King Felipe spoke by video conference with the subordinate commands of the mission.
The King, in the command centre
ON April 3rd, King Felipe VI visited the Retamares Base in Pozuelo de Alarcón
(Madrid), the body that coordinates all the activities of the Armed Forces in
Operation Balmis, accompanied by the Minister of Defence and the CHOD.
The commander of the Operations Command (CMOPS), Lieutenant
General Fernando López del Pozo, explained the capabilities and human
and material resources made available to this operation. In the Joint
Operations Management Centre meeting room, King Felipe VI held multiple
video conferences with the various commands that are operationally under
the command of the CMOPS.
The King took the opportunity to convey “collectively, to all those involved
in Operation Balmis and to the Armed Forces as a whole”, a message of
support and gratitude. “And of pride”, he added, “in the face of what is a
very important contribution in a moment of need and national emergency”.
crisis. On March 29th, a C-130 Hercules
from the 31st Wing landed at Torrejón
air base, having flown from the Czech
Republic with a cargo of 10,000 items of
personal protection equipment delivered
by NATO’s Euro-Atlantic Disaster
Response Coordination Centre. The next
day, an A400M, also from the 31st Wing,
arrived at Torrejón air base from China
after a 33-hour flight and two technical
stopovers. In Shanghai it took on board
a cargo of 14 tonnes of various medical
supplies, such as masks, PPE and rapid
tests to diagnose SARS-Cov-2 carriers.
On April 3rd, a C-130 and an A400M
arrived at Torrejón air base from Hamburg,
House of His Majesty the King
where they had been sent to pick up six
tonnes of healthcare cargo, including 50
ventilators purchased from the German
Federal Ministry of Health.
Previously, an Airbus A400M test
aircraft landed in Getafe with 650,000
surgical masks. Air Deployment Support
Squadron personnel received the
shipment and prepared the cargo for
delivery to the PCAMI.
TRANSFER OF PATIENTS
At the Cuatro Vientos air base, two
Superpuma helicopters and their
corresponding crews from the 48th Wing
are on permanent alert in case they are
required to transfer coronavirus patients
by air. The aircraft have been medicalized
by the Aeromedical Evacuation Unit
(UMAER).
The UME and other Army units
have also assumed the transfer of
moderately ill patients between hospitals,
medicalized hotels and accommodation
centres, in the case of the elderly. The
transport of patients is carried out using
public transport buses of the Madrid
autonomous community because they
have ramps that facilitate the access
of people in wheelchairs. A team from
GIETMA and another from SAMUR are
on board, escorted by a UME patrol,
which is also in charge of disinfecting the
vehicles.
The transport of the dead is another of
the missions that the Armed Forces have
had to assume in view of the overflow of
funeral services. On March 28th, an order
was published in the Official State Gazette
whereby the Ministry of Health authorises
the Army to participate in the transfer of
those who have died from coronavirus.
In Madrid, where the greatest number of
deaths from the epidemic are recorded,
the UME and the Army carry out these
transfers from various hospitals and
nursing homes to the provisional facilities
of the Palacio del Hielo (ice skating rink),
where the coffins remain until the funeral
homes can take care of them. In addition,
Air Force personnel have installed two
containers with a capacity for 20 corpses
at the Gregorio Marañón Hospital.
SECURITY SUPPORT
From the first week, the military has
been fulfilling an important task of being
present on the streets and at critical
points in support of the State Security
Forces. “On the one hand, it is a matter
of supporting the main measure against
COVID-19, confinement at home to avoid
contagion and, on the other hand, to
convey a reassuring message to Spanish
society, as its Armed Forces are there to
protect it”, explains Lieutenant General
López del Pozo.
These patrols also cover railway
and bus stations, port areas, hospitals
and health centres, shopping areas
and communication hubs in large
24 Revista Española de Defensa April 2020