Celebration of the Romania National Day (Great Union Day) at the Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejon

• The event was attended by the Consul of the Embassy of Romania in Spain.

The Romanian Consul, Eugen Constatin Roşca, on behalf of the Romanian Ambassador, visited the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Spain this morning to commemorate Romania National Day.

The Consul was received on his arrival at the CAOC by the commander of the unit, Lieutenant General Fernando de la Cruz, with whom he held a brief meeting. Afterwards, and with the participation of all the CAOC personnel who were off duty, the commemoration of Romania National Day took place hoisting the Romanian flag.

Lieutenant General De la Cruz thanked the Romanian Consul for his contribution to the permanent mission of surveillance of the airspace under the responsibility of the CAOC on the Alliance's southern flank and for the Romanian support to Allied air detachments in his country to reinforce surveillance in that area.

During his speech, the Romanian Consul thanked the allies for their participation in the 'Enhanced Air Policing' mission sponsored by his country, for their contribution to the protection of the airspace and the defence of the common interests of the countries of the alliance. The Consul also thanked General de la Cruz for organising the event to commemorate Romania National Day and for the support provided by Spain to the CAOC mission, stressing the importance of collective security

Combined Air Operations Centre-Torrejón

The main mission of CAOC-Torrejón, under the direct command of a Spanish Air Force lieutenant general, is to plan, direct, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on air defence operations in Southern Europe, following the directives of NATO´s Air Component.

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 as well as in the National Support Element (NSE) and the NATO Communications and Information Agency Unit (NCIA).