The Armed Forces start their deployment in the operation ‘Centinela Gallego’ in fighting wildfires

• It is an operational deployment of ground patrols and unmanned aircraft vehicles to prevent wildfires in the Autonomous Community of Galicia.

A total of 30 patrols, made up of personnel from the Army and the Marine Corps, have started the operation ‘Centinela Gallego’, which will be active between the 15 August and 30 September, under the operational control of the Operations Command and coordination of the Land Operational Command.  

The 25 patrols, which consist of personnel of the Brigade Galicia VII (BRILAT, in Spanish), will be in charge of surveillance in the regions of Lugo, Ourense and Pontevedra. The other five, integrated by the Navy’s infantry soldiers of the Tercio Norte (Northern Regiment, or TERNOR, in Spanish), will patrol the southern area of the region of A Coruña. In addition to the ground deployment, a unit of unmanned aircrafts for day/night air surveillance will be involved in the operation.

The Army’s patrols will carry out surveillance and deterrence work in a total of 38 municipalities that are distributed in eight forest districts, as stated in the agreement signed between the Ministry of Defence and the Xunta de Galicia, the regional government. Upon the Xunta’s request, the effort of the patrols in each area might be modified and varied in order to adapt themselves to the corresponding risk assessment.  

The Commander of the BRILAT, General Alfonso Pardo de Santayana Galbis, will act as the head of all the military forces taking part in the operation.

On 31 July, the presentation of the operation took place in the facilities of the Helitransport Patrol Base of the Xunta de Galicia. The ceremony was chaired by the Regional adviser of Rural Areas of the Xunta de Galicia, María José Gómez Rodríguez, and was attended by the Subdelegate of the government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, and General Pardo de Santayana, among other civilian and military authorities.

During the 2023 edition, and as evidence of the most significant data of the operation ‘Centinela Gallego’, a total of 40 vehicles of different models were employed, a total of 275,000 kilometres were travelled, and around 2,500 patrols of both presence in municipalities and surveillance from different observatories were conducted. Furthermore, a total of 2,500 minutes of day/night surveillance and observation were conducted with unmanned aerial systems. By the end of the operation, more than 80 interceptions had been notified to the Xunta.

The Armed Forces’ support to the Xunta de Galicia demonstrates the strong commitment of the Armed Forces not only in activities of support to civilian authorities but also in those of environmental protection. All these collaborative actions have had a positive impact on activities oriented towards wildfire prevention and, subsequently, to the protection of the Galician population.

Operation ‘Centinela’

The Armed Forces participate in the National Civil Protection System, which ensures the coordination, cohesion and effectiveness of public policies in the area of civil protection that, as an instrument of public security policy, is the public service that protects people and their properties, guaranteeing an adequate response to face different types of emergencies and catastrophes derived by natural or human-driven causes, whether accidental or intentional.

In relation to wildfire prevention, the Armed Forces foresee to provide with a supply of military resources articulated at different effort levels, according to the severity of the situation at any given time.

With the aim of developing and specifying the operational and economic aspects of the collaboration, the Ministry of Defence and the different autonomous communities collaborate with the Armed Forces in wildfire prevention, developing the corresponding action protocols. Thus, the Land Operational Command coordinates, under the operational control of the Operations Command, the well-known Operation ‘Centinela’ for wildfire prevention. This operation is conducted in Galicia and Tenerife (operations ‘Centinela Gallego’ and ‘Centinela Tinerfeño’, respectively).

The ‘Centinela Tinerfeño’

Between 1 July and 30 September 2024, the operation ‘Centinela Tinerfeño’ is activated. Its surveillance and action area of the patrols revolves around the surrounding areas of natural protected forest areas, susceptible to potential fires on the island of Tenerife. During this activation, a maximum of ten ground patrols will be deployed daily with the aim of providing 24-hour coverage of Tenerife’s hills during the most critical months, namely July, August and September.

‘Centinela Tinerfeño’ is part –as a contribution of the Armed Forces– of the Operation ‘Prometeo’. The Operation ‘Prometeo’ is led by the Cabildo de Tenerife, and serves as a coordination element of all the Forestry Units of the Cabildo de Tenerife, the National Security Forces and Corps and the Armed Forces, in the prevention and fight against wildfires.

‘Centinela Gallego’

Moreover, the Armed Forces are conducting, since 2007, an operation to support the civilian authorities on the foundations of establishing an operational deployment of ground patrols and materials or, if any, other capabilities related to surveillance in order to contribute to wildfire prevention in Galicia. This collaboration between the Ministry of Defence and the Xunta de Galicia is known as the ‘Centinela Gallego’. It will be carried out between the 15 August and the 30 September.