The Force Protection Tactical Group, FPTG - 'LAURIA', deployed in the EUTM MALI XXI operation between the Malian capital and the city of Koulikoro, has among its missions to conduct foot patrols in the vicinity of the 'Koulikoro Training Center' (KTC).
These patrols often get close to the villages near the KTC, where they interact with the civilians and strengthen ties with the local authorities. They also deliver school supplies and toys to the children living in the villages.
The European mission in Mali is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year and the members of this contingent, made up mainly of Spanish soldiers from the Second Parachute Band 'Roger de Lauria' from the Spanish Army and the Third Mechanised Landing Battalion from the Marine Infantry, under the Operations Command control, are very aware, as the paratroopers ideology states, that “above all is the mission; the heat, the cold, the hunger, the sleepiness and the fatigue, will be stimulating for me.”