Squaring the circle

Brigades and reinforcements

In each phase of the cycle, activities will be carried out by two impact brigades and a reinforcement nucleus which is permanently linked to them. This reinforcement nucleus will be organised on the grounds of presence and immediate response forces. These three ‘pawns’ will be the base for the creation of the main yearly contingents. This generic cycle will not apply to combat units, combat support and combat logistical support, which are not organically part of impact brigades, permanent forces or initial entry forces, since due to their particular characteristics they have specific cycles of availability, including the combat logistics support units from the Operational Logistics Force.

The Army units will have to combine the production of troops for the area of operations with other commitments: that of maintaining permanent availability of a force package that the Chief of the Defence Staff requires to deal with two types of operations. The first type includes permanent presence and surveillance operations in the national territory and in maritime and air spaces under Spanish sovereignty and in the national interest, as well as cyber defence and collaboration and support to the civil authorities. The second type includes response operations which are triggered as a response to a crisis, both to act in the defence of Spain and beyond the national borders, working either under national command and using exclusively national means, including those of cooperative security, or in the multinational or bilateral framework with allies and partners.

This combination of units, headquarters and command elements and transferred trainers (from the Navy and the Air Force, as well as from the Army) must meet specific conditions of preparation and high availability, since they constitute the Joint Force Nuclei that are available to react immediately to any commitment or contingency.

The new availability cycle from the Army has organised the large units in three groups which are associated with the Joint Force Nuclei. In the Presence Forces group are the General Commands (of the Balearic Islands, Ceuta and Melilla), which provide units to the permanent surveillance, security and presence operations. However, they can also produce contingents for foreign operations or for national operations in response to a crisis.

In the Immediate Response and Initial Entrance Group is the 6th ‘Almogávares’ Brigade. This unit must always have a tactical battle group ready to be used wherever the Chief of the Defence Staff considers it to be necessary, particularly in regards to response operations in the national sphere.

The third group is the Impact Brigades, including the 1st, 2nd, 7th, 10th, 11th and 12th Brigades, which are fundamentally focused on response operations with partners and allies in security and defence organisations, although they contribute to both response operations at home and foreign deployments.