NIS 9, Spain, Armed Forces

by Central Intelligence Agency

WARNING: The NIS is National Intelligence and may not be released or shown to representatives of any foreign government or international body except by specific authorization of the Director of Central Intelligence in accordance with the provisions of National Security Council Intelligence Directive No. 1.

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Subsections and graphics are individually classified according to content. Classification/control designations are:

(U/OU): Unclassified/For Official Use Only

(C): Confidential

(S): Secret

A. Defense Establishment

The Spanish armed forces consist of a 201,000-man army; a 43,200-man navy with 33 major combatant ships; and a 34,700-man air force with 999 aircraft, of which 306 are jets. The two paramilitary forces -- the 62,000-man Civil Guard and the 32,000-man Armed Police -- are responsible for maintaining internal security. Andorra, a coprincipality jointly administered by Spain and France, has no armed forces. (S)

Although numerous improvements have been made in each of the three armed services since the advent of the US Military Assistance Program (MAP) in 1953, all are handicapped by shortages in modern equipment and specialist personnel, logistical weaknesses, and insufficient training. The armed forces have no significant offensive capabilities. Without outside military assistance, they could defend Spain and its overseas provinces against a modern aggressor only for a short period. The Spaniard is tough and deeply patriotic, however, and after a limited delaying action the armed forces could be expected to continue resistance to an invader of continental Spain in the form of guerrilla warfare. (S)

Spain is not a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but because of its position at the entrance of the western Mediterranean and its strategic value in the defense of the southern members of NATO, the United States has had an agreement with Spain since 1953 granting the United States air and naval base rights. Spain is closely linked to Portugal for defense of the Iberian Peninsula by the Treaty of Friendship and Nonaggression, made in March 1939, and an additional protocol of 1940. The protocol commits the two nations to mutual consultations whenever events may appear to constitute a current or potential danger to the security or independence of either country. The close peninsular ties were reiterated on 20 December 1942 in a formal joint proclamation known as the Iberian Pact. Representatives of the general staffs of the two countries meet periodically for discussions, usually each year, alternately in Madrid and Lisbon, possible to coordinate plans for the defense of the peninsula in the event of war. The Spaniards continue to be concerned over development in North Africa that may affect the security of southern Spain and have shown increasing concern since 1963 over what they consider Portugal's unrealistic African policy and its effects on Spanish interests in West Africa. The Spanish North African places of sovereignty (plazas de soberania), or presidios, and the West African province of Spanish Sahara are claimed by Morocco. To protect Spanish interests, ground forces are maintained in Ceuta and Melilla, the most significant presidios, and Spanish Sahara. (C)

1. Military History (U/OU)

The Spanish armed forces are proud of their military traditions. During the 16th century, when Spain ruled an empire, its infantry was feared throughout Europe, and its navy held supremacy of the seas. Spain declined as a great power in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in 1808 its forces were defeated in the Napoleonic invasion of the peninsula. During Napoleon's military occupation that followed, a tradition of guerrilla warfare developed in the Spanish people. Guerrilla action contributed to the final defeat of the French and marked the beginning of doctrines which are still stressed in the Spanish Army.

Proclaiming its dissatisfaction with leftist trends in the Second Republic (1931-36), the army revoked against the government on 18 July 1936. During the 3-year Civil War which followed, almost all of the regular army as well as most officers of the navy supported the Nationalist Forces commanded by Gen. Francisco Franco. The air force emerged from the Civil War as an independent service.

Spain was neutral in World War I and maintained an official policy of nonbelligerence and neutrality in World War II. Personnel in the Spanish Blue Division and Spanish pilots who participated in combat with the Germans against the Soviets on the Eastern Front were officially classified as volunteers. Since World War II the only combat the Spanish armed forces have experienced occurred when the army engaged in a minor conflict, with air and navy support, against irregular Moroccan forces in Ifni and the Spanish Sahara from November 1957 to February 1958.

On 26 September 1953 the United States signed an agreement with Spain that allowed the United States to establish strategic air bases and naval installations in Spain in return for economic and military assistance. Under terms of the basic agreement, Spain granted base rights for the United States for a 10-year period, with provisions for renewals for two successive 5-year periods. The base agreements were renewed for a 5-year period on 26 September 1963. Renewal of the second 5-year period was delayed until 1969, although the period of extension of the base rights dated from 26 September 1968. The extension was for 2 years, and further negotiations resulted in an extension of the base rights to 26 September 1975. Military end-item assistance to Spain has not been extensive, but it has made possible the slight degree of progress the armed forces have achieved in their modernization efforts. Spanish purchases of US equipment have been facilitated under terms of the base agreements, and US aid has been given to the production of some items in Spain, including five guided-missile destroyer escorts.

2. Command Structure (C)

The Chief of State, Gen. Francisco Franco, is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces and of the paramilitary forces. He exercises control of the three regular services through the Ministers of Army, Navy, and Air; he exercises direct control over the Air Defense Command in time of war. There is no minister of defense. The Minister of Interior controls the peacetime administration and employment of the Civil Guard and the Armed Police. However, under the reorganization of the army ministry, which is to be implemented during 1974, the Minister of Army will control the peacetime and wartime administration of the Civil Guard. He will also supervise and provide logistic support for both organizations and will have operational control over the Armed Police in the event of mobilization, or whenever it is necessary to insure coordination of internal security forces with military requirements.

The National Defense Board advises the Chief of State on the formulation of national defense policies. It does not hold regular meetings, but membership includes the President of the Government; the Chief of the High General Staff; and the Ministers and Chiefs of the General Staffs of Army, Navy, and Air. As required, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Industry, and Commerce, and the Directors General of Industry of the three services may be called for consultation.

The High General Staff, a joint military advisory and coordinating body, is responsible for coordinating all joint staff functions of the armed forces. The Chief of the High General Staff is assisted by a deputy, a secretariat, and three numbered sections. The secretariat handles various miscellaneous and administrative matters, including legal and financial; the First Section is responsible for preparing and coordinating strategic defense plans; the Second Section, coordinates technical and economic activities and research and development programs of the three services; and the Third Section produces political, economic, and military intelligence.

B. Joint Activities

1. Military Manpower (C)

The projected military manpower potential of males between the ages of 15 and 49 as of 1 January 1974 is estimated in total about 8,544,000, approximately 77% being physically fit for military service. Distribution by 5-year age groups is expected to be as followed:

Age	Total Number of Males	Maximum Number Fit for Military Service
15-19	1,458,000	1,250,000
20-24	1,353,000	1,123,000
25-29	1,247,000	1,020,000
30-34	1,134,000	899,000
35-39	1,124,000	837,000
40-44	1,144,000	777,000
45-49	1,084,000	654,000
Total, 15-49	8,544,000	6,560,000

The average number reaching military age (20) annually, 1974-78, is expected to be about 275,000.

Every male citizen is liable for compulsory military service and is required to register at age 18; however, he is not inducted until the year in which he reaches age 20. Of the annual conscript class, the army inducts approximately 150,000 to 165,000; the navy, about 48,000 to serve in the navy and naval infantry (marines); and the air force, approximately 4,600. The three services enroll short-term volunteers along with the conscripts. The army accepts about 25,000 short-term volunteers each year; the navy, 4,000; the air force, approximately 6,500. Conscripts and short-term volunteers comprise approximately 69% and 22%, respectively, of the enlisted strength of the army; about 86% and 8% respectively of the navy enlisted strength; and about 44% and 43%, respectively, of the air force enlisted strength.

The origin of compulsory military service in Spain dates back to 1496. The principle was established in the constitution of 1812 and has been contained in subsequent constitutions. The current basic military service law, passed in 1968, reduced the term of obligation for military service from 24 years (established under the military service law of 8 August 1940) to 18. The legal term of compulsory service is 15 to 18 months; personnel are maintained on inactive lists for the remainder of the compulsory obligation and thereafter on reserve lists until age 38. Deferments are granted for professional, economic, and other special reasons, such as having a brother on active duty. Deferments are reviewed periodically and may be canceled. Students are deferred up to 27 years of age, but deferment will cease immediately for civil disobedience or failure to meet scholastic standards. Exemptions are given for physical reasons and to men serving prison sentences that will not end before the prisoners are age 38.

The High General Staff controls distribution to the services of the annual conscript class. This class is called up in three equal increments in January, May, and September. If available personnel are greater than the total needs, those in excess are placed in a category called "in excess of the contingency." A system of drawing lots is used to select the personnel requirements of the armed forces and those "in excess" of requirements. Deferred personnel who become available for service after their 30th birthday are automatically placed in the "in excess" category. All of the men "in excess of the contingency" are inducted for 3 months of basic training; they are then carried on the inactive lists for 21 months and then carried on the reserve lists until age 38.

Volunteers are accepted by the three service for short-term periods of service. The minimum age for volunteers is 16. The initial enlistment term is 24 months, although short-term volunteers are usually released early, along with the conscripts, unless they request additional service. Conscripts and the short-term volunteers may enlist or reenlist in accordance with regulations of the individual services. The High General Staff determines the total duration of successive reenlistments. Reenlistment procedures are similar to those of the United States, but qualification requirements are much more stringent. Most of the graduates of technical or specialist schools are required to serve additional tours of duty of varying lengths.

There is no organized reserve system, but all men who have completed their terms of active military service have a reserve obligation until they are 38 years old. No reserve personnel are recalled for refresher training. The army has a total of approximately 1.3 million reservists available for mobilization as needed. Of these, approximately 220,000 of the most recently discharged conscript classes have mobilization assignments and are considered to comprise an active reserve. The regional recruiting offices and training centers have instructions for rapid placement of army reservists in the event of mobilization, but the system is not tested. The navy has approximately 310,000 reservists, including naval infantry personnel. Rolls of naval reserve personnel are maintained in the headquarters of the maritime departments. The air force has approximately 224,800 reservists who are assigned to rolls maintained in the headquarters of the air regions. Reservists of all services having the most recent active duty experience would be recalled first in the event of mobilization.

The overall armed forces morale is generally good despite such adverse factors as low pay, slow promotions, and shortage of funds for training. High ranking officers receive generous allowances and favored social recognition, and their morale is quite good. Below the senior leadership morale is lower. Pay scales are so low that almost all officers (except those from wealthy families or who have wealthy wives) below the rank of lieutenant colonel (in the navy, commander) must have outside employment to supplement their income. The slow promotion system is probably second to the low pay in the adverse morale factors. The promotion system is based almost entirely on seniority, and there is no room at the top. Morale among the enlisted men appears to be good; most of the conscripts are from poor families, and they are accustomed to the menial tasks assigned to them during their military service.

