Special Operations Command (Spain)

Last updated
Coat of arms of the Special Operations Command. Coat of Arms of the Spanish Army Special Operations Force Command.svg
Coat of arms of the Special Operations Command.
Guidon of the Special Operations Force Command. Guidon of the Spanish Army Special Operations Force Command.svg
Guidon of the Special Operations Force Command.
Barracks used by the Special Operations Command for high altitude training in Sierra Nevada. Refugio Militar Capitan Cobo - Pico Veleta - Sierra Nevada - 2014-08-07.jpg
Barracks used by the Special Operations Command for high altitude training in Sierra Nevada.

The Special Operations Command (Spanish : Mando de Operaciones Especiales) is the command charged with overseeing the various Special Operations Groups of the Spanish Army.

Contents

It is based in Alicante, Alférez Rojas Navarrete barracks.

It was created in 1997, following other NATO armies organization. In the 1980s the Spanish Army had created six Special Operation Groups and also had a Special Operations group in the Spanish Legion, the Bandera de Operaciones Especiales de la Legión.

Subordinate operating units are Grupos de Operaciones Especiales Valencia III, Tercio del Ampurdán IV, and Bandera de Operaciones Especiales "C. L. Maderal Oleaga" XIX de la Legión.

Organization

The three Special Operations Groups are subordinated:

InsigniaGroup
Coat of Arms of the 3rd Special Operations Group Valencia.svg 3rd Special Operations Group "Valencia"
(Grupo de Operaciones Especiales "Valencia" III)
Coat of Arms of the 4th Special Operations Group Tercio del Ampurdan.svg 4th Special Operations Group "Tercio del Ampurdán"
(Grupo de Operaciones Especiales "Tercio del Ampurdán" IV)
Coat of Arms of the 19th Special Operations Group Maderal Oleaga.svg 19th Special Operations Group "Maderal Oleaga"
(Grupo de Operaciones Especiales "Maderal Oleaga" XIX) [1]

There are two Special Operations Command auxiliary units:

InsigniaUnit
Coat of Arms of the MOE Headquarters Group.svg Special Operations Command Headquarters Group
(Grupo del Cuartel General del Cuartel General de Operaciones Especiales)
Coat of Arms of the Special Operations Command Signals Company.svg Special Operations Command Signals Company
(Compañía de Transmisiones del Mando de Operaciones Especiales) [2]

Notes

  1. Formerly Bandera de Operaciones Especiales de la Legión (Spanish Legion Special Operations Flag), BOEL.
  2. "UNIDADES/Alicante/Mando de Operaciones Especiales" [UNITS/Alicante/Special Operations Command] (in Spanish). Spanish Defense. Retrieved 10 October 2013.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Navy</span> Naval warfare branch of Spains military

The Spanish Navy or officially, the Armada, is the maritime branch of the Spanish Armed Forces and one of the oldest active naval forces in the world. The Spanish Navy was responsible for a number of major historic achievements in navigation, the most famous being the discovery of America and the first global circumnavigation by Elcano. For several centuries, it played a crucial logistical role in the expansion and consolidation of the Spanish Empire, and defended a vast trade network across the Atlantic Ocean between the Americas and Europe, and the Manila Galleon across the Pacific Ocean between the Philippines and the Americas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grupo Especial de Operaciones</span> Police tactical unit of Spains National Police Corps

The Grupo Especial de Operaciones, is the police tactical unit of Spain's National Police Corps. The GEO has response capabilities and is responsible for VIP protection duties, as well as countering and responding to terrorism. Organized along the lines of many other police tactical units throughout Europe, the GEOs is focused on dealing with terrorist attacks, including aircraft hijackings as well as maritime threats and hostage taking. The GEO can also be used in a support role for Spanish Police operations outside the realm of terrorism, and is active in protecting visiting heads of state and providing security for high-profile events such as the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. The GEO is a member of the ATLAS Network, that includes all the national police tactical units of European Union countries and some countries outside the European Union.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Legion</span> Unit of the Spanish Army

