The Battle of Oppdal

Those in charge of performing the operation were the members of the Tactical Mechanised Group (GTMZ), that Spain provides to the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force, formed on the basis of the II/2nd Infantry Battalion Lepanto of the 10th Brigade ‘Guzman El Bueno’. Their mission was to perform a delay operation to let the enemy— simulated by the American soldiers of the II Marine Expeditionary Force—penetrate in a controlled way, and then launch a counter attack to recover the lost ground in Oppdal and the neighbouring Folldal.

In order to prepare the operation, they counted with the information provided by the Intelligence, Reconnaissance, Targets Acquisition and Surveillance (ISTAR) from the 1st Intelligence Regiment, and in its development, with the cooperation of its counter-battery radars and with the Artillery, that provided safety to the airspace.

The delay operation was followed by an attack—in this case, a battalion from the Norwegian King’s Guard acted as opposition force—in which the Spanish troops had to continue moving towards the North, reaching Berkak. By doing this, the simulated defence of the territory of an allied country that had been invaded finished successfully. This has been the basic assumption of this skills demonstration exercise by the NATO: the fact that an allied country needs help.
This statement is part of the Alliance treaty. Its military capacites are deployed in order to face the threat. To accomplish it in the best way possible, training in joint and combined exercises like this one becomes necessary. As well as helping to maintain the capacities of the ‘spearhead’ that will keep in stand-by phase until the end of the year, it has been the certification exercise for the forces assigned to the 2019 VTJF (time when the VJTF will move to stand-down phase.)
 

It has been the first time Spain provides this Force with armoured and mechanised means (Leopard battle tanks and Pizarro vehicles.) The personnel of the 10th Brigade has lived the experience with intensity, since it has given them the opportunity of learning with their own means and at a hectic pace during the past two years. That is why, the chief of the Tactical Group, Lieutenant Colonel Villalonga feels as if he had won the lottery, professionally speaking. ‘Having been able to lead a Tactical Group with these characteristics for three years, with so many exercises both in Spain and abroad, has been a great experience’, he claims.