industrial Engineering subjects, while Civil Guard cadets study Security Engineering subjects. These are from the University of Zaragoza, but we also take the respective military subjects, topography, land weapons systems, etc.

Yes, in my case we do. I don’t know whether more or fewer subjects were taught in other years.

5- What is the schedule for classes like and what is done in the afternoon besides studying?

The timetable is like that of a regular university, with its respective breaks and all that. In the afternoon, it's not just about studying during the mandatory hours, but if you want to do well, it's important to study more. In the afternoon, sometimes we do close-order drill, small surprise maneuvers, sports, etc.

6- What is a day like at the AGM?

In the morning, reveille is followed by formation and inspection by the lieutenants. Then we have breakfast and go straight to class. We have common areas that only cadets can access to hang out, we have our time for sports, study, and some other things that the commanders make us do. We also take turns with night watches and academy guard duties alongside the military police at the access gates and that. And then dinner and off to bed.

7- What maneuvers do you perform?

I'm going to tell you more or less what we have done in the maneuvers I had these past 2 weeks. We have "fired" with the tr90, which is the copy of the c90 but for training, fired with an electric cartridge. We have done urban combat in the facilities that were built recently, we have marched a lot, we have gone to the shooting range, also to the simulation range, we have practised land navigation and combat drills...

8- How is the AGM in this COVID cycle?

Now it's much better, you can invite your family to the events with the invitations they give you. But at the beginning, it was the worst that not even my family could attend my oath-to-the-flag ceremony, although thanks to YouTube they watched it live there.

9- What advice would you give to those who want to join the AGM?

Study and keep studying: the easiest way in is to get good grades in high school. And, of course, prepare physically as well. I was lucky that my parents supported me a lot, and I was very motivated to keep studying, as the hard part is finding motivation. The first years are the toughest because that's when you study the most, but the last ones are the practical ones and the ones that are really cool.

If you want to enter the Military Academies for Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers (both in the Direct Access mode and in Access by Promotion), check sermilitar.com for the material available to prepare for entry, or visit the online store compra.sermilitar.com

Tactical material at sermilitar.store