7TH SUPPORT TO IRAQ

“Plaza Ibérica” of “Gran Capitán” base, in Besmayah (Iraq), has taken in, the 24th of November, on Friday morning, the act of relay in between the Spanish troops which form part of the Inherent Resolve operation. After six months of intense training to the Iraqi security forces, the members of the sixth contingent, formed over the base of the 12th Brigade “Guadarrama”, have been relayed by other contingent formed mainly by personnel from the Brigade of the Spanish Legion.

In an act chaired by General Robert White, the chief of the new contingent, general Luis Francisco Cepeda Lucas, has received the command of the outgoing chief, general Luis Martín-Rabadán Muro. In the military parade, together with the Spanish soldiers, units from Portugal, United Kingdom and the United States of America were in formation under the Spanish leadership, forming part of the Task Force Besmayah.

The new chief of the Task Force Besmayah addressed some words to the attending people, starting with the statement “the clear compromise and support of Spain, the Coalition, the NATO and the Iraqi authorities to the mission”. He pointed out as principal lines of perfomance for all the members forming the Task Force the adaptability, the initiative, and the team work. Finally, he praised the labour of the Iraqui Armed and Security Forces in their fight against the Daesh in closed collaboration with the Coalition.

The 7th BPC’s contingent is made up by approximately 350 soldiers, most of them come from the 2nd Brigade “Rey Alfonso XIII” of the Legion and the rest from different units of the Spanish Army and the Air Forces. Furthermore, it also participates an unit of the Civil Guard, which is the responsible of the advanced police training to the Iraqui Security Forces.

Spain forms part of a multinational coalition which is made up by more than sixty countries organized for the destruction of the Daesh inside the Inherent Resolve operation. For that, our country leads one of the four BPC (Building Partner Capacity), a concept designed for the increase of the Iraqi Army with supporting teams of instructors from other allied armies.