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A delegation from the Swedish Armed Forces and Police visit the C-IED COE

Hoyo de Manzanares, Madrid
September 24, 2021
  • The Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED COE), hosts a visit framed in the activities of the monitoring committee related to the participation of the Swedish AF's at the COE 
  • During the visit, the visitors presented a commendation letter from the Chief of Staf of the swedish Air Force to Captain Francisco Cifuentes, C-IED analyst at the National Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Cell (CENCIED)

This week the Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED COE), located at the Engineering Academy compound in Hoyo de Manzanares, Madrid, was visited by a delegation from the Swedish Armed Forces and Police.

This visit is framed within the activities of the monitoring committee related to the participation of the Swedish AF's at the COE C-IED. The meeting was chaired by the C-IED CoE Director, Infantry colonel José Antonio Cruz Moro and several presentation and debate took place, facilitating the mutual updating of relevant information within the C-IED area as well as the follow-up by Sweden, the only non-NATO participating nation in the COE, of the activities carried out and planned by the Centre.

The visitors were members of the Swedish Joint Defence Staff, the Swedish Army and Navy, as well as the Police Commissioner responsible for organizing the recently established Swedish National Bomb Data Centre.

The Head of the Swedish delegation, Navy Commander Fredrik Preiholt, took the opportunity to present to Captain Francisco Cifuentes, C-IED analyst officer at the Joint Defence Staff National C-IED Cell, a commendation letter on behalf of the Swedish Chief of Air Force Staff and the Chief of Operations/C-IED of the Swedish Defence Staff, Major General Carl Johann Edström, in recognition of the work performed by the captain during his previous assignment at the European Defence Agency (EDA) as C-IED project officer. This message of congratulations is one of the highest distinctions given to foreign personnel on the occasion of distinguished events in collaboration with the Swedish Armed Forces.

As C-IED Project Officer at EDA, Captain Cifuentes drove international projects such as the Joint Deployable Exploitation and Analysis Laboratory (JDEAL), Military Search Capability Building (MSCB), European Centre for manual Neutralization Techniques (ECMAN), among others, as well as the series of C-IED “Bison Counter” exercises in 2016 and 2021 and its future continuation in the “Bison Counter exercises” project.

This recognition not only values the achievements and good work of this Spanish officer, but also highlights the excellent level of cooperation that currently exists between the Swedish and Spanish Armed Forces in the field of C-IED.

Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED COE)

Counter Improvised Explosive Devices Centre of Excellence (C-IED CoE) is one of the 26 NATO Accredited Centres of Excellence and is located at the Engineering Academy base, in the Madrid town of Hoyo de Manzanares.

C-IED COE mission is to provide subject matter expertise and leadership in order to support the Alliance, its Partners, and the International Community in the fight against IED and co-operate to increase security of Allied Nations and also all the troops deployed in theatres of operations, reducing or eliminating the threats from improvised explosive devices used or for use, in particular by terrorists or insurgents.

It was formally offered to NATO as part of its network of Centres of Excellence and it was accredited by the Alliance in November 2010. Just over a decade after its settlement, it currently has staff from the 12 participating nations: Spain, Germany, Czech Republic, United States, France, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Sweden and Turkey.

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