Spanish enlisted men are tough, capable of enduring hardships with a minimum of subsistence, courageous, and patriotic. Although individualistic, they are amenable to military discipline. The educational level of the conscripts is low, and the average conscript lacks a background in technical skills. Officers generally are well educated and well informed in military matters, although they often lack practical experience. Top Spanish military leaders are reluctant to delegate authority; all significant decisions are made at ministerial level. Personnel are well disciplined, however, and there is a high degree of rank consciousness at all levels - officer and enlisted - so that decisions are carried out with forcefulness.

The officer corps is conservative and strongly anti-Communist, and there is no known Communist penetration among the enlisted personnel. The armed forces are loyal to the Franco regime; all military leaders appear willing to accept the successor of General Franco's choice.

2. Strength Trends (S)

The overall strength of the armed forces has remained at a fairly stable level since demobilization after World War II. The overall strength of the paramilitary forces has increased during the past 2 years, chiefly because of intensified efforts to reach planned strength levels. The change in the conscription system in 1963 to call up the annual class in three increments instead of once a year resulted in a stable average strength in the army. Navy and Air Force strengths have fluctuated slightly over the past 5 years, but changes have been due to routine personnel matters and adjustments. Civil Guard strength has remained stable, but Armed Police strength has increased by 6,000 in the past 3 years. Strengths for the 1970-73 period (as of 1 July of each year) are shown in Figure 2.

Armed and Paramilitary Forces Personnel Strengths (S)

Year	Army	Navy	Air Force	Civil Guard	Armed Police	Total
1970	201,000	43,100	34,100	62,000	26,000	366,200
1971	201,000	43,000	34,400	62,000	28,000	366,400
1972	201,000	43,600	34,600	62,000	30,000	369,200
1973	201,000	43,200	34,700	62,000	32,000	372,900

3. Training (C)

Small-scale training exercises and maneuvers to test the cooperation of the three services are held periodically, usually at least once a year. Units of the navy and air force cooperate in anti-submarine warfare exercises, and elements of the army and air force usually participate in annual exercises to coordinate air support of the ground forces. Spanish Army paratroops have taken part in annual exercises with French Army paratroops since 1965, alternately in northern Spain or in France near the Spanish border; elements of the air forces of both countries have supported the exercises. The Spanish Air Force regularly participates in air defense exercises with the US Air Force and Navy. The Spanish Navy takes part in joint training exercises with the US, Portuguese, French, and Italian Navies.

The Superior National Defense Studies Center (Centro Superior de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional - CESEDEN) is a tri-service school which opened in 1965 under control of the High General Staff. CESEDEN provides a 4-month course in advanced military studies and a 7-month joint staff course. The advanced military studies course, roughly comparable to the US National War College is open to selected army and air force general officers, admirals, and high-ranking civilians in government service. The joint staff course, somewhat comparable to the US Armed Forces Staff College, is offered to selected majors and lieutenant colonels of the army and air force and to lieutenant commanders and commanders of the navy, all of whom must be graduates of a service staff school. The three services exchange students at their upper level schools (Superior Schools) but not at staff school level; one exception is the Army General Staff School, which accepts naval infantry officers. Army officers attend two air force schools on a regular basis - the Paratroop School and the Superior Air School for the air ground cooperation course. Army pilots are receiving instruction in the United States, but all helicopter training received by army pilots is conducted in Spain by the Spanish Air Force. Entrance examinations for the three service academies are unified.

Officers from the three services attend schools in Portugal and the United States, and selected army officers attend staff and war colleges in Italy, France, West Germany, and Argentina. An existing exchange agreement for the army to send officers to a staff school in the United Kingdom has not been utilized for the past few years. Navy officers may attend the Naval Command and Staff College in the Republic of China. Army and navy officers have attended special schools in France.

Because of the low educational level and the lack of background in technical skills, the bulk of the enlisted personnel receive no technical training.

4. Military Budget (U/OU)

Budgets for the Spanish armed forces are prepared within each of the three separate service ministries. These budget requests, together with those for the Civil Guard and Armed Police (prepared in the Ministry of Interior), constitute the national defense budget, which is reviewed by the Council of Ministers and forwarded to the Cortes Espanolas, the Spanish parliament, for approval. After parliament's approval the defense appropriation bills become law when signed by the Chief of State and countersigned by the Ministers of Army, Navy, Air, and Interior.

Since 1966 Spanish defense expenditures have declined as a percentage of central government expenditures, while remaining stable as a percentage of the gross national product (GNP). During the period 1966 through 1969 they averaged 26% of central government expenditures and 3.5% of the GNP; during 1970 through 1972 they averaged 19.1% of central government expenditures and 3.5% of the GNP. The 1973 proposed defense budget is the equivalent of about US $1,860.4 million, a figure that represents 17.7% of the central government's budget. On a functional basis the 1973 budget allocates about 55% of personnel, 32% for operations and maintenance, and 13% for procurement of major equipment and military construction. Actual expenditures for 1970 through 1972 and the proposed budget for 1973 is shown below.

Annual Defense Expenditures (C)

Service	1970	1971	1972	1973
Army	$339.9 million	$376.7 million	$496.5 million	$604.8 million
Navy	$124.9 million	$134.3 million	$181.2 million	$228.4 million
Air Force	$129.7 million	$138.7 million	$155.6 million	$266.1 million
High General Staff	$1.4 million	$1.7 million	$2.5 million	$4.7 million
Other (Includes Civil Guard, Armed Police of Ministry of Interior, Military Autonomous Agencies and military pensions)	$526.5 million	$610.0 million	$732.0 million	$756.4 million
Total	$1.122 billion	$1.261 billion	$1.567 billion	$1.860 billion

5. Economic Support and Logistics (C)

Spain has made significant progress toward industrialization in recent years. The agricultural sector still occupies a prominent position in the economy, and the country is virtually self-sufficient in food, but manufacturing output is now nearly double the output of agriculture. The expanding manufacturing sector produces most consumer goods and also some capital goods, such as machinery and transportation equipment. The country is well endowed with most industrial raw materials, but nearly all crude oil must be imported.

Domestic output in direct support of the armed forces is limited to infantry weapons, artillery up to 105-mm tank guns, and ammunition; transport and special purpose vehicles; telecommunication, electronic, engineer, and quartermaster equipment; submarines and guided missile destroyer escorts; and some transport and jet trainer aircraft. The planned French-Spanish AMX-30 tank co-production program is expected to provide Spain with an armored vehicle production capability within the next several years. Spain relies primarily on the United States for most heavy or complex military equipment, although purchases in Western Europe have increased in recent years. Between 1952 and 1972 the United States supplied over $840 million worth of materiel, of which more than 80% was furnished as grant aid. Military equipment valued at over $75 million was purchased from Western European countries between 1970 and 1972.

The logistical systems of the three services are separate, but the concepts of joint logistics have been studied by the High General Staff for a number of years; joint logistical doctrines are included in courses at CESEDEN, as well as in courses in the Superior School of the Army and the Army General Staff School. The service ministries have studied the possible standardization of various articles of joint military interest since 1957, and there has been some progress in acceptance for use by the regular services and the paramilitary forces of certain standardized items, such as medical supplies, blankets, pillows, cloth for uniforms and shirts, and various minor tools. Only pharmaceutical supplies are procured jointly, however, and these are obtained by the Pharmacy Service Joint Acquisition Board established in 1963 and controlled by the High General Staff. Tri-service use of military hospitals, including clinics and sanitariums, is coordinated by a board under the direction of the High General Staff.

6. Uniforms and Insignia (U/OU)

Uniform regulations of the Spanish ground forces have not been revised for some time; naval and air forces uniform regulations are being reviewed. Changes to the uniforms and insignia are published in the Diario Oficial (Official Bulletin). Uniforms for officers, warrant officers, and enlisted men within each of the three services are identical in color and styling. Different types of uniforms are worn for different occasions, seasons of the year, and geographical areas in which serving. Parade, dress, service and field uniforms are authorized for wear in all services.

The ground forces service uniform is olive-drab. It consists of a rolled collar lapel-type coat (coat with a stand and tall collar or jacket can be worn in place of the lapel-type coat), matching trousers, white or khaki shirt, dark tie, and black shoes. Uniforms of lightweight material (khaki) are worn during the summer period. Service caps, garrison caps, and berets can be worn with the service uniform.

Naval officers, warrant officers, and petty officers wear the basic navy-blue service uniform, including a double-breasted coat, matching trousers, white shirt, black tie, and black shoes. Seaman wear the traditional navy-blue jumper and trouser combination. Khaki or white uniforms are worn by all ranks during the summer service cap covers are navy-blue or white.

The air force blue-gray service uniform is similar in styling for all personnel. It includes a coat or an open rolled collar jacket, white or blue shirt, blue tie, and black shoes. Tropical worsted or cotton (khaki) and white (officers only) uniforms are worn during the summer. Service and garrison caps are authorized. Insignia of rank are displayed on upper or lower sleeves or on shoulder boards. Additionally, all ground forces personnel and some air force enlisted men wear insignia of rank on the front of their service caps immediately below the cap insignia; general officers of the ground forces, except brigadier generals, and general officers of the air force wear diamond-shaped emblems denoting their respective rank on the coat collar. Branch insignia of the ground forces are distinctive designs displayed on diamond-shaped devices having a red background, and are worn on the collar of the coat or jacket. These insignia are also worn by brigadier generals. Different corps within the naval forces are identified in various colors serving as backgrounds for the sleeve stripes. Specialist insignia of naval enlisted personnel are displayed on sleeves. Air force officers wear diamond-shaped gold and silver insignia on distinctive color fields which are displayed on the coat collar, and enlisted men wear rectangular cloth patches, indicating specialty, on the left sleeve between the shoulder and the elbow. Flying personnel display a winged emblem above the right pocket of the coat or jacket.

