Relevo del jefe del contingente español de la misión europea en Somalia

•  Colonel José María Jiménez Portillo takes command for the next eight months

Colonel José María Jiménez Portillo takes command of the Spanish contingent in the European Union mission in Somalia (EUTM-Somalia), a role previously held by Colonel Enrique Cobo Romero.

In addition to leading our Spanish military personnel, Colonel Portillo serves as Chief of Staff of the mission, which comprises Spanish forces and other armies present in Mogadishu, such as those from Italy, Romania, France, Denmark, Serbia, Sweden and Finland.

Over the past eight months, EUTM-Somalia personnel have trained more than 720 Somali soldiers. The contingent has conducted numerous courses, including specific training in marksmanship, a basic course for officers, urban and trench warfare, countering improvised explosive devices, and tactical combat casualty care.

With regard to advisory tasks, EUTM-Somalia has facilitated the signing of various directives implementing the Somali Defence Policy, organised two public communication seminars, and also participated in a maritime security exercise in Djibouti. All of this has helped to maintain strong ties with the various local institutions and authorities.

The outgoing colonel, Enrique Cobo Romero, states that for him “it has been both a challenge and an honour to lead this group of people from such diverse European countries who, during a long period away from their homeland, fulfil their duty day in, day out, which is none other than to try to instil our knowledge and our human and professional values in the Somali Armed Forces”.

For his part, Colonel Portillo, in his speech on taking command, emphasised “that we are all ambassadors for Spain and the European Union and, therefore, our conduct must always be worthy of that responsibility”.

Since its inception in 2010, the EUTM-Somalia mission has trained thousands of Somali military personnel. Thus, thanks to the support of the European Union, Somalia is today a safer country and better prepared to tackle its fight against Islamist terrorism. That is why, in an increasingly unstable global environment, the work carried out by our military personnel in distant theatres is essential to ensuring the well-being of our own fellow citizens.