Force Commander hand over-take over of the Spanish contingent in the EUTM-Somalia mission.

•  Colonel Javier Carlos Sánchez Guerra takes command of the personnel deployed in this European Union mission.

Colonel Javier Carlos Sánchez Guerra has taken over the command of the Spanish contingent in the European Union Mission in Somalia (EUTM-Somalia), which until now was led by Colonel Manuel José Martín Rico.

Since June 20, 2022 and for the last eight months, Colonel Martin Rico has been in charge of the Spanish contingent in Mogadishu, occupying at the same time the position of Head of the Training Team of the European Union mission in Somalia (EUTM-S).

Currently, the Spanish contingent in EUTM-S is made up of twenty military personnel who are in Mogadishu carrying out training, advisory and staff tasks, together with a lieutenant colonel commissioned in Brussels, in the MPCC (Military Planning and Conduct Capability) mission support cell.

Spain is firmly committed to advancing along the lines set out by the Global Strategy for the Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union, supporting the missions and operations of the Common Security and Defense Policy, through its participation in all the training missions of the European Union. Our security is not only built within our borders, but in a scenario as distant as Somalia, Spain contributes to deal with threats to national interests at source.