C. Army

The primary mission of the Spanish Army is to defend Spain, including the Balearic and Canary Islands, the overseas places of sovereignty, and the province of Africa. Units of the army are strategically deployed for the purpose and also to assist the paramilitary forces in maintaining internal security if needed. (C)

Five divisions and a small number of combat support units have received some end-item assistance under the US Military Assistance Program. The army's overall effectiveness has increased under the influence of the MAP, but its capability to perform its mission is still limited by obsolescence of weapons; lack of mobility, a weak logistic support system; shortages of communications equipment, air defense weapons, tanks, and heavy artillery; many overage officers unfit for active field campaigning; insufficient numbers of NCOs and technical personnel; and inadequate advanced training of enlisted personnel. The army has no significant offensive capability, and it could oppose modern forces invading continental Spain in open battle for only a very short period; thereafter its resistance would be limited to guerrilla warfare. Army units in the North African places of sovereignty¹, Spanish Sahara, and the Canary Islands have received priority in training and equipment, particularly infantry weapons. They are capable of defending Spanish interests in Africa against incursions by minor powers. (S)

¹Ceuta and Melilla, the most significant of the five Spanish places of sovereignty, or presidios, are coastal enclaves. The three remaining presidios are small islands groups off the coast of northern Morocco. No troops are permanently stationed in the island presidios.

1. Organization (C)

Control over the army is exercised by the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces through the Minister of Army, who is an active duty army Lieutenant General as well as a political figure. The minister has direct control over the troops through the captains general of the military regions and the island commands. The minister's directives to these captains general are passed through the Chief of the Central General Staff of the Army. Various administrative and service functions, such as personnel, recruitment, conscription and mobilization, and supervision of the logistical services are handled by inspectorates, directorates, and special agencies directly under the Chief of the Central General Staff or the Under Secretary of the Army.

The Central General Staff of the Army is responsible for organization, training, operational planning, army intelligence, and coordination of staff functions pertaining to the logistical services. The Chief of the Central General Staff has direct control over the Secretariat General, an administrative office which provides the administrative support for development of projects, studies, and coordination of the various agencies subordinate to the Chief of the Central General Staff: the Planning Office, which studies organizational developments and plans new force structures and coordinates studies involving two or more sections of the Central General Staff; the 2d Section, Intelligence; CEMAG (Comision de enlace con el Grupo de Ayuda Militar del Ejercito de los Estados Unidos), which is the liaison office with the US Military Assistance Advisory Group in Madrid; four boards - the Superior Board of Tactics, the Central Armament Board, the Central Clothing Board, and the Central Education and Sports Board - which convene only sporadically to consider matters of military doctrines, problems relating to weapons and equipment and matters of uniforms, military education, and athletic activities; the chiefs of artillery, engineers, signal, and transportation, who control the technical activities relating to units and depots for material of these branches; the chiefs of the geographic, historic, statistical, and standardization services; the directors of the various schools and academies, particularly in training matters to be coordinated with the chiefs of arms and services; the Subinspector of Independent Infantry Units, who coordinates the administration of the infantry regiments in the Canary Islands, Balearic Islands, and Africa; the Subinspector of the Legion and Paratroops, who heads the office that monitors administrative activities of the legion and airborne troops; the Subinspector of Superior Premilitary Instruction, who coordinates the activities of the program for obtaining reserve officers and noncommissioned officers with offices handling activities of the arms and services; the Director of the Superior School of the Army, who also controls the army's general staff school; and the office which directs a program of education and recreation for the soldiers. The Chief of the Central General Staff is assisted by two directors general - the Director General of Organization and Field Operations and the Director General of Instruction and Training - each of whom is roughly comparably to a deputy chief of staff in the US Army staff system and is assisted by a secretariat and five numbered sections. Various administrative and service functions normally performed by an army general staff are handled by offices subordinate to the Under Secretary of the Army. These functions include supervision of the activities normally considered non-tactical, such as procurement and disposal of materiel, administration, and accounting of funds. The undersecretary is primarily concerned with laws, orders, and matters of commercial interest and service support. He supervises the activities of the Comptroller General; the Auditor General; the Judge Advocate; the Directors General of Industry and Materiel, Construction, Social Welfare, Disabled Veterans Affairs, Recruiting and Personnel, and Services (which include quartermaster, medical, veterinary, pharmacy); and a number of miscellaneous offices, procurement and disposal boards, and the army museum.

A decree dated 2 November 1973 established a reorganization plan for the Ministry of Army. Under this plan, which will be implemented gradually during 1974, the basic organizational structure of the ministry will consist of the Central General Staff, a Subsecretariat, an Army Material Headquarters, and the Directorate General of the Civil Guard, which was under the Ministry of Interior during peacetime until November 1973.

The Central General Staff (headed by a lieutenant general) will consist of the Subsecretariat, Directorate of Organization and Operations, Directorate of Supply Services, Directorate of Maintenance Service, Directorate of Instruction, Recruitment and Mobilization Headquarters, and the Chiefs of Branches of the Arms and Services and the Army Superior School. The Subsecretariat, each directorate, and the Recruitment and Mobilization Headquarters will be headed by a major general.

The Subsecretariat will consist of a General Secretariat, Personnel Directorate, and the Economic Affairs Directorate (each headed by a brigadier general). Also directly subordinate to the Subsecretariat will be the Historical Service, General Archives, Purchasing Board, Juridicial Advisor, and the Army Ministry Infantry Battalion. In addition, the Subsecretariat will be responsible for the conduct of relations with other ministerial departments.

The major new organization will be the Army Materiel Headquarters, headed by a lieutenant general. It will be responsible for military materiel research acquisition, and manufacture "in accordance with the directives of the Central General Staff." The new headquarters will consist of a Secretariat, headed by a brigadier general; a Technical Directorate (Inspector General of Engineers); an Investigation Directorate; a Fabrication Directorate; and an Acquisition Directorate. Each of the last three directorates will be headed by a major general.

Peninsular Spain is divided into nine military regions for purposes of military administration and control of tactical units. The two island groups - the Balearic and the Canary Islands - each constitute separate commands on the same level as the military regions. The North African places of sovereignty no longer constitute a separate operational command. Each command of the principal places of sovereignty is now subordinate to a military region on the peninsula. The Canary Islands Command also includes the West African province of Spanish Sahara, and the commander has operational control over air and naval units located within his command. Both the military regions and the island commands are commanded by a captain general², who has the rank of lieutenant general. In addition to control of the troops, the captains general are responsible for various administrative functions, including recruiting, conscription, mobilization, communications, and the supervision of depots and other logistical installations.

The army has four combat arms: infantry; cavalry, which includes armor; artillery, which includes field, antiaircraft, and the coast artillery; and engineers, which still includes signal although there is a separate signal chief. There are a number of corps of services, including quartermaster, transportation, medical (veterinary is usually considered part of the medical service, although veterinary officer rolls are separate), pharmacy, judge advocate, auditing, administrative, music directors, and armament and construction engineers. Officers for the transportation service are drawn from any of the four combat arms. The corps of armament and construction engineers is divided into two branches: 1) ordnance and 2) construction, engineer, and signal specialists. The ordnance branch handles research and development of armament, munitions, and materiel; the work is performed in the national factories and laboratories. The construction, engineer, and signal specialists handle all construction activities and research and development of engineer and signal items. There is a small general staff service which graduates of the General Staff School may enter as vacancies occur; members retain their positions on the promotion lists of the combat arm in which they were commissioned. General staff rosters still list officers belonging to the general staff corps, but the corps was replaced by the service in 1927, and most of the general staff corps members are no longer in an active duty status.

2. Strength, Composition and Disposition (C)

The active duty strength of the army is 201,000 - 15,350 officers, 15,700 noncommissioned officers, and 169,950 other enlisted men. Only about 9% of the enlisted men are regulars; 22% are short-term volunteers, and approximately 69% are conscripts.

All men who have completed their term of compulsory military service have a reserve obligation until January of the year they reach age 38. On release from active service, personnel remain assigned to their former unit to facilitate recall, but there is no system of refresher training. Of the approximately 1.5 million men who have satisfied the compulsory military service requirement in the past 10 years, 800,000 could be mobilized within 30 days, but many of the units would be handicapped by shortages of support weapons, transportation, and communication equipment.

The major combat units are five divisions (one armored, one mechanized infantry, one motorized infantry, two mountain) and 16 brigades (one parachute, one cavalry, one air-transportable, two artillery, one high mountain, and 10 infantry). Separate combat and combat support units consist of 41 regiments (17 infantry, two light cavalry, 12 artillery, one artillery observation, four antiaircraft artillery, five engineer) and six battalions (four light cavalry, one artillery, one engineer). Units are divided into two principal categories - Immediate Intervention Forces and Territorial Operational Defense Forces. The Immediate Intervention Forces, containing three divisions (one armored, one mechanized infantry, one motorized infantry) and four brigades (one cavalry, one parachute, one air-transportable, one artillery) has the mission of providing troops for any trouble spot. The Territorial Operational Defense Forces units are primarily for internal defense and to facilitate mobilization.

The distribution of army personnel and units is approximately as follows:

Area	Personnel	Units
Peninsular Spain	160,700	5 divisions, 16 brigades, 13 regiments
Balearic Islands	5,800	5 regiments, 2 battalions
Canary Islands	8,500	7 regiments, 1 battalion, plus 1 battalion detached from the parachute brigade in Peninsula
Spanish Sahara	8,000	4 regiments, 3 battalions
Ceuta and Melilla	18,000	12 regiments

Personnel strength is slightly lower in Ceuta (8,800) than in Melilla (9,200).

The army has one mixed surface-to-air missile (SAM) battalion containing 24 Hawk and nine Nike Hercules missile launchers; the battalion, which is a component of one of the two artillery brigades, is located in southern Spain near Gibraltar.

Special units include four regiments of the Spanish Legion and a Nomad Troop Regiments in Spanish Sahara which utilizes indigenous personnel. Units of the legion are elite infantry and include very few foreigners. There are 20 understrength companies of special operations forces; cadres of these units are specially trained in guerilla warfare techniques. Two of these companies have been assigned to each of the nine infantry brigades of the Territorial Operational Defense Forces as components of infantry regiments of these brigades. The remaining two companies are assigned one each to the island commands.

3. Training (C)

The training system develops effective basic professional skills, but much of the training is theoretical and lacking in practical exercises. The effectiveness of the training program is limited by obsolescence and shortages of material, a serious lack of specialists and technicians, and insufficient unit training.

