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SPFOR XXVIII

On 11th September, Task Force “Álava” (SPFOR XXIX) began its mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina, which will last until January 2007. From this first date, Task Force SPFOR XXIX will be in charge of the missions that the Spanish forces are assigned within operation Althea, undertaken by the European Union in the Balkans. Under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Pedro Vallejo Serrano, the force is made up by 346 servicepeople, of whom 140 come from the 5th Light Infantry Brigade “San Marcial” , based in the Basque Country with Base and Barracks in all three Basque provinces.

Other forces include 105 personnel belonging to the 78th Marine Infantry Brigade in San Fernando (Cádiz), 78 from the 51st Logistics Support Group based in Burgos, and 23 from various other bases. This is the first time that the bulk of the Spanish force detached in Bosnia and Herzegovina comes from Units in the Basque Country.

The Spanish Task Force is integrated into the EU force (EUFOR) in Multinational Task-Force Southeast “Salamandra”, based on Base “Europa” (Mostar), currently at the command of French General Daniel DAEHN, and made up of units from Italy, France, Germany, Albania, Morocco, and Slovenia, in addition to Spain, since 2nd December 2004, when this mission handed over from the NATO Stabilisation Force (SFOR), giving rise to operation ALTHEA.