Colombia’s Advanced Military Studies Course students visit Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón

• The visit of 31 military is part of the activities scheduled for the course, organized by the Colombian War College

The students belonging to Colombia’s Advanced Military Studies Course and led by Brigadier General Oscar Alexander Tobar Soler and accompanied by the Colombian Military Attaché in Spain, Colonel Andrés Mauricio Quintero Londoño, visited NATO’s Combined Air Operations Center in Spain, CAOC Torrejón.

Upon arrival, the delegation was welcomed by the centre’s commander, Air&Space Force Lieutenant General, Fernando de la Cruz.

Next, General De la Cruz presented the unit at the Centre's auditorium, explaining to the group the mission and activities of the CAOC within the framework of its two main tasks: the surveillance of Southern Europe’s airspace and to contribute to the creation of a Joint Force Air Component (JFAC) to manage crisis scenarios if necessary.

The Advanced Military Studies Course, organized by the Colombian War College, is a military academic program that must be completed by colonels or Navy captains of the Colombian Armed Forces who have met the conditions for promotion to Brigadier General or Rear Admiral.

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).