The Commander of the Operations Command joins the Spanish soldiers deployed in Lebanon on his first visit to the Operations Area

• Lieutenant General José Antonio Agüero Martínez stresses the importance of the Spanish soldiers’ security and well-being, and claims that, despite the situation, UN forces ‘are not the target of any of the contenders.’ In fact, he points out that it is foreseeable that the UNIFIL’s mandate ‘will be soon renewed with the support of all the parties involved in the conflict.’

The Commander of the Operations Command (CMOPS, in Spanish), Lieutenant General José Antonio Agüero Martínez, has visited, for the first time, the operations area since he took up his position a month ago. In this first visit, the CMOPS’s aim was to acknowledge the situation of our men and women in the UN mission in the Lebanon Brigade (BRILIB, in Spanish). Thus, between the 19 and 21 August, the Lieutenant General —accompanied by General García del Barrio Díez, Commander of the BRILIB— visited all the positions of the Spanish Batallion, and stayed at the Miguel de Cervantes Base in Marjayoun. During his stay, he could discover first-hand the current landscape in the south of Lebanon, while sharing his personal experience with the Spanish soldiers and verifying their living conditions and, more especially, the security conditions and measures.

First of all, General Guillermo García del Barrio highlighted his satisfaction of knowing that the first visit of the new Commander of the Operations Command to an international mission has been to the Sector East in Lebanon, where he had the opportunity to show all the work carried out. Moreover, he has pointed out that sharing a day with Lieutenant General is a great stimulus for everyone, and ‘the fact that this visit has coincided with the middle stage of the mission has entailed an extra motivation in order to continue to the highest level of the second half period of the deployment.’

The Commander of the MOPS acknowledges that the character of the Spanish soldier is particularly suitable for missions such as the one taking place in the south of Lebanon, where there is close contact with the Lebanese population and soldiers: ‘I would like to highlight their empathy towards others’ suffering as well as their generosity in alleviating it. This attitude frequently allows them to gain people’s friendship and opens many doors for them. A noble heart, as that of our soldiers, forgets about any ideology, nationality and political thoughts when they witness a human being in need’.

During his visit to the Spanish Batallion’s positions, General Agüero received a very detailed briefing on how the latest affairs have unfolded from the observatories guarding the Blue Line. In all of them, he was interested in the security and living conditions of the facilities available in these UN positions, where he showed special interest in the security and systems of the Command and Control installed in the bunkers. In this way, he has acknowledged the high levels of protection of our forces.

‘UNIFIL is not a peace enforcement mission’

As pointed out by the CMOPS, ‘the Spanish Armed Forces take part in numerous multinational operations beyond our frontiers, within the framework of the Atlantic Alliance, the United Nations, the European Union and coalitions such as the one created to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq.’

In 2006, within the UN framework, the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force Lebanon) was established with the aim of putting an end to the conflict in the south of Lebanon and to prevent its resumption. Nowadays, our Armed Forces contribute with more than 600 men and women to this operation. A Spanish lieutenant general, General Aroldo Lázaro, has been the Commander of the mission since 2022 and, as more tangible evidence of our commitment to peace in Lebanon, Spain takes up permanently the command of one of the two Sectors of the mission, with a Brigadier General in charge of the Sector East, where four battalions (Spanish, Indian, Indonesian and Nepalese) are deployed.

‘The multinational character imbues the entire mission,’ points out the CMOPS. ‘Thus, a Serbian company and a Salvadorean section, as well as the Brazilian and Argentinian officers, are integrated in the Spanish battalion. For a long time I looked around for the Salvadorean soldiers, wondering why I didn’t see them, until I then realised that they were wearing our uniform. The only way to tell them apart is to look attentively at the flag on their left shoulder.’

On the other hand, he underlines that ‘UNIFIL is not a peacekeeping mission. Its commitment is to verify and attest whether there is compliance by former contenders with the agreement signed to set an end to the conflict. It does not force its compliance but denounces its violations. It is of great importance to understand this since many people criticise the mission for not doing more, demanding actions that exceed the command.’ 

‘Until October 2023,’ continues General Agüero, ‘most of these violations were caused by hunters, shepherds or work carried out on the fence that divides the south of Israel from Lebanon. The war in Gaza has drastically changed the scenario since the exchange of fire on both sides of the so-called ‘Blue Line’ is now constant.’

In this context, UNIFIL Forces usually find themselves amidst the exchange of fire between the Israeli Army and the armed factions in the south of Lebanon. ‘Nevertheless, UN troops are not the target of any contenders. In fact, it is foreseen that the UNIFIL mandate will be soon renewed with the support of all the parties to the conflict,’ the CMOPS acknowledges.

However, alarms are frequent these days in the UNIFIL Action Area and therefore the effort of Spanish sappers is focused on improving the fortification of our bases for months. Nevertheless, it is mesmerising the naturalness that our people show to face this challenge: ‘One does not perceive the tension but the great patience to deal with the inconveniences implied in raising the state of alarm, wearing a bulletproof vest, putting on a helmet, getting shelter in the bunker, restricting movements outside the bases…Understanding that one is not the target of this exchange of fire does have an influence. Over time, the distant sound of missile launches and explosions are experienced with a certain degree of naturalness.’

During his visit, and in order to verify this landscape, General Agüero started his first day with a presentation of the current situation in the area of responsibility, as well as the developmental stage of the Contingency Plans of the Lebanon Brigade (BRILIB). Afterwards, he started to visit the positions, beginning with the Communications Centre and the Surveillance Unit that Spain has deployed in the Position 4-2. Later on, in the Spanish positions 4-28 and 9-64, he showed special interest in the well-being and morale of the troops deployed there, as well as any aspect related to their security and protection. During these visits, the General reassured the strategic location of the positions on the demarcation line between Israel and Lebanon ─known as ‘Blue Line’─, as well as the application of protection, surveillance and observation measures in the event of potential attacks across the line previously mentioned when they are in the bunkers.

After having lunch with the Spanish soldiers of the position 9-64, Lieutenant General Agüero visited the Spanish position 9-66, where Serb personnel are currently deployed. There, he was also interested in the incidents in which they have been involved and the several activities that are taking place. In addition, he showed interest in its integration into the SPANBATT or Spanish Battalion and showed them his gratefulness for their service and collaboration in the accomplishment of the mission.

Upon return to the Miguel de Cervantes Base, the CMOPS visited the facilities, where he could verity the quality of the living conditions of our military personnel. In this tour, he was informed about the work carried out by the Health Service, more concretely by the Telemedicine Unit, which facilitates the diagnose by specialists from the national territory.

Before the visit concluded, the General encouraged the military personnel to continue working with such efficiency and spirit of service for peace in Lebanon. Furthermore, he conveyed Spain’s pride for their commitment, becoming great memories for the families of all the men and women of the contingent.

Upon his return, the Commander of the MOPS stated that ‘not only should we feel proud of the human quality of our soldiers, but also of the bases occupied by the Spanish contingent, which are a reference for all the UN missions. In all of these, there is austerity and functionality. This reflects a distinctive characteristic of the Spanish style of command: caring for the subordinate, to whom everything is demanded, but also to whom everything is given. Truthfully, the operations abroad constitute the top priority of our Armed Forces.’

‘I have not encountered any sign of discontentment among our soldiers these days,’ Lieutenant General Agüero highlighted in his concluding words. ‘On the contrary, I have witnessed enthusiasm, professionalism and joy. The pride of undertaking something important is visible in all of them, from the ones that are on patrol to those that fix vehicles or work in shifts in an Operations Centre.’