Conscripts report directly to recruit training centers, where they receive 16 weeks of basic training. Aptitude tests to determine appropriate assignments to an arm or service are given at the end of the first 8 weeks of general basic training. The remaining 8 weeks are spent in elementary training in the arm of service to which the men have been assigned. After basic training is completed, the conscripts are sent to tactical units, where training includes tactical problems and field exercises. Few conscripts are trained as specialists. Noncommissioned officers (NCOs) attend specialist courses at the various branch and service schools. About 15,000 conscripts per year receive 4- or 6-month courses in a vocational training program that is designed for personnel who have negligible educational background.

The army has stressed guerrilla and counter-guerilla warfare methods for many years, and some aspect of this training is usually tested each year during small-scale, combined arms, field exercises. Unit training is greatly restricted by shortages of petroleum, oil, and lubricants (POL); insufficient allocations of ammunition, and the inadequate amount of time allotted to field exercises. Air and naval support is provided in some of the maneuvers. Spanish and French Army paratroops have developed a regular exchange agreement, beginning with a training maneuver held in France in 1965. Two Spanish paratroop companies have gone to France in odd-numbered years, and two French Army paratroop companies have come to Spain for the joint maneuver. Spanish Army units have not taken part in exercises with US Army elements since 1968.

The army has a complete school system, including a military academy, branch and specialist or technical schools, a general staff school, and a war college. Courses are thorough and produce well educated officers. The army's two highest schools - the Superior School of the Army and the General Staff School - were combined in 1965 into a single institution, also called the Superior School of the Army, located in Madrid. However, although there is one overall director (a major general), each of the two parts of the school has its own director (a brigadier general) and its own curriculum, and for all practical purposes the schools have remained separate. Selected army officers attend the US Command and General Staff College each year on an exchange agreement. Exchange agreements are also in effect with staff and war colleges in Italy, France, West Germany, Portugal, and Argentina, although exchanges are not made on a regular basis. An existing exchange agreement with the United Kingdom has not been used in the past few years. Various Latin American and other countries send students to a number of Spanish Army schools and to the Civil Guard Academy, although not on an exchange arrangement. Several Spanish Army officers attend specialized schools in France and the United States, including the US Army Infantry, Armor, Artillery, Engineer, and Signal Schools. Specialized training for officers and noncommissioned officers assigned to the helicopter units and to the SAM battalion is provided in the United States. Selected officers attend courses in statistics and industrial organization at the University of Madrid. Except for officers recruited from specialized civilian professions, such as the medical, regular army and most Civil Guard officers are graduates of the General Military Academy at Zaragoza. Upon completion of the 2-year course, graduates spend 2 more years at the academy of their chosen arm (infantry, artillery, cavalry, engineer) or the quartermaster corps. Officer candidates seeking a career in one of the other corps or services, such as medical, auditing, or judge advocate, are normally graduates of civilian universities. After attending a short orientation course at the infantry academy, a 1- or 2-year course at the appropriate corps or service academy, and a short training period at the General Military Academy with graduates of all the academies, they enter the army as captains. A few competent noncommissioned officers are selected to attend a 2-year course at the Auxiliary Military Academy, after which they attend one of the branch academies along with graduates of the General Military Academy. The Auxiliary Military Academy also provides an administrative course for noncommissioned officers who desire to become officers on the auxiliary list. When commissioned, these officers are not placed on the regular rolls, they must remain on the auxiliary list for administrative duties only, and they never advance beyond the rank of major. As in the US Army, branch schools provide advanced courses for qualification, familiarization, and specialization for both officers and noncommissioned officers. The army has specialized schools, such as the Army Polytechnic School in Madrid, where nightly technical courses of varying lengths (up to 7 years) are provided in ordnance, signal, and engineering, and the Military Mountain School at Jaca, which gives specialized courses in mountain and guerilla warfare. The army does not have an airborne school; approximately 50 officers and 1,500 enlisted men annually attend the Air Force Parachute School at Aleantarilla Airbase. The army also relies on the air ground cooperation course at the Superior Air School on a regular basis. Only selected prospective staff officers and higher commanders from the combat arms are eligible to attend the 1-year general staff course in the General Staff School portion of the Superior School of the Army. The 6-month command course given in the upper level of the Superior School of the Army is offered to selected colonels and a few lieutenant colonels, all from the combat arms. The course is designed for prospective general officers and is one of the requirements for promotion to brigadier general. Selected navy, air force, and foreign officers may attend the command course. Some army majors and lieutenant colonels who are graduates of the general staff course are selected to attend the 7-month joint staff course at the Superior Center of National Defense Studies (CESEDEN). Selected army general officers attend the 4-month course in advanced military studies at CESEDEN.

There is no system of refresher training, and reservists are not recalled for any obligatory training after release from active duty. Some reservists request active duty to attend schools. Reserve officers and noncommissioned officers are obtained this year from the Superior Premilitary Instruction Program in some of the universities. If successfully completed, the program satisfies the requirement for compulsory military service. Students who are accepted into the program receive military training on two Saturdays per month during the spring session for a period of 2 years. In addition, they must spend two 3-month special training periods in summer camps. Candidates are separated into officer and noncommissioned officer categories on the basis of scholastic standing. Those who become 2d lieutenants in the reserve must attend a 4-month practical training period in one of the recruit training centers.

The following is a location list of army schools and training centers with comments on courses offered at each:

Command and General Staff Schools

Superior School of the Army, Madrid

• 6-month course for higher command; course is open only to selected colonels and a few lieutenant colonels of the combat arms and is a requirement for promotion to brigadier general. Selected navy, air force, and foreign officers may attend 3-month logistics courses for medical and quartermaster officers; 2 courses per year; required for promotion to brigadier general. 2.5-month general orientation course for brigadier generals who were combat arms officers; 2 courses offered per year; requirement for promotion.

General Staff School, Madrid

• A separate element of the Superior School of the Army, 4-year general staff course for selected officers from the combat arms consists of a 1-year correspondence course followed by 2 years of classroom instruction in residence at the school and 1 year of practical training in various types of staffs; about 1.5-month combined army, navy, air force instruction is included during 3rd year. Foreign students may attend either 1 or 2 years of classroom instruction.

Combat Arms Schools

Infantry School, Madrid

• Specialization course consisting of 4 months of nonresident instruction by correspondence and 4 months of classroom instruction at the school; requirement for promotion to major. As required, provides special promotion courses for NCOs and reserve officers.

Cavalry School (includes armor), Madrid

• Specialization course, consisting of correspondence work followed by 4 months in residence at the school; requirement for promotion to major. As required, provides special promotion courses for NCOs and reserve officers.

Artillery School, Madrid (Coast Artillery Section is at Cadiz)

• Specialization course, consisting of 4 months of instruction by correspondence followed by 4 months of classroom instruction at the school; requirement for promotion to major. As required, provides special promotion courses for NCOs and reserve officers.

Engineer and Signal School, Madrid

• Specialization courses offered separately for engineer and signal officers, usually consisting of 4 months of correspondence work followed by 4 months in residence at the school. As required, provides special promotion courses for NCOs and reserve officers.

Corps Schools

Quartermaster School, Madrid

• Specialization course, consisting of 4 months of correspondence work followed by 4 months in residence at the school. As required, provides special promotion courses for NCOs and reserve officers.

Medical School, Madrid

• Supervises all advanced and specialist training at the Pharmacy Institute and the Veterinary Depot-Laboratory. Provides specialization course, usually 9 months' duration, consisting of 2 to 5 months of instruction by correspondence followed by 6.5 months of classroom instruction at the school; requirement for promotion to major. As required, provides special promotion courses for NCOs and reserve officers.

Special Schools

Automotive School, Madrid (Villaverde)

• Numerous familiarization and specialization courses for officers and enlisted men. Courses for officers are usually 2 months in length and those for enlisted men are usually 4 months.

Central School of Physical Education, Toledo

• Provides courses of varying lengths to train officers and NCOs of the army, navy, air force, and the Spanish Civil Guard as physical education instructors; selected civilians may attend.

Army Polytechnic School, Madrid

• Provides trained officer personnel for the armament and construction engineers. Provides a 5-year specialization course for university graduates with technical degrees seeking a career in the army; instruction is directed toward military weapons and equipment, construction, and communications. Army officers who lack a technical background may take the course after a 2-year preparatory course also given at the school.

Geodetics and Topographic School, Madrid

• Technical and specialized training for officers assigned to the geographic service; courses are 1 or 2 years in length and are scheduled only as required.

Combat Arms Academies

General Military Academy, Zaragoza

• Provides first 2 years of academy training.

Infantry Academy, Toledo

• Provides the final 2 years of specialized instruction for infantry officer candidates from the General Military Academy and the Auxiliary Military Academy. Also provides a short general orientation course for officer candidates seeking careers in the medical, veterinary, pharmacy, law (judge advocate), and auditing services.

Cavalry Academy, Valladolid

• Provides the final 2 years of specialized instruction for cavalry (including armor) officer candidates from the General Military Academy and the Auxiliary Military Academy.

Artillery Academy, Segovia

• Provides the final 2 years of specialized instruction for artillery officer candidates from the General Military Academy and the Auxiliary Military Academy.

Engineer Academy, Burgos

• Provides the final 2 years of specialized instruction for engineer (including signal) officer candidates from the General Military Academy and the Auxiliary Military Academy.

Special Academy

Civil Guard Academy, Madrid

• Provides the final 2 years of specialized training for officer candidates who are graduates of the General Military Academy and who have chosen careers in the Civil Guard. Cadets from some South American countries have attended this academy.

Corps and Service Academies

Quartermaster Academy, Avila

• Provides the final 2 years of specialized instruction for quartermaster officer candidates from the General Military Academy and the Auxiliary Military Academy.

Medical Academy (includes Veterinary, Pharmacy Academy, Law Academy, Auditing Academy), Madrid

• These four academies, all in Madrid, provide 1 or 2 years of specialized instruction for university graduates holding degrees related to the fields in which they are seeking army commissions; candidates attend a short indoctrination course at the Infantry Academy prior to their specialization course in the field of their choice, which is followed by a short training period at the General Military Academy; they are commissioned as captains. The Law and Auditing Academies provide advanced courses for officers in those specialties.

Law Academy, Madrid

• Advanced specialization course consisting of 4 months of instruction by correspondence, followed by 4 months of classroom instruction at the school; requirement for promotion to major. This school also provides 1 to 2 years of instruction for officer candidates, as noted in detailed discussion of the academies.

