The Spanish army advises Senegal

Senegal is not an area of operations unknown to Spain. From 2013 the air force keeps in the capital, Dakar, a detachment known as 'Marfil' to support operations against the advance of jihadists from neighbouring Mali.

The army has now made its debut in this scenario with the Parachute Brigade, which during the first half of July taught an intensive course on precision shooting to a group of 28 Senegalese soldiers.

Over a two-week period and from dawn till dusk the instructors – who travelled to that country with a command team and a protection unit, all from the Advanced Reconnaissance Company of the Parachute Brigade – imparted theoretical lessons on shooting techniques and on the tactical use of shooting teams and ran both day and night exercises. 'In Spain the course lasts five weeks, over here we have had to make it intensive,' explains the chief of the contingent, Captain Santiago Jiménez.

The Senegalese army does have teams of precision shooters but they lacked knowledge on their tactical deployment. That was therefore one of the main elements of the course.

The paratroopers brought from Spain six Accuracy rifles, the brand they normally use. However, in Senegal they also worked with two Dragunov rifles, which the Senegalese army is equipped with. Before deployment they had done shooting practice with that branch in order to learn how to use it proficiently.

During their stay the Spaniards were lodged at the Thiès base, 70 km from Dakar, in living containers provided by the Senegalese army, and they shared the life of local soldiers. This contributed to building a good relationship between the two groups. As an anecdote, the Spanish soldiers relate that they were there for the change of season from dry to wet and they witnessed what their captain describes as 'the mother of all storms'.

The Spanish army advises Senegal

NBC defence 
 

Four soldiers of the 1st NBC Defence Regiment 'Valencia' stayed until the end of July, teaching a group of Senegalese soldiers how to deal with nuclear, biological and chemical threats. Their objective was to improve the military capabilities of the country.

The 15 Senegalese personnel who were trained are doctors, biologists, pharmacists, engineers and firefighters – the latter are not members of the army but their tasks include dealing with NBC emergencies.

Over the first week of training they were offered theoretical and practical lessons on elementary NBC concepts to provide them with a basis for the rest of the course. The programme for the second week consisted of theoretical and practical lessons on chemical warfare agents and toxic industrial chemicals and included a command post exercise as well as training on biological first response. To conclude the course, they ran reconnaissance and decontamination exercises with the support of the firefighting team.

The Senegalese army does not have NBC units and this course was a first step towards creating them. Hence the importance of familiarising the Senegalese soldiers with the equipment and materiel used by the Spanish army, which is tried and tested during specially designed exercises held every year.