Presentation of the 'Castillejos' Division Headquarters

Army Chief of Staff arrives at the Huesca Headquarters

Honor Guard

Army Chief of Staff and the Mayor of Huesca at the ceremony

On February 22, Army Chief of Staff General Francisco Javier Varela presided over the “Castillejos” Division Headquarters presentation ceremony, which was held at the “Sancho Ramírez” barracks in Huesca. 
On arrival, he was welcomed by the Division Chief, General Carlos Melero, and accompanied by the Ground Forces Chief, Lieutenant José Rodríquez, where he was greeted by an Honor Guard. He was then met by the Mayor of Huesca, Luis Felipe Serrate, Provincial Council President Miguel Gracia, Government Sub-delegate Silvia Salazar, and Territorial Delegate of the Aragón General Council Benito Ros, in addition to other civilian and military authorities.   
The ceremony consisted of a presentation about the “Castillejos” Division by General Melero followed by a few words from the Army Chief of Staff and the presentation of a gift to the Huesca City Council.
In his speech, the Army General highlighted “the synergistic effort that made the transfer of the Division´s Headquarters to Huesca possible” and thanked all the administrations for their collaboration. He also emphasized “the new role of the ‘Castillejos’ Division in the Army’s transformation process, which is fundamental contribution to the safety and defense structures of Spain´s international collaborators.” Finally, he highlighted that the Division General is also a Military Commander, which is an essential role in giving support to civilian authorities when needed. 
With this step, the Division has begun a new journey within the Army´s transformation process that has a planned finish line of 2035 and is inline with the concept of “mission-focused organization” that facilitates the transition of organic structures dependent on the Army Chief of Staff to operational structures under command of the Defense Chief of Staff.
The “Castillejos” Division is made up of the 1st Brigade “Aragón,” the 2nd Legionnaire Brigade “Rey Alfonso XIII,” the 7th Brigade “Galicia,” the 10th Brigade “Guzmán el Bueno,” the 11th Brigade “Extremadura,” and the 12th Brigade Guadarrama as well as the 1st Communications Regiment and the Headquarters Battalion. These six brigades provide the Army with combat capabilities for both national and international missions. The Division Headquarters can deploy wherever necessary and has the capacity to plan, conduct and monitor the missions. In total, the new “Castillejos” Division has around 20,000 military personnel under its command.
Over the last two years, work has been done to renovate and expand the “Sancho Ramírez” barracks, including the construction of a military residence and a daycare (in an advanced stage) thanks to the guidance of the Ministry of Defense and the full collaboration of local, provincial, and regional authorities. In this way, it has helped bring about the renewed Army presence in Huesca.