RAMSTEIN, Germany – NATO's Combined Air Operations Centre at Torrejón (CAOC TJ) has completed its first ten years as the unit responsible for the air defence of NATO's southern region in Europe. On November 27, a ceremony was held at Torrejón Air Base to commemorate this anniversary.
The NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System is our core business here at the CAOC, and we feel very proud of this 24-hour, day-to-day mission
The Spanish Chief of Defence, Admiral General Teodoro Sánchez Calderón headed the event giving his appreciation to the work of the personnel from 19 different nations who make up the CAOC TJ staff. Subsequently, Commander of CAOC TJ, Lieutenant General Juan Pablo Sánchez de Lara addressed the attendees, emphasising the essential mission carried out by the CAOC TJ in the defence of Europe.
“The NATO Integrated Air and Missile Defence System is our core business here at the CAOC, and we feel very proud of this 24-hour, day-to-day mission that shows a capable and credible Alliance that is permanently determined to defend our territories and to protect our populations and our forces from air risks and threats, demonstrating the unity, cohesion and solidarity that have become the lifeblood of NATO”, General Sánchez de Lara said.
He also highlighted that CAOC TJ – the only unit of the NATO command structure located in Spain - as a multinational unit combines not only different weapons systems, but also different mentalities in pursuit of the same mission.
Impressions from the ceremony at the Spanish Air Base at Torrejón near Madrid, where senior Spanish and Allied representatives observed the tenth anniversary of NATO's southern Combined Air Operations Centre that plans, coordinates, prepares and control NATO air operations in the south including the 24/7/365 Air Policing mission that safeguards the airspace and protects populations and territories. Photo courtesy Spanish Air Force.
Admiral General Teodoro Sánchez Calderón closed the event by congratulating “all the personnel who have formed part of the CAOC Torrejón in recent years and who have made it possible, through their effort and work, to achieve high standards of quality that allow the CAOC to fulfil its tasks with great efficiency.”
“I encourage the current members to continue to maintain the high capabilities achieved through their professionalism and dedication,” he concluded.