King of Spain talks to the forces in international operations

USPA NEWS - The King of Spain held a videoconference this Saturday at the Operations Command on the occasion of Armed Forces Day, initially scheduled to be held this year in Huesca but suspended due to COVID-19. Upon arrival at the base, Felipe VI was received by the Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and by the Chief of Defense Staff, Miguel Ángel Villarroya, among other civilian and military authorities.

Already inside the videoconference room and before the start of the interventions, a minute of silence was observed for those who died due to the pandemic. The Chief of Defense Staff took the floor, and the Commander of the Operations Command gave way to introduce the different unit representatives. Participating in the session, in the field of permanent missions, were the Presence Command and Terrestrial Surveillance in Melilla; the Maritime Security and Surveillance Command and the Defense and Air Operations Command. Subsequently, units operating abroad intervened, such as Operation Free Hidalgo UNIFIL (Marjayún, Lebanon); the Baltic Air Police (BAP) 53 (Siaulai Air Base, Lithuania); Operation A / I NATO Mission in IRAQ (Besmayah, Iraq); and Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA (from the Numancia frigate).

Later it was the turn of units of Operation BALMIS against COVID-19: Galicia VII Brigade; Defense Regiment NBQ Valencia # 1; Canary Islands Security Unit (USCAN); Wing 31 of the Zaragoza Air Base; Royal Guard; Technological and Environmental Emergency Intervention Group; the Regiment of Support and Intervention in Emergencies, and the Gómez-Ulla Central Defense Hospital.

After these interventions and a few words from the Defense Minister, the King sent everyone a message "of hope and confidence in our future. We are overcoming the most important health crisis in our recent history and there are still difficult times to overcome, times that once again they put us to the test, but we are a great country that always faces difficulties, important or serious, and knows how to overcome them.“ The King stressed that he is“ very proud of the deep identification of the Spanish people with their Armed Forces who, in this situation, have felt them as theirs and at their side more than ever. Thanks and congratulations! “

"From the beginning of this crisis, in a dramatic and complex situation, the men and women of the Armies of Earth and Air, the Navy, the Common Corps and the Civil Guard, demonstrated once again your capacity, preparation and availability, as well as the values and virtues that distinguish you and carry you as a currency; always with the firm desire to be employed in the occasions of greatest risk and fatigue, as our Royal Ordinances say,“ added the King.

Felipe VI concluded by reminding the military that "you have fought the effects of the virus on the front line: in our hospitals, in centers and residences; flying tirelessly to bring medical supplies from remote places; installing field hospitals, evacuating the sick, providing constant support logistics by land and by sea anywhere in Spain, also moving many deceased and accompanying their loneliness with the greatest dignity possible. In short, you have faced any task that has been requested, being at all times and places where citizens will have needed," stressed the monarch.

Spain celebrates the Day of its Armed Forces on the Saturday closest to May 30, the feast of San Fernando. It is the culmination of a week during which the Armies are shown to citizens with exhibitions of military equipment and demonstrations of their operation. On Saturday there is a parade presided over by the Kings, which this year was going to take place in the city of Huesca (Northern Spain, border with France) but was suspended due to the pandemic by COVID-19. The city of Huesca has requested the Spanish Government that next year, the parade of the Armed Forces be held in its streets.