The 10th Brigade passes the evaluation for the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force

Formation for the documentary evaluation

Between April 24th and 28th, “Cerro Muriano” exercise and firing range (Cordoba) hosted the evaluation exercise for the preparation for combat of the Armored/Mechanized Tactical Group with which Spain contributes to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF) of NATO in 2024, composed by the 10th “Guzmán del Bueno” Brigade, as generating base unit.

The main core is composed of the I/10 "Malaga" Tank Infantry Battalion -provided by the Top Brass, two Companies of tanks and the Companies of Command and Support and of Services-, while the II/10 "Almansa" Armored Cavalry Group provides a Cavalry Squadron. The Tactical Group is completed by a company of the II/2 "Lepanto" Mechanized Infantry Battalion and the personnel belonging to the liaison detachment, of the 10th Field Artillery Group.

The evaluation consists in verifying the enlistment, the degree of preparation and the verification of the degrees of availability required for the units constituting it. In this way, it is certified that they conform to the standards and requirements of NATO.

The process consisted of three phases. In the 1st Phase, of documentary evaluation, called “in barracks”, a multidisciplinary evaluation team of the 10th Brigade and with presence and monitoring of assessors belonging to the High Avilability Ground Headquarters of Valencia could check the combat vehicles, the individual equipment, the camping equipment, individual and collective armament, optics, personal documentation, operability and availability of the more than 500 soldiers and 150 vehicles of the Tactical Group.

In the 2nd Phase, of field evaluation, called “in field”, the Tactical Group was deployed in the exercise and firing range to lead a high-intensity offensive operation, under the article 5 of the North Atlantic Treaty, in order to support a member and allied country of NATO which suffered the invasion of part of its territorial integrity.

Finally, in the 3rd Phase, they proceeded to the assessment and final report of evaluation, made by the head of the group of assessors, the colonel of the Greek Army, Dimitrios Voinas, which certifies and confirms that the Tactical Group generated by the 10th Brigade is in a position to fulfill the mission it was created for.

From this moment, the Brigade is entering a three-year cycle within the VJTF; in 2023 it will be under preparation (Stand-up), in 2024 it will deal with an immediate response period (Stand-by) and in 2025 with a reservation period (Stand-down). All this will force it to maintain a very demanding degree of availability to be deployed in a very short time frame, should the situation so require, pursuant to the international commitments made by Spain.