Montenegro Minister for Foreign Affairs visits the Combined Air Operations Centre

• The minister thanked CAOC’s Commander for the permanent effort carried out by the Centre in respect of the Alliance’s collective defence

Montenegro Minister for Foreign Affairs, Ranko Krivokapić and a delegation composed of his Director General for Politics and Security, the Director General for Defence Policy of the Ministry for Defence of Montenegro, as well as the Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Montenegro to Spain, visited the NATO Combined Air Operations Centre in Torrejón (CAOC TJ) this morning.

The representatives were received upon arrival by the CAOC Commander, Lieutenant General Fernando de la Cruz. After the signing of the Unit's Book of Honour by the minister, General De la Cruz made a presentation of the mission and capabilities of the centre to the Montenegrin delegation. Said presentation was completed with a visit to the operations room, where the way of operating in case of any unexpected event was explained, including examples of real activities.

The minister showed special interest in the NATO’s procedures in the event of incidents within the region of responsibility, as well as the coordination of the resources available to the CAOC to carry out its tasks in these situations.

The Montenegrin delegation thanked CAOC’s Commander for the professionalism employed to carry out the mission of permanent surveillance of the European sky on the southern flank and for the contribution of its personnel to the common goal of the collective defence of the Alliance.

Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón

The main purpose of CAOC Torrejón, commanded by 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 command with the assigned assets by NATO in peacetime.

The Spanish Armed Forces are making an important contribution to the mission conducted by this facility. Roughly 120 military personnel are assigned to the CAOC itself, as well as to the National Support Element (NSE) and the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA).