© Facebook screenshot: Ludivine Dedonder
The Minister of Defense, Ludivine Dedonder, and the “boss” of the army, Admiral Michel Hofman, have wished, in an unprecedented and somewhat offbeat way, happy end-of-year celebrations to the personnel of the department, since the commando training center (CE Cdo) in Marche-les-Dames.
In a clip of one minute and 55 seconds posted on social networks, the two main leaders – political and military – of Defense end up, following separate courses, by finding themselves at a run for “Operation Christmas”, in this military field where Belgian and occasionally foreign para-commandos are trained. They take turns crossing a river on a bridge of ropes and wood before setting off, but separately, for a “death-ride”, a descent along a double cable from the rocks that overlook the Lieutenant-General Roman district of Marche-les-Dames.
Ms. Dedonder, wearing a helmet and dressed in a new model of military fatigues being distributed to the 25,000 soldiers of the Belgian army, takes a Christmas present on her descent, as does the Chief of Defense (Chod) , Admiral Hofman, wearer of the old battle dress “Woodland”. They meet at the end of the video at the Château d’Arenberg occupied by the CE Cdo for a “check”, before wishing, from the terrace, “happy holidays” to their staff, in French for her, in Dutch for him.
At the start of the video, the Minister dwells on the hiking boots left for her in her vehicle. Several shots of the video show both the boots of the minister, but also these famous hiking shoes. This wink is probably addressed to Theo Francken (NVA), who openly criticized the minister’s outfit during a previous public appearance. The latter did not appreciate that the minister went to work wearing sneakers. “Whether I do it with sneakers or with stilettos, what matters is the action“, replied the main interested party.