Military personnel and civic leaders joined together at Oxford Castle for a flag-raising ceremony.
More than 150 people met at the castle site off New Road today to take part in the ceremony ahead of Armed Forces Day, a national celebration on Saturday.
The county council is also signing a military covenant, showing its support for personnel and their families at bases around the county, including Dalton Barracks, Vauxhall Barracks, RAF Brize Norton and RAF Benson.
Soldiers from 3 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps based at Dalton Barracks in Abingdon marched into the castle site and raised the flag.
County council chairman Gill Sanders said: “Similar events are taking place up and down the country this week but so strong are Oxfordshire’s links with the military that this ceremony will no doubt have a real resonance to people throughout our county.
“This is a time for us to show our appreciation of the achievements and the sacrifices made by all those who serve, or have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces.
“This year Armed Forces Day has particular significance given we are now 100 years on from the Armistice that ended World War One and marking the 100th anniversary of the RAF.
“Service personnel and their families sacrifice a great deal to defend this country. The county council is honoured to support them in their incredibly important work.
“These men and women dedicate their careers, and sadly sometimes even their lives, to defending and promoting our ideals and we owe them a huge debt.”
Royal British Legion county chairwoman Lynda Atkins said she was delighted that six of its standard bearers took part in the ceremony.
She said: “We are part of the Armed Forces community and want to indicate our support.”
The aim of the military covenant is to encourage charities, local authorities, businesses, communities and individuals to work together with the military to offer support to service personnel and their families as well as reservists and veterans.
Oxfordshire County Council was the first local authority to pledge support and remains strongly committed to supporting the armed forces community in Oxfordshire County council leader Ian Hudspeth said 11,000 military personnel were employed across the county.
He added: “The military is part of Oxfordshire’s DNA and we want to do whatever we can to support the personnel who live and work here.
“There can be big issues regarding housing and education, as personnel move around a lot, and the covenant shows that we want to help out whenever we can.”
Wing Commander Jez Browning, from helicopter base RAF Benson, said: “The support of the county council and other local authorities is very important to us.”
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