Spanish Army takes part in largest parachuting exercise in Europe since the end of the Cold War

The Spanish Army has taken part in the NATO Swift Response exercise, the largest parachute operation in Europe since the end of the Cold War, which ran from 20 August to 2 September. Spanish participation involved a parachute tactical subgroup and a deep reconnaissance patrol of the 6th Parachute Brigade “Almogávares”.

Under the motto “A strong army, a strong Europe”, 4800 soldiers from 11 allied countries met at training grounds in four countries (Germany, Bulgaria, Romania and Italy) and 1500 of them performed parachute jumps. These remarkable statistics sum up the huge operation led by the 1st Brigade of the mythical 82nd Airborne Division of the US army.

The Spanish parachute tactical subgroup was made up of members of the 7th Company of the 2nd Parachute Battalion “Roger de Lauria”, supported by a joint squad of parachute sappers and a forward observer team in order to enhance its combat capability.

The scenario of the exercise was highly topical: A country immersed in a conflict against a hybrid enemy requests NATO assistance. The mission devised by NATO command involves deploying an initial entry force on the theatre and swiftly taking and securing a key airport. The aim is to carry out an NEO (non-combatant evacuation operation) and to support the local government by confronting insurgents and, if necessary, armed forces from neighbouring countries. The operation was mainly set at the training grounds in Hohenfels (Germany) and Smardan (Romania).

The US high command requested that the Spaniards of the Deep Reconnaissance Patrol perform a parachute jump from 9000 feet using the HALO technique on the night of 25 August from a state-of-the-art CV-22 Osprey aircraft. The next day the rest of the multinational Brigade, made up of paratroopers from the US, Germany, Italy, the UK, Poland and Spain, carried out massive jumps over the aforementioned locations. Over the following days they fought fierce battles against an enemy played by the Bulgarian and American armies. Thanks to the paratroopers’ grit and the backing of three British AH-64 Longbow attack helicopters, the enemy was wiped out from the theatre on 31 August.

The Parachute Brigade performed above the expectations of its NATO allies and proved itself a reliable unit. The commander of the 1st Brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division, Colonel Colin P. Tuley, did not hesitate to express his approval: “I take my hat off to the Spanish paratroopers,” he asserted.

Parachute jump during the exercise (Photo: BRIPAC)