Auditing Academy, Madrid

• Advanced specialization course, usually 8 months in length, consisting of 3 to 4 months of instruction by correspondence, followed by 4 months of classroom instruction at the school; requirement for promotion to major. This school also provides 1 to 2 years of instruction for officer candidates, as noted above.

Listed in the following tabulation are locations and instructional specialties of summer training camps for the university students enrolled in the Superior Paramilitary Instruction program:

Segovia: Infantry, artillery (field and air defense), engineer and signal

Cadiz: Infantry, cavalry, artillery (field), engineer and signal coast artillery

Tarragona: Infantry, artillery (field and air defense), engineer and signal

Zaragoza: Infantry, cavalry, artillery (field), engineer and signal

Santa Cruz de Tenerife: Infantry, artillery (field) and engineer

The Medical Academy in Madrid conducts training as required for medical students enrolled in the Superior Premilitary Instruction Program.

The following is a location list of the 17 recruit training centers:

No. 1: Madrid

No. 2: Alíala de Henares

No. 3: Caceres

No. 4 and No. 5: Cordoba

No. 6 and No. 17: Almeria

No. 7: Valencia (provisionally at Betera)

No. 8: Alicante

No. 9: Gerona

No. 10: Zaragoza

No. 11: Alava

No. 12: Leon

No. 13: Lugo

No. 14: Majorca

No. 15: Santa Cruz de Tenerife

No. 16: Cadiz

4. Logistics (C)

The Ministry of Army procures all types of materiel and supplies for the army through two directorates controlled by the Under Secretary of the Army - the Directorates General of Industry and Materiel and of Services. Funds for procurement are made available by the Comptroller General, also controlled by the under secretary. The Directorate General of Industry and Materiel handles procurement (including manufacturing requirements) of weapons, equipment, and ammunition. The Directorate General of Services either procures or authorizes procurement of all other supplies and maintains careful control over the use of POL, determining the amount of POL items which can be procured and making allocations to the units. Tactical units not belonging to the Immediate Intervention Forces obtain their own POL supplies from local CAMPSA (Compania Arrendataria del Monopoly de Petroleos, S.A., the government-owned organization for import, manufacture, and distribution of petroleum products) stations on the basis of allotments given them by the Directorate General of Services. POL tankers provide support for units of the Immediate Intervention Forces.

Equipment and supplies, other than POL, are stored according to type and service in army depots strategically located throughout the regions and commands; the army has no depots for POL. The depots are under the regulating control of the Directorate General of Services; responsibility for their technical operations is given to the chiefs of services. The captain general of the region in which the installation is located has operational control over the activities of the depots. He is provided some funds for local purchase of various supplies and repair parts and to cover contracts for repairs performed by civilian facilities. Supplies are issued by the depots in accordance with allotments made by the Directorate General of Services and the 4th Section, Services, of the Army Central General Staff; many items are very carefully controlled. The Directorate General of Services, in accordance with the "national plan" prepared by the chiefs of artillery, transportation, engineers, and signal and approved by the Chief of the Central General Staff and the Minister of Army, controls allotments for artillery, automotive, engineer, and signal items. Service or logistics units are responsible for the distribution of supplies. The transportation system is not adequate for wartime needs.

As a result of influences of the US Military Assistance Program, numerous improvements have been made in the field maintenance system, including standardization of maintenance procedures. Equipment is repaired according to a five-echelon system similar to that formerly employed by the US Army. However, there is a shortage of skilled technicians, and most repair work is tied to fixed installations, with a resulting lack of flexibility for field service support in combat. Tactical units perform their own organizational maintenance, but other repair work is handled in regional or central depots. Plans have been developed for mobile maintenance teams to operate out of the regional depots, but only one mobile ordnance direct support company has become operational. A signal direct support company has been planned for organization in the near future.

Most of the weapons and equipment of the army are of varied origin and are either obsolescent or obsolete. Small quantities of relatively modern items provided by the United States include M41 light tanks, M47 and M48 medium tanks, M113 armored personnel carriers, 8-inch howitzers (towed), and 155 mm howitzers, M1 (towed). The army also has a small number of 155-mm self-propelled howitzers, M44, 24 Hawk surface-to-air missile launchers with 128 missiles (132 are authorized), and nine Nike Hercules surface-to-air missile launchers with 18 missiles. A small number of 105-mm howitzers have been procured from Italy for use with the mountain troops. The Italian 105-mm mountain howitzer is a lightweight piece which can be air-transported in small aircraft and air-dropped as a single unit or in several small loads; it can be broken into 11 pack loads and easily transported in the mountains by men or animals. Small arms, principally of Spanish manufacture, include a modern 7.62-mm rifle which can use the standard NATO cartridge.

5. Army Aviation (C)

There is no separate aviation army personnel from any of the combat arms may be assigned to army aviation. The mission of army aviation is to support the army. In support of this mission, it is tasked to enhance the reconnaissance and security capabilities of ground units; engage in offensive, defense, or delaying actions; and provide tactical airlift of combat troops, supplies, and equipment in airmobile operations. Army aviation is dependent on the Spanish Air Force for pilot and technical training and for logistical support of assigned helicopters; however, some army aviation personnel have received training in the United States.

The force consists of 38 helicopters organized into two units - the 11th at Colmenar Viejo in Spain, and the 2nd at El Aaiun in Spanish Sahara. Both units are directly subordinate to the Army Central General Staff in Madrid. The 11th Unit is equipped with a variety of helicopters, including three OH-13H, one AB-206A, six OH-13S, 14 UH-1B/H, and two CH-47. This unit is responsible for supporting operations in Spain and for conversion training of pilots who have completed flying training provided by the air force. The primary tasks of the 2nd Unit, which is equipped with 12 UH-1H helicopters and is scheduled to receive three additional UH-1H helicopters in December 1973, are to conduct tactical reconnaissance patrols and to resupply long-range ground force desert patrols along the Moroccan and Mauritanian borders.

Army aviation has benefitted from increased army interest and support during the past few years, resulting in an increase in helicopter strength and a modest increase in capability. While the overall force capability remains small, one notable improvement has been the expansion of security and reconnaissance operations by the 2nd Unit in Spanish Sahara.

Because of the growing importance of this force, an army aviation staff office was recently established directly subordinate to the Director General of Organization and Field Operations in the Army Central General Staff. The need for this office will become increasingly apparent as the force continues to grow - in addition to the three UH-1H helicopters scheduled for delivery in December 1973, army aviation is scheduled to receive 27 UH-1H helicopters in the 1974-1975 period and four CH-47 transport helicopters and 12 light observation helicopters in 1975.

D. Navy (S)

The mission of the Spanish Navy is to provide defense of the coastal waters of peninsular Spain, the Balearic and Canary Islands, and Spanish Sahara, and to protect shipping. It is also responsible for coast guard functions, such as the prevention of smuggling and the patrol of territorial fishing waters. Supporting tasks include achieving proficiency in escort and patrol, antisubmarine warfare (ASW), mine warfare, and amphibious operations.

The navy is not capable of defending the coastal waters against a major naval force, although some improvements are being made. Obsolete ships are gradually being decommissioned. The US-Spain base rights renewal agreement signed in August 1970 provided for the loan of five destroyers, two submarines, four ocean minesweepers, one dock landing ship, three tank landing ships, and one oiler; all have been delivered except three destroyers and the oiler. Of the 80 combat ships in commission, one helicopter carrier, 12 coastal minesweepers, and three submarines are on loan from the United States. Approximately 30 other ships have been modernized with US equipment as part of the MAP. The modernized ships have 3-inch .50 caliber guns, US Mk 51 and Mk 52 fire control systems, US radars and sonars, Mk 32 homing torpedoes, and Hedgehog and Mousetrap ahead-throwing ASW weapons. The modernized ships have developed a good capability within the limitations of their armament. Spanish personnel are capable of operating modern ships, but considerable foreign technical and material aid will be necessary to continue the rebuilding of the navy. A major in-country shipbuilding program (Phase I) of four French-designed Daphne-class submarines (one commissioned 2 May 1973) and five US DEG-7 (modified Brooke) class guided missile destroyers (one commissioned 24 September 1973) is underway. Future ship construction includes guided missile destroyers, destroyer escorts, Super Daphne-class submarines, patrol vessels, and auxiliaries.

The navy has a naval infantry element which is developing an increasing amphibious warfare capability and can conduct reinforced battalion landing team-type operations against light opposition. A small but growing helicopter-equipped naval air arm supports surface and amphibious forces from Rota Naval Station and from various major surface combatants. The three main naval bases at El Ferrol de Caudillo, Cadix, and Cartagena have facilities to support the existing fleet but will require improvements to service the guided missile ships. Secondary naval bases are located at Tarifa, Spain; Palma, Mahon, and Solar in the Balearic Islands; and Las Palmas in the Canary Islands. Naval headquarters are in Madrid.

1. Organization

The Chief of State exercises administrative control over the navy through the Minister of Navy, who is a senior flag officer and exerts considerable authority in both command and administrative matters. The Chief of the Naval General Staff ranks directly below the minister and, in addition to supervision of the Naval General Staff, exercises overall command of the fleet, two bureaus, the Personnel Department, the Fleet Training Command, and other naval commands.

The Naval General Staff consists of four divisions -- Strategy, Logistics, Tactics, and Organic. The Strategy Division includes sections for Plans, Intelligence, Operations, Naval Control, and Communications. The Logistics Division has sections for Programming, Logistic Plans, and Coordination. The Tactics Division includes Armaments, Defenses, General Tactics and Effectiveness sections, while the Organic Division has only two sections -- Organizational Studies and Coordination.

At the highest level below the Chief of the Naval General Staff are the Chief of the Personnel Department, the Chief of Logistic Support Bureau, the Chief of the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, and the Secretary-General. The Personnel Department includes the Directorates of Recruiting and Naval Personnel, Naval Instruction, Health, and Religious Guidance, while the Logistic Support Bureau includes the Directorates of Naval Military Construction, Supply and Transportation, and Research and Development. The Bureau of Supplies and Accounts is responsible for all fiscal matters. The Secretary-General, through the Secretariat, exercises high-leval coordination of naval central administration activities.

The Chief of the Naval General Staff directly controls the Naval Infantry Corps, a small naval air arm, the Naval War College, the military standardization services, and several training ships, transports, and surveying ships. The Commander of the Fleet Training Command at Cartagena, who supervises all fleet training centers, is also directly responsible to the Chief of the Naval General Staff. Other administrative elements of the ministry which provide the necessary support to keep the fleet operational are also placed under his command.

