Parliament Advisors of the United States Congress visit the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejón

• The U.S. delegation was formed by six parliamentary advisors of the Congress and three members of the Spain-U.S. Council

A Commission of six parliamentary advisors of the US Congress, accompanied by three members of the Spain-U.S. Council, have visited the Combined Air Operations Centre of the NATO in Spain, CAOC Torrejón.

Upon arrival, the delegation has been welcomed by the Commander of the Centre, Lieutenant General Juan Pablo Sánchez de Lara.

After the welcome, the Lieutenant General Sánchez de Lara has introduced the Unit in the conference hall, where he explained to the parliamentary advisors the activities of the Centre within the framework of its two main tasks: to exercise surveillance of the airspace of southern Europe and to contribute to the establishment of a Joint Force Air Component (JFAC) in order to manage crisis or conflict situations if necessary. The event has concluded with a visit to the operations room, where parliamentarians have been able to witness the action of CAOC personnel in their accomplishment of a mission.   

The Spain-U.S. Council aims at strengthening ties between Spain and the U.S. in all areas to achieve a better knowledge and mutual understanding to foster joint initiatives. The Council counts on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation as the main strategic partner in the pursuit of its foundational goals, and with the support of the Embassy of Spain in the United States and the United States Embassy in Spain and Andorra in the organisation of a great deal of their programmes and activities.

COMBINED AIR OPERATIONS CENTRE TORREJÓN (NATO)

The CAOC Torrejón, under the direct command of the Lieutenant General of the Spanish Air Force, has as its main mission to plan, manage, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on the air defence operations in Southern Europe, following the directives of the NATO Air Component Command to which it reports and with the means assigned to NATO by the nations during peacetime.

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