Spanish Joint Staff hosts the 2022 bilateral conference on training and exercises with the United States

• Representatives from the main Commands and Units Headquarters of the United States and Spanish Armed Forces attended the conference

The Bilateral Training and Exercise Conference with the United States (BTEC), hosted by Joint Staff's Force Development Division (DIVDEF) along with the U.S. Section Permanent Committee, was held in Madrid.

The origins of this conference date back to 1952, and since then it has sustained its purpose of coordinating mutual training proposals, with the aim of achieving a higher force readiness, more efficient training, and better interoperability between the Armed Forces of the United States and Spain.

To coordinate these bilateral training and exercise activities, the BTEC set up seven working groups covering land, maritime, air, special operations, military emergency support, health and legal activities. Roughly 100 attendees represented the Headquarters, Commands and Units of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Military Emergency Unit, Operations Command, Joint Special Operations Command, Defence Staff's medical and Legal branches, and various U.S. Commands and Units based in Europe.

The exercise programme will be included in the Combined Joint Exercise Programme (CJEP) to be part of the national programming of joint and combined exercises.

The conference helped, once again, to strengthen the excellent bilateral relations between Spain and the United States.