The coastline of Spain is divided into three maritime zones -- Cantabrico (El Ferrol del Caudillo), Estrecho (Cadiz), and Mediterreaneo (Cartagena) -- each under a senior admiral known as the captain general. He controls assigned ships, shore facilities, local seaward defense, training, logistic support of fleet units, coast guard activities, and administration of local port officers and merchant marine personnel. Naval activities in the Balearic Islands are subordinate to the Mediterreaneo Maritime Zone. The Canary Islands constitute an independent naval command. The Estrecho Maritime Zone controls naval matters for Ceuta and Melilla, the Spanish places of sovereignty in North Africa. The Secretary-General of the Navy is also Chief of the Central Jurisdiction, the naval district (headquartered in Madrid) which includes all of interior Spain.

The Chief of the Communications Section, Naval General Staff, is the head of the communication network. Technical problems, installation of new equipment, and research are the responsibilities of the Technical Center for Electricity, Electronics, and Radio Communications. The principal naval radio stations are located at Madrid, La Carrera, El Ferrol del Caudillo, Cadiz, Cartagena, Palma (Majorca), and Las Palmas (Canary Islands). Shore station and ship communication facilities have been greatly improved with US equipment received under the MAP, but they are still comparable to those in use by the US Navy during World War II. The MAP-supported ships have an ultra-high-frequency (UHF) capability. The efficiency of the communication system is limited by a shortage of trained personnel.

Naval shore activities and most naval units are assigned to the four maritime zone commanders. Selected naval units, including the helicopter carrier Dedalo, the heavy cruiser Canarias, 10 destroyers, and most amphibious ships and craft, form a separate command, the Spanish Fleet. Overall operational coordination and military command of the fleet is exercised by the Commander of the Fleet, based at El Ferrol del Caudillo, aboard the cruiser Canarias. The fleet is organized into type commands, with the Escort Command based at El Ferrol del Caudillo and Cartagena, and the Amphibious Command based at Cadiz. Special task forces are organized under the fleet commander as required for operational exercises.

2. Strength, Composition and Disposition

Ships of the Spanish Navy include 33 major combatants (one helicopter carrier, one heavy cruiser, 15 destroyers, one guided missile destroyer escort, nine destroyer escorts, and six submarines), 11 patrol ships, 27 mine warfare vessels, and nine amphibious ships. In addition, the navy has 82 minor craft (30 amphibious), eight auxiliaries, 43 helicopters, and four fixed-wing utility aircraft.

Nearly all ships are normally stationed in home waters, major combatant ships basing at El Ferrol del Caudillo and Cartagena. All submarines are based at Cartagena, an amphibious group is at Cadiz, and a motor torpedo boat squadron is based at Tarifa. Minesweepers are based at El Ferrol del Caudillo, Cadiz, and Palma (Majorca). Patrol vessels are based at all principal naval ports, and several are stationed in the Canary Islands. Except for two midget submarines, not included above, the navy has no reserve fleet; all other ships not maintained in an active status are undergoing overhaul, major repairs, or modernization.

Personnel strength is about 43,200 officers and enlisted men, including some 8,600 naval infantry, 600 midshipmen, and 115 aviators. Commissioned officers total approximately 3,600. Approximately 86% of the navy's (and naval infantry) enlisted men are conscripts; 8% are short-term volunteers. About 1,600 officers and 12,000 enlisted men are assigned to sea duty.

Naval reserve personnel, including naval infantry reservists, amount to approximately 310,000, of whom about 70,000 could be mobilized within 60 days. There are, however, no organized reserve units.

3. Training

The Directorate of Naval Instruction, under the guidance of the Chief of the Personnel Department, is responsible for most training activities. The navy has a complete school system which provides basic, technical, and advanced instruction, but the system is limited by the low educational level of enlisted men, the short time served by conscripts, and an overemphasis on theory.

There has been considerable improvement in training, largely as a result of assistance provided by the MAP. Schools and technical training centers have received US equipment, and both officer and enlisted personnel have taken US Navy special courses, thereby forming a nucleus of technically qualified people. Schools are patterned after US Navy facilities, employ US methods of instruction, and are generally adequate to meet the navy's training requirements.

Because of a shortage of trained enlisted men, however, the navy depends upon officers to perform many technical duties which in other navies are normally performed by senior petty officers. Overall, the quality of training is not as high as in more advanced navies. There is no program of refresher or continuing training for reservists.

Afloat training and the fleet training centers stress ASW and minesweeping. Practical training is also given in gunnery, fire control, damage control, firefighting, and the operation of electronic equipment. Spanish naval forces participate in ASW and minesweeping exercises with units of the US, French, Italian, and Portuguese Navies, as as a result their efficiency is gradually improving.

Naval schools and training facilities are concentrated in the Madrid, El Ferrol del Caudillo, Cadiz, and Cartagena areas. Candidates for line officer commissions attend a 5-year course at the Naval Academy at Marin, including 1 year at sea aboard a sail training ship. Officer candidates for the naval infantry, engineering, and supply corps also take a 5-year course at the Naval Academy but concentrate on subjects dealing with their special fields and undergo less shipboard training. Basic training of enlisted men devotes much time to non-naval subjects and to elementary education. Specialist schools, most of which have courses for both enlisted men and officers, offer training in various technical fields, including gunnery, electronics, communications, engineering, and amphibious warfare. Conscripts may qualify in some 30 semi-skilled trades and receive additional pay.

The Naval War College offers a senior course for prospective flag officers and a junior course for lieutenant commanders and lieutenants. Both courses are open to selected officers from the other services, and the junior course is open to selected foreign officers. The senior course lasts for 3 months and the junior course for 2 years. Some naval officers attend the Superior Schools (war colleges) of the army and the air force as well as the Superior National Defense Studies Center (CESEDEN), a tri-service school; naval infantry officers also attend the Army General Staff School. Selected officers may attend the Naval Command and Staff College in Nationalist China under an exchange agreement. Some officers attend courses in France, where training in submarines is being given as a result of the Daphne-class submarine construction program. Because of political considerations, no Spanish officers have attended schools in the United Kingdom since 1963. Naval infantry officers train at Marine Corps schools in the United States. (Of some 120 Spanish naval officers who have trained in the United States since 1970, 20 have been naval infantry officers).

Important naval training facilities, locations, and courses offered are listed in the following tabulation:

Naval War College, Madrid: Naval staff courses.

School of Advanced Studies, Cadiz: 3-year post-graduate studies in science and mathematics at university level.

Ordnance Engineering School, Madrid: Naval weapons technology.

Submarine School, Cartagena: Submarine operations, diving.

Naval Ordnance and Gunnery School "Janer", Cadiz: Gunnery and fire control.

Underwater Weapons School, Soller (Balearic Islands): Torpedoes, mines, minelaying and minesweeping.

School of Communications, Electricity, and Electronics, Rios: Operation and repair of equipment.

Machinists School, El Ferrol del Caudillo: Engine operation and repair.

Petty Officers School, San Fernando (near Cadiz): Courses for prospective chief petty and warrant officers.

Naval Infantry School, San Fernando: Practical training, including amphibious warfare.

Naval Academy, Marin: Officer training.

Recruit Training Centers, El Ferrol del Caudillo, San Fernando, and Cartagena: Basic training course for volunteers and conscripts.

4. Logistics

Under the Chief of the Naval General Staff, the Chief of Logistic Support is responsible for all engineering and supply functions required to operate the navy. These functions are divided among the three directorates included in his bureau -- Naval Military Construction (construction and maintenance), Supply and Transportation, and Research and Development.

The technical services of the Directorate of Naval Military Construction (Hull and Machinery, Electricity and Electronics, Weapons, Naval Shore Installations, Weights and Measures and Calibration, and Utilization of Machinery) develop new projects and program and control construction and repair of ships, equipment, and naval facilities. Direct supervision is given to naval bases (arsenales) and shipyards (astilleros), and inspections are made as required at all levels.

In the Directorate of Supply and Transportation, the supply services (Munitions, Fuel, Stores (spare parts), Clothing, and Subsistence) are responsible for the inventory management and distribution of assigned materials, while the Transportation Service is responsible for administration and accounting for utilization of various means of transportation used by the navy, including all automotive material.

The Directorate of Research and Development is responsible for basic and applied research to insure the continued technical improvements required by a modern naval force. The Center for Research and Development in Madrid is under this directorate.

The various naval bases perform support functions for the navy under the policy guidance and direction of the Chief of Logistic Support. Ship repair, building, and supply facilities are concentrated at El Ferrol del Caudillo, Cadiz, and Cartagena. The various repair branches of the naval bases perform minor repairs to ship hulls, machinery, electronics, and ordnance. Spain has the capability to construct submarines and surface combatants up to destroyer size, and to overhaul all ships in its naval inventory, however, these activities are limited by an austere budget and the need to import material and technical aid. Spanish naval units are built and repaired at the three government-controlled Bazan shipyards adjacent to the aforementioned bases. The Bazan and privately owned shipyards build small naval ships and craft, small tankers, and training ships for export, principally to Portugal and Latin America.

Phase I of the current in-country naval shipbuilding program includes the construction of five US DEG-7 (Modified Brooke) class guided missile destroyer escorts (DEG) and four French-designed Daphne-class submarines (SS). All five DEG's have been launched; the first was commissioned in September 1973, and deliveries on the others will continue through 1975. The first SS was commissioned in May 1973, and the remaining three should be operational by the end of 1975.

The Phase II shipbuilding program, to be implemented over the next 10 years, calls for the construction (in Spanish shipyards) of three guided missile destroyers (DDG), 10 destroyer escorts (DE), two Daphne-class submarines, six missile-equipped patrol boats, and numerous auxiliary and service vessels. In addition, the five DEG's now under construction are to be updated. This program will depend heavily on foreign technical and financial aid which is now being actively sought from the United States, France, and West Germany.

The supply system is weak because of the low level of economic support and the small industrial base for production of complex, modern naval ships and equipment. The widely scattered supply facilities are handicapped by a poor transportation system. Crude oil and high-grade metals must be imported. Storage facilities for petroleum products are adequate, but stocks are usually low. Although the present supply system meets the peacetime requirements of the navy, it lacks depth of stores and the means to move them rapidly for wartime needs; underway replenishment is limited to one oiler (AO). The navy is attempting to update its supply organization by adopting methods used by the US Navy, and significant improvements are being made. A centralized inventory control of all supply facilities has been set up in Madrid to coordinate the stocks at each of the three main naval bases. The ships' spare parts stock level is now probably sufficient for 18 to 24 months at present peacetime usage rates.

