The revelry still reverberates in the memory of everyone who attended the graduation ceremony on Oudenaarde's market square at the end of August 2023. A splendid military ceremony in a public place, accessible to everyone, this shows the close kinship between the Royal Military Academy and the town of Oudenaarde. This is not surprising, as the partnership between Oudenaarde and the RMA celebrates its 10th anniversary this year, a tin wedding!
On 14 March 2014, Mayor Marnic De Meulemeester and at the time RMA school commander, Major General Harry Vindevogel, signed the charter of partnership. Since then, Oudenaarde has been the only Flemish city, alongside the Walloon town of Dinant, to officially call itself a ‘twin town’. Naturally, this had to be celebrated.
On 7 March 2024, an official ceremony was organised in the magnificent, historic ‘Volkszaal’ in Oudenaarde's Old Town Hall, in the presence of, among others, Mayor Marnic De Meulemeester, retired Major General Harry Vindevogel and, of course, our current school commander, Rear Admiral Yves Dupont. Lieutenant-colonel Tom Simoens, lecturer at the RMA History Chair, opened the ceremony with a lecture on the comparison of military aspects between WWI and the war in Ukraine. Followed by speeches from the parties involved and an official signing of the anniversary act. Joy reigned, supported by a dash of music and the words "Long live Oudenaarde, long live the RMA!".
Photos: Guy Tratsaert
