Operation ''Solidarity Response''

Operation “Solidarity Response” began on 13 January 2005 with the arrival of three Air Force CN-235 aircraft and 70 soldiers at Pekanbaru Airport (Sumatra). From there they distributed humanitarian relief in the Banda Aceh area, the worst affected by the tsunami which hit on 26 December 2014.

On 15 January the Navy ship "Galicia" set sail from the port of Alicante. The naval contingent, made up of 293 soldiers (plus five volunteer medical reservists) includes an aerial unit composed of three AB 212 helicopters, a medical unit with one surgical and three deployable teams and a combat divers unit. The “Galicia” transported 140 tonnes of humanitarian aid. On its way to Sumatra it stopped over at the port of Djibouti to pick up the 245 members of the land component, including two interpreters.

Led by Lieutenant Colonel Godoy, the Engineers Unit is composed of command, heads of staff and command support team, a civil engineering company, a base construction unit, a logistics support unit, a signals unit and a civic-military cooperation team. The 11th Engineering Specialties Regiment, based in Salamanca, makes up the core of the force. It is completed by personnel and materiel from the 12th Pontoneer Regiment (Zaragoza), the 2nd Tactical Transmissions Regiment (Madrid) and the Manoeuvre Force HQ (Valencia).

The versatility of the unit put together by Engineer Command allows them to undertake infrastructure rehabilitation works, reestablish communications, carry out cleanup tasks, perform amphibian reconnaissance, etc. Their materiel includes bulldozers, excavators, steamrollers and two water treatment plants as well as light vehicles and trucks, all of which will help them carry out their mission.

On 8 February the “Galicia” reached the port of Lhokseumawe, on the eastern coast of Sumatra, where all heavy equipment was unloaded. It was transported by road to the town of Banda Aceh, where humanitarian relief tasks will be carried out. The ship will be anchored off the coast in order to provide medical support to the whole contingent and assistance to the victims through teams deployed ashore.