5. Naval Infantry

The Naval Infantry Corps (Cuerpo de Infanteria de Marină), whose traditional function has been the protection of naval installations, is an integral part of the navy and has undergone a reorganization to provide a highly-trained and effective amphibious warfare force. The Commanding General of the Naval Infantry Corps, under the Chief of the Naval General Staff, is responsible for personnel, training, and organization to enable the corps to meet the operational requirements established by the Naval General Staff. The corps consists of the Regiment of the Fleet (Tercio de Armada -- commonly called the Fleet Marine Force), defense and security forces, and units serving aboard ships. The principal missions of the corps are to carry out amphibious operations, to assure defense and security of naval bases and installations, to provide detachments serving as members of ships companies, and to assist naval authorities when required and directed.

The corps is made of of the headquarters in Madrid and the following main elements:

Unit	Location	Approximate Size
Fleet Marine Force	Cadiz (San Fernando)	5,500
Southern Regiment (Tercio del Sur)	Cadiz	(Included in above)
Northern Regiment (Tercio del Norte)	El Ferrol del Caudillo	1,000
Eastern Regiment (Tercio del Levante)	Cartagena	1,000
Madrid Group	Madrid	500
Canary Islands Group	Las Palmas (Gran Canaria)	450
Balearic Group	Palma (Majorca)	100

Current overall strength is some 600 officers and 8,000 enlisted men.

The Fleet Marine Force, the main combat force of the corps, is an operational element of the Amphibious Command responsible to the Commander of the Fleet. This landing force, which holds all heavy weapons and equipment, includes six rifle companies, a company of tanks (17 M-48s), two batteries of artillery, and an anti-tank company. Equipment includes 105-mm self-propelled howitzers, 90-mm self-propelled anti-tank guns, 106-mm and 75-mm recoilless rifles, M274 weapons carriers, 4.2-inch heavy mortars, rocket launchers, flame throwers, LVTs (tank landing vehicles), and some 250 wheeled vehicles.

Sealift is provided by the Amphibious Group based at Cadiz. Ships include one amphibious transport (LPA), one amphibious cargo ship (LKA), one dock landing ship (LSD), three tank landing ships (LST), and three medium landing ships (LSM), all ex-US types, plus some 30 landing craft.

The landing force can conduct a reinforced battalion landing team-type of operation against a lightly defended beach and carry out amphibious raids and reconnaissance missions. Limitations include lack of an airlift capability and dependence upon the Spanish Air Force for air support. As a partial solution to the latter problem, eight AH-1G (Huey Cobra) gunship helicopters have been acquired for the Fleet Marine Force.

The defense and security forces are operationally responsible to local naval commands. The three regiments, two groups, and smaller detachments perform guard and security duties. The personnel of the Southern Regiment are part of the Fleet Marine Force. The Northern and Eastern Regiments each have a landing force whose strength is normally that of a reinforced company, plus a battalion staff. These are well-trained units designed to provide a nucleus for a quickly-mobilizable battalion of reservists in the event of war, and also to provide a company for integration into the Fleet Marine Force for exercises and emergency use. Detachments serve aboard ships as crews for light air defense guns, as military police, and as a nucleus for ships' landing parties.

Training exercises are carried out periodically with the Spanish Army, the French Navy, and marine elements of the US Sixth Fleet. Tactics and weapons are generally the same as those employed by the US Marine Corps.

6. Naval Air Arm

The naval air arm has the primary mission of providing air support to naval surface forces in the conduct of their ASW mission. Secondary missions include support of both search and rescue (SAR) and naval infantry vertical assault operations.

Command of the naval air arm is exercised by the Chief of the Naval General Staff through the Chief of the Air Arm Section. Directly subordinate to the Chief of the Air Arm Section is the Chief of the Helicopter Flotilla, who maintains direct operational control of the naval air squadrons and concurrently serves as Director of the Naval Helicopter Aviation Instruction Center (CIANIIE) as well as Commanding Officer, Rota Heliport, at the Rota Naval Station. He maintains close liaison with the air force's HU-16B squadron which provides fixed-wing ASW support to the navy.

Operational ASW helicopters are organized into three frontline squadrons. Two squadrons (one with SH-3D and the other with four AB-204B helicopters) operate from the helicopter Dedalo, and one squadron with five Hughes 500M helicopters operates from destroyer-type combatants. The ASW capability is enhanced by three P-3 Orion and HU-16B fixed-wing aircraft belonging to the air force. Use of the HU-16B aircraft would probably be confined to ocean surveillance. Other established units include a newly-formed attack helicopter squadron (eight AH-1G Huey Cobra), one transport/utility helicopter squadron (seven Sikorsky S-55), one training helicopter squadron (12 OH-13G Sioux), and one fixed-wing liaison communications squadron (four Piper Comanche, none of which is operational). All units are stationed at the Rota Naval Station. The air arm has approximately 115 designated aviators, including staff pilots.

Although the naval air arm's ASW and SAR capabilities have gradually improved during the past few years, primarily as a result of the introduction of more and new helicopters and an increase in operational experience, the all-helicopter operational force is still limited in size and scope of operations. As a result, it is incapable of fulfilling its primary mission. Airlift capability is inadequate to support naval infantry vertical assault operations, and attack helicopter support is in the developmental stage. Eight Hawker Siddeley Harrier aircraft are on order from the US Government.

E. Air Force (S)

The missions of the air force are air defense of Spain and its overseas territories, tactical and logistical support of ground and naval forces, pilot training for the army and civilian airlines, military paratroop training, and the conduct of search and rescue (SAR) operations. In support of its operational missions, the Air Force is tasked to identify and intercept intruding aircraft, provide close air and reconnaissance support for the army and navy, assist naval surface and helicopter forces in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations, provide tactical transport support for all services and aerial refueling support for appropriate air force units, and provide aerial support for SAR operations.

The air force has air defense, tactical air, transport and logistical support capabilities, but lacks strategic capability. It has an excellent capability to meet its responsibilities against a minor air power or a combination of minor air powers, such as Algeria and Morocco, and to assist in the maintenance of internal security. Although its capability against a large, modern Air Force has been advanced through the acquisition of modern, high-performance aircraft, the air force is still too small and lacks requisite staying power. Unless it received external reinforcement and logistical support, it could not fulfill its missions against a major, modern air force.

The air defense force's potential to defend Spain and its overseas territories has been improved primarily as a result of the introduction of the French Mirage III-E and US F-4C Phantom supersonic all-weather fighter-bombers. However, despite its modernization of the interceptor force, the entire air defense system could be overwhelmed rapidly by a large, modern Air Force employing saturation attacks, low-level penetrations, and electronic countermeasures (ECM). Current major deficiencies in the system include the lack of fully combat-ready interceptor aircraft, inadequacies in the early warning/ground-controlled intercept (EW/GCI) radar and communications systems, and insufficient training. In addition, integration of the Spanish Army's air defense artillery (ADA) and surface-to-air missile (SAM) units into the active air defense force does not appear to have been accomplished effectively.

Tactical air capabilities are considerably restricted by the forced reliance on obsolescent and limited-capable piston and jet trainer-type aircraft, the lack of an effective tactical air control system, and currently, by the nonavailability of cameras for the RF-5A Freedom Fighter. The one air force fixed-wing ASW squadron works in conjunction with naval helicopters in providing aerial ASW patrol support to naval surface forces and reportedly flies daily missions. The squadron is considered to have only a moderate capability, given the obsolescence of its HU-16B aircraft and their lack of modern ASW sensors, and is best suited for maritime patrol operations against surface forces.

Air transport capability is adequate to meet peacetime needs in continental Spain except for the air force's inability to airlift several types of army vehicles and larger equipment. In addition, airlift resources are inadequate to support a large emergency troop deployment to the Canary Islands or Spanish Sahara.

Major deficiencies common to all air force combat and combat support units include shortages of technical and specialist personnel, insufficiency of realistic training, and inadequate logistical support.

Air defense capability is expected to improve considerably as the new Mirage III-E and F-4C Phantom squadrons attain full combat readiness and the EW/GCI system is upgraded. In the latter instance, modernization is underway to provide Spain with one of the most modern semi-automated systems in Europe, one which will be compatible with the existing French and NATO systems. In addition, the purchase of some 15 Mirage F-1 fighter-bombers for the air defense force has been approved. Deliveries should begin in late 1974 or early 1975. By contrast, upgrading of the tactical fighter force is to be quite modest. Introduction of the indigenous HA-220 Super Saeta into one squadron currently equipped with older HA-200 will represent the most significant new development. However, although the HA-220 will offer a greater range and ordnance carrying capability over its predecessor, it must be considered as a limited-capable aircraft when compared with the air force's SF-5 Freedom Fighter. Camera are being procured for one squadron equipped with RF-5A aircraft to provide the air force with a tactical reconnaissance capability. The recent acquisition of three US P-3 Orion aircraft has enhanced the tactical force's ASW and maritime patrol capability. These aircraft have been formed into a second squadron to supplement the HU-16B force. Aircrews for the P-3 squadron were trained in the United States. Improvement in the air transport force has begun to register progress. The air force has ordered 12 indigenous CASA-212 Aviocar light short take-off and landing (STOL) transports, delivery of which will probably take place in late 1973 and in 1974. Also, four C-130H Hercules medium transports have been ordered from the United States. Delivery of these are to begin in late 1973 and be completed by the spring of 1974. In addition, work has been progressing on the design of an indigenous smaller scale version of the C-130 Hercules which has been designated as the CASA-401.

1. Organization

The Chief of State, who is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, exercises control over the air force through the Minister of Air, an active duty lieutenant general, who is authorized to organize and maintain the air force and civil aviation. The minister's principal responsibility, however, is the overall functioning of the air force. In discharging his responsibilities, the Minister of Air is advised by the Superior Aeronautical Council. Under his direct control are three major organizational divisions; the Air Force General Staff, the Subsecretariat, and the Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation. Also directly subordinate to him are four mission-oriented or functional commands and four geographic commands.

