The ‘Slovak Shield 24’ drill ends where Spain led a multinational brigade.

• The participation and leadership of Spanish personnel in this drill is one of Spain's ability to lead multinational operational organisations in the framework of NATO's new force model.

Spanish military personnel deployed in Slovakia today concludes its participation in the drill ‘Slovak Shield24’. A command post drill in which Spain has demonstrated its ability to lead a Multinational Brigade

Slovak Shield 24' took place mainly on the facilities of the Lest training centre between 13 and 29 May, although forces were also deployed on other Slovakian manoeuvre fields.

In total, around 1,200 military personnel of different nationalities took part, 120 of whom were Spanish. Most of them were Slovakian, but US, Czech, German, Slovenian, Polish, Hungarian and Georgian soldiers also took part.

Drills such as the ‘Slovak Shield’ are primarily aimed at training HQs and unit command posts at all three levels of command, tactical, operational and strategic military command. In accordance with the operational organisation designed for the drill, a Division level command post has been deployed with the participation of three Brigade level posts and the command posts of the combat support and combat logistics support units of that division. In addition, all the command and control systems necessary for the interconnection of the command posts have been deployed.

One of these Brigade level command posts has been led by Spanish personnel deployed in Slovakia, with four subordinate Battalion type maneuver units, units led by Spain, Czech Republic, USA and Georgia. In addition, other combat support units led by Slovakia have been deployed.

Several fundamental objectives were pursued in the drill: on the one hand, to put into practice the whole process of planning operations at the tactical level, on this occasion, a defensive operation on the territory of the Slovak Republic, to validate these defense plans, to unify the specific operational procedures for the conduct of operations and to participate in the decision-making process in a joint environment. 

The drill was led by the Land Forces Headquarters of the Slovak Armed Forces, whose director was Major General Martin Stoklasa. Of the three brigade-type units, two were Slovak, the 1st Mechanized Infantry Brigade and the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, and the third was a multinational brigade led by Spain.

On May 27th, the Chief of Defence Staff of Slovakia, General Daniel Zmeko, carried out an inspection visit with the participation of other military authorities of the Slovak Armed Forces and contributing countries, among them, General Alfonso Pardo de Santayana Galbis, head of the Galicia VII Brigade, the base unit that generates most of the Spanish contingent deployed in Slovakia. During his tour he visited the command post of the Spanish Brigade where he attended an update on the operations being carried out.

As part of this visit, the Spanish contingent carried out a small demonstration of the capabilities of the Engineer Unit, in particular, the means used to open breaches over enemy obstacles.

The participation in this type of drills demonstrates the readiness, availability and operability of the Spanish Armed Forces to adapt to all types of scenarios, providing decisive capabilities to defend the interests of Spain and our allies and making an effective contribution to the new concept of Deterrence and Defence in NATO's Euro-Atlantic area.