For centuries, Spain recruited foreign soldiers to its army, forming the foreign regiments such as the Regiment of Hibernia. However, the specific unit of the Spanish Army and Spain's Rapid Reaction Force, now known as the Spanish Legion, and informally known as the Tercio or the Tercios, is a 20th-century creation. It was raised in the 1920s to serve as part of Spain's Army of Africa. The unit, which was established in January 1920 as the Spanish equivalent of the French Foreign Legion, was initially known as the Tercio de Extranjeros, the name under which it began fighting in the Rif War of 1921–1926.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Unidad Especial de Intervención</span> Spanish Civil Guard Unit

The Unidad Especial de Intervención (UEI) is the Police Tactical Unit of the Guardia Civil, the Spanish gendarmerie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Agrupación de Fuerzas Especiales Antiterroristas Urbanas</span> Military unit

The Urban Counter-Terrorism Special Forces Group - Alpha, otherwise known as AFEUR or AFEAU is the army detachment of the elite AFEAU special operations group within the Colombian Armed Forces, dedicated to performing counter-terrorism operations, HVT acquisition or elimination, and hostage rescue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cuerpo de Fuerzas Especiales</span> Military unit

The Mexican Special Forces Corps are the special forces battalions of the Mexican Army. Formerly the Special Forces Airmobile Group (Spanish: Grupo Aeromóvil de Fuerzas Especiales) or GAFE, the SF corps has six regular battalions; plus four specialized units, one of those units is the Fuerza Especial de Reaccion, the other three remain secretive for the public; the motto of the SF Corps is Todo por México.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas</span> Military unit

The Brigada de Fusileros Paracaidistas, also known as Chutes, is the Mexican Army premier airborne light infantry unit similar to the 75th Ranger Regiment and the British SFSG, the unit act as support for combat operations SEDENA's EMCDN SMUs such as FEBFP or FER.

Special Operations Group may refer to:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spanish Marine Infantry</span> Amphibious infantry component of Spains navy

The Marine Infantry is the naval infantry branch of the Spanish Navy responsible for conducting amphibious warfare. Fully integrated into the Spanish Navy's structure, the branch's history dates back to 1537 when Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor formed the Compañías Viejas del Mar de Nápoles, making it the oldest marine unit in existence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Army of Colombia</span> Military unit

The National Army of Colombia is the land warfare service branch of the Military Forces of Colombia. With over 361,420 active personnel as of 2020, it is the largest and oldest service branch in Colombia, and the third largest army in the Americas after Brazil and the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Special Forces</span>

In Mexico, both the army and navy have special forces groups or elite units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Special Operations Groups (Spain)</span> Military unit

The Special Operations Groups are the special operations forces of the Spanish Army.

Spain has a long history of combating domestic and international violence and of training units for special warfare or intervention. The following military and police units currently operate under a Special Operations mandate:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">19th Special Operations Group "Maderal Oleaga"</span>

The 19th Special Operations Group "Caballero Legionario Maderal Oleaga", GOE XIX, is one of the three currently existing Special Operations Groups and so is subordinated to the Special Operations Command. It was the former Special Forces unit of the Spanish Legion and was known as Bandera de Operaciones Especiales de la Legión, BOEL.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fuerza de Guerra Naval Especial</span> Military unit

The Special Naval Warfare Force (FGNE) is the special forces unit of the Spanish Navy. It was created on June 10, 2009 through the fusion of the Special Operations Unit (UOE) of the Spanish Navy Marines and the Special Combat Divers Unit (UEBC) of the Navy Diving Center. Before the merger, between 2004 and 2009, the two units operated under a single Special Naval Warfare Command. Between 1967 and 2009, the special operations of the Spanish Navy were conducted by the UOE, whose many traditions the FGNE adopted – including the use of the special forces "green beret", the Capacitación selection course, and the organization of operational units into Estoles. Inheriting the reputation and continuing the record of the UOE, the FGNE "has long been one of Europe's most respected special forces."

The structure of the Spanish Army as of April 2021 is as follows:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">National Guard (Mexico)</span> Mexican gendarmerie

The National Guard is the national gendarmerie of Mexico, created in 2019 by absorbing units and officers from the Federal Police, Military Police, and Naval Police.