Celebration of Turkey's national day at the Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón

• The CAOC TJ commander stressed Turkey's commitment to the collective defence mission of the Alliance countries.

The Turkish Ambassador to Spain, Burak Akçapar, accompanied by the Defence Attaché, Captain İlhan Sayici and the Military Attaché, Colonel Göksel Korkmaz, have visited this morning the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Spain (CAOC TJ).

The representation was received on arrival at the CAOC by the commander of the unit, Lieutenant General Fernando de la Cruz. After the signature of the ambassador in the book of honour and a brief dispatch, General De La Cruz made a presentation of the centre to the Turkish delegation. Then, the military ceremony was held with the corresponding raise of the Turkish flag in commemoration of the Turkish National Day.

On behalf of the CAOC, the General appreciated Turkey's contribution to the permanent air policing mission conducted by the CAOC to reinforce airspace security on the Alliance's southern flank.

During his speech, the Turkish Ambassador underlined the importance of the daily work carried out from the CAOC Torrejón in the collective defence of the interests of the Alliance, thanking the staff of the centre for the work carried out jointly by the nations in the achievement of this common objective.

TORREJÓN COMBINED AIR OPERATIONS CENTRE (NATO)

The main mission of the CAOC Torrejón, under the direct command of a Lieutenant General of the Spanish Air Force, is to plan, direct, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on air defence operations in Southern Europe, following the directives of the NATO Air Component Command on which it depends and with the resources assigned to NATO by the nations in peacetime.

The Spanish Armed Forces make an important contribution to the mission carried out by this centre. Some 120 Spanish military personnel serve in the CAOC itself as well as in the National Support Element (NSE) and the NATO Communications and Information Agency Unit (NCIA).