Ministerio de Defensa Ejército de tierra
Ministerio de Defensa Ejército de tierra
Ministerio de Defensa Ejército de tierra
Imagen de fondo
Share it on: Share on Facebook Share it on Twitter Share on Linkedin

The addition that adds

Monday, December 12, 2016

Number: 38

The Spain´s SOCOM (Special Operations Command) encourages and boots the usage of the concept: ‘SUPPORT FORCES to the SOCOM or (MOE, in Spanish) in its most important yearly exercise: ‘Empecinado.’

The Spanish Special Operations Command´s Units are assigned with specific missions that, sometimes, require certain support to be carried out. In spite of being pretty much independent in their interventions, those operational teams from the ‘’Spanish MOE’’ (Mando de Operaciones Especiales) or in English: ‘’Spanish SOCOM’’ (Special Operations Command), truly welcome that support which allows them to focus only and exclusively, in the action and, by doing so, they free themselves from other tasks. The units that give this support are named: ‘’Support Force to Special Operations.’’ This Support Force ‘completes the Spanish SOCOM/MOE´s capabilities’ according to Major Pérez Martin  −Section Chief of the Plans of the 3rd Spanish Special Operations Group (GOE, in Spanish)−.

Equipo operativo infiltrándose desde un Chinook

Operational team infiltrating from a Chinook

Balsa almacenamiento agua

Paratroopers jumping

The promotion of this concept (Support Force to SOCOM) and of this way to work, is something that the Spanish Army has long been working on through the Spanish SOCOM/MOE. And with the execution of exercise ‘Empecinado’ the concept is closer to settle itself.
This year´s edition of the most important exercise of this Command, and in which all its units take part, has gather almost the same number of ‘’Army Green Berets’’ and of ‘’Support Forces’’ personnel from units such as: the Spanish Airborne/Paratroopers Brigade, the Spanish La Legion Brigade, the 7th Galicia Brigade, Pontonier´s Regiment, and the Spanish Army Helicopter Forces, the following specialties: Engineers´ n.12, Electronic War n.31, NBCs of  Defense, Military Police Battalion, the Spanish Army Helicopter Forces, the 16th Canary Island’s Brigade, and Defense Canine Center. A total of 850 military personnel deployed in Alicante, Valencia, Fuerteventura and Leon Spanish towns, and with training operations in more than 10 provinces in Spain.

Equipo operativo infiltrándose desde un Chinook

Rappeling from a training tower

Balsa almacenamiento agua

Military personnel training

Balsa almacenamiento agua

Training tower

Balsa almacenamiento agua

Operational team in action

Balsa almacenamiento agua

Detaining a terrorist with the canine unit support

The reason of such vital presence of external military personnel to the MOE, is that the new procedures’ training between Support Forces and operational teams are one of the 2016 exercise ‘’Empecinado´s’’ priorities. In fact, it has created a specific foundation in charge to embrace the conventional units at the Spanish SOCIM/MOE ´s HQ in Alicante, Spain.

The most experienced in Special Operations are: the Helicopter’s crew since they have the ability to make up Tactical Units of Rotary Wing Special Units; those units coordinate among themselves the HRST (Helicopter Rope Suspension Techniques) called SPIE (Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction). This time, the Army Helicopter Forces have been present with Cougar, Chinook, Tigre and Caimán helicopters that have helped ‘’green berets’’ to practice from Nov. 11th to Nov. 21st, techniques such as fast rope, or the above mentioned, in the many operations that has been taking place during the training.

Major Pérez Martín continues adding that it has been a very complete exercise in which most of all the tasks that can be allocated to Spanish MOE´s team have been done. Except for the military assessment task (that were not done), the ones about straight action and special reconnaissance were carried out; that was the case of the INTEL of Spain (CNI, in Spanish) rescue operation of 4 agents who were kidnapped and the capture of terrorist´s leaders.

'Lucentum' operation

To top it all off, the Operation ‘’Lucentum’’, witnessed by His Majesty the King of Spain, Felipe the 6th. The task was to identify and capture terrorist’s leaders of a terrorist cell with power to act with IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) cluster bombs, in the East of the Spain plus the dismantling of such cell.

The operation took place in 3 Alicante´s different arenas: shooting and training field of ‘’Agost’’, the barracks ‘’Alferez Rojas Navarrete’’ and port of Alicante town.

In an actual situation, the tasks of the just 3 mentioned arenas should have had happened simultaneously (a not easy task since it entails elements of surprise –a key of their success−), and coordinated planning and execution of special operations. Captain Mancera from Planning says that everything has to be measured to the millimeter. However, in order for Felipe the 6th to see all the interventions, the executions happen consecutively.

Equipo operativo infiltrándose desde un Chinook

His Majesty greeting the participants in the trainings

Following, the King, went by helicopter to Alicante´s port to attend to an assault to a tag transporting NBC weapons. To finish, Felipe the 6th, went back to Rabasa piloting for the time a NH-90 helicopter. This way he was able to witness 2 other operations in the training tower: one, the arrest a maker of IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) and the rescue of an informer.

For this rescue, a paratrooper high jump HALO from the MOE team. One dog also took place brought to the ‘’Empecinado’’ exercise by the Canine Center of Defense and explosives’ personnel and missing people search. NCO Ballesteros says that dogs’ presence in special operations are more in demand. The dog in this exercise has done SPIE (Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction) in a duo with an Advanced Reconnaissance Company of the Spanish Airborne Paratrooper Brigade. He has also done water jumps so the dog can cooperate in a mission of reconnaissance at a beach.

Balsa almacenamiento agua

Vessel assault

A team from the Special Operations´ Unit, made of preselected commanders to carry out the most delicate missions; this Unit´s informer (a woman). 1st Sergeant Gil says that they had to intervene to save her and to capture alive the leader of a terrorist cell who was ‘’questioning’’ her. With this precise planning that has as witness His Majesty Felipe the 6th, the all operation was concluded.

News notebook HTML version

ARMY UNITS

OUTSTANDING LINKS