The Superior Aeronautical Council is a consultative and advisory body, chaired by the Minister of Air, which deals with matters relating to organization and efficiency of the air force.

The Air Force General Staff is headed by the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, who is primarily responsible for the procurement, mobilization, and training of personnel for assignment to air force units and organizations. In addition, he is tasked to develop doctrine, directives, and programs to effect maximum utilization of air force resources. He is assisted by a deputy and four numbered staff sections. Subordinate to him are the Superior Air School and various specialized services and directorates, such as training, mobilization, communications, cryptography, statistics, standardization, and cartography and photography.

The Subsecretariat is mainly responsible for providing administrative, logistical, and supplementary services not directly related to tactical operations. This division coordinates with the aerospace industry as it relates to air force needs, and is ultimately responsible for coordinating and centralizing air force contracting and purchasing of needed equipment and materiel. The Subsecretary is advised by the Advisory Council of Aeronautical Industries and controls six directorates or offices which are concerned with supply, auditing, personnel, services, procurement, and the aeronautical industry.

The Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation is responsible for everything related to commercial and private aviation, the functioning of related subordinate organizations, and for advising the Minister of Air on policy as it relates to civil aviation. He chairs and is advised by the Superior Council of Airports on matters relating to airport policy, and is assisted by a technical secretariat which is concerned with the planning, inspection, and general coordination of civil aviation activities. The principal divisional elements of the Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation are the Air Transport Directorate, the Airports Directorate, and the Infrastructure Directorate. The Air Transport Directorate General is responsible for preparing and executing plans related to civil aviation and maintaining relations with equivalent foreign and international organizations. The Airports Directorate General is responsible for the national Air Traffic Control Service and the management of navigational and telecommunications aids, and airports. The Infrastructure Directorate General is primarily responsible for the construction and maintenance of installations and facilities. Also subordinate to the Subsecretariat of Civil Aviation are the National Meteorological Service, the Search and Rescue Service, the Helicopter Service, the Aircraft Registration Office, and the National Airports Office. The Subsecretary of Civil Aviation is also the Spanish representative to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

To execute its operational tasks, the air force is organized into four functional commands -- Air Defense, Tactical Air, Air Transport, and Air Materiel -- which are directly subordinate to the Minister of Air. Aircraft and support units are established and maintained as appropriate, and each command has its own staff. Organization of operational aircraft units follows basically that of the US Air Force with wings or groups composed of squadrons, flights, and detachments in descending order. The Chief of the Air Defense Command (Air Defense Commander) is assigned operational control for the fighter interceptor squadrons, the functioning of the EW/GCI radar system, and the integration of army ADA and SAM units into the total air defense system. Although he is directly subordinate to the Minister of Air in peacetime, the Air Defense Commander automatically becomes subject to the direction of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces in time of war. The Air Defense Commander exercises operational command of his forces through the Air Defense Combat Operations Center (ADOC) which is located in the US-Spanish Joint Air Control and Coordination Center (JACCC) at Torrejon de Ardoz Airbase, near Madrid. Subordinate to the ADOC are three air defense sector operations centers (SOCs) -- northeast, central, and southwest -- which are supported by combat reporting centers (CRCs). In the conduct of air defense operations, early warning information obtained by a CRC is passed to its parent SOC, which, in turn, alerts the ADCOC and appropriate interceptor units. Overall control and coordination of air defense operations are maintained by the ADOC, which is in a position to monitor activity in all three air defense sectors. However, the direction of actual intercept operations would be accomplished by the SOC, which is co-located with a radar site. A microwave system provides the primary communication link for all elements of the air defense system. The commanders of the three remaining functional commands are responsible for combat and support operations deriving from their respective command designations.

Also directly subordinate to the Minister of Air are four geographic commanders who are primarily responsible for providing logistical and technical support to units of the functional commands which are located within their geographic command boundaries. Three air regions designated First, Second, and Third with headquarters at Madrid, Seville, and Zaragoza, respectively, are responsible for peninsular Spain and the Balearic Islands, and one air zone, the Canaries Air Zone (headquartered in Las Palmas), is responsible for the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara. The air regions and the air zone are further divided into air sectors. The position of sub inspector created in the air regions and the air zone appears to be comparable to a deputy chief; in most cases, the sub-inspector serves concurrently as the chief of the air sector in which the respective air region or air zone headquarters is located. With the exception of the Canaries Air Zone Command, which controls operational units deployed from peninsular Spain to the Canary Islands and Spanish Sahara, the three air region commands have at their disposal only small assorted squadrons and flights which are used primarily for proficiency flying, liaison, and light transport activities. However, in the event of war or internal emergency, numerous T-6 Texan piston trainer-type aircraft assigned to these air region commands and subordinate air sector headquarters could be employed in local tactical air operations.

2. Strength, Composition and Disposition

Total personnel strength is approximately 34,700, which includes 4,340 officers, 240 academy cadets, and 30,120 noncommissioned officers and other enlisted personnel. Pilot strength is slightly less than 1,400, most of whom are officers and the remainder noncommissioned officers. An additional 360 personnel are undergoing pilot training. The air force also employs about 11,000 civilians, primarily in technical and administrative capacities.

Total aircraft inventory is 999, which includes 59 jet all-weather fighter-bombers, 76 jet attack, 18 jet fighter reconnaissance, three jet light transports, seven prop light bombers, 163 prop light and medium transports, 552 trainers (150 jet, 402 prop), 39 helicopters (27 piston, 12 turbine), 11 prop anti-submarine warfare (ASW), three prop tankers, and 66 miscellaneous prop utility aircraft.

Approximately 85% of the inventory is assigned to the 24 operational squadrons, 24 assorted squadrons flights, and 13 training squadrons. With the exception of training aircraft assigned to the General Air Academy at San Javier Airbase, almost 90% of the assigned aircraft can be found at 12 airbases in continental Spain. Most of the remaining operational aircraft are based in the Canary Islands, from where they are deployed to Spanish Sahara in support of desert operations. A few aircraft are also based in the Balearic Islands. Air force operational units are as follows:

Numbers and Types of Units	Aircraft Types
4 all-weather fighter squadrons	Mirage III-E, F-4C Phantom
6 fighter-bomber squadrons	SF-5A/B, RF-5A, HA-200, HA-220, T-6 Texan
9 transport squadrons	C-47, C-54, Azor 207, DHC-4
1 anti-submarine warfare squadron	HU-16B
1 tanker squadron	KC-97L
3 search and rescue squadrons	HU-16A/B, DO-27, AB-205/206A, Bell-47
24 assorted squadrons/flights	Miscellaneous

The air force reserve consists of an inactive force of 222,842, including 1,469 officers. They are assigned to the various geographic region commands and are called to active duty as the need arises. Since the reservists do not train, their ability to perform effectively when recalled would depend on how recently they had served on active duty.

3. Training

The air force has a thorough school system for developing basic and professional skills for both officer and enlisted personnel. The system is considered self-sufficient, with graduate quotas adequate to meet most existing military requirements. Although flight training is considered sufficient for military needs, the rapid growth of commercial aviation is luring away young officer pilots in ever increasing numbers. (There is no civil pilot training program in Spain.) Course curriculums are generally patterned after those of the US Air Force, and only in isolated and highly specialized cases in outside training assistance required. However, once a cadre of personnel has been trained with foreign assistance, the air force has demonstrated a capability of establishing and maintaining its own programs.

Officers recruited from civilian professions and those recruited for the General Air Academy are afforded professional and military training to prepare them for their appropriate assignments. Enlisted volunteers are given extensive technical and specialist training, but conscripts are given little such training because of their short term of required service. However, this training and available to those conscripts who have demonstrated ability and an interest in an air force career.

The Directorate of Training, subordinate to the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, is responsible for most air force training and training centers, academies, and schools under the cognizance of the Chief of the Air Force General Staff. Significant schools not under directorate control are the Superior Air School, the Cartography and Photography School, and the National Meteorological Institute, these are directly subordinate to the Chief of the Air Force General Staff, the Cartographic and Photographic Service, and the National Meteorological Service, respectively.

The highest level school in the air force system is the Superior Air School. This school provides a 2-year staff course for prospective staff officers and higher commanders and a 3-month command course which corresponds roughly to the US Air Force Air Command and Staff College. The command course is attended by selected majors and lieutenant colonels. Selected staff school graduates may attend a 7-month joint staff course at the Superior National Defense Studies Center (CESEDEN). A 4-month advanced course at CESEDEN is open for selected air force generals.

Permanent career officers graduate from the General Air Academy at San Javier Airbase, near Cartagena. Here cadets undergo 4 years of professional training to prepare them for the flying service, ground service, and administrative service. Academic courses are identical for all students for the first 2 years. In the third year, flight and ground service cadets take the same courses, which are technically and militarily oriented. During the fourth year there is considerable divergence to permit flying training for flight cadets and the study of applicable subjects for ground service cadets. Students preparing for the administrative service adhere to a different curriculum during the last 2 years, concentrating primarily on commercial mathematics, accounting, economics, clothing technology, the English language, and several law specialties.

Flying training is conducted for flying service cadets throughout their 4 years at the academy. The first year consists of 40 hours of initial flying in Bucker BU-131 primary trainers, including formation flying, initial aerobatics, and other visual contact flying. The second year is devoted to observer flying training in AISA I-115 and JU-52 aircraft with emphasis on map reading, target identification, photographic reconnaissance, and navigation. During the third year additional formation flying and instrument training are afforded, and cadets are commissioned as second lieutenants. Students continue their academic training during their fourth year and also complete their basic flying training at the academy in either the HA-200 jet trainer or the T-6 Texan prop trainer, following which they receive their wings and are promoted to the rank of first lieutenant. From the academy these officer pilots proceed for advanced training either to the Jet Flying School at Talavera la Real Airbase, near Badajoz, where they fly the SF-5B Freedom Fighter, or to the Multiengine Flying School at Matacan Airbase, where they fly C-47, Beechcraft Baron, and Piper Navajo trainers, with major emphasis on instrument training. Upon completion of their advanced training, pilots are assigned to squadrons where they continue to receive operational training in squadron aircraft.

While individual pilot training is generally considered good, unit training is relatively weak. The air force has suffered from the lack of large-scale practical exercises with ground and naval forces, and it has not benefited measurably from joint exercises with the Portuguese Air Force. Although advertised as combined air defense exercises, the joint exercises have resulted in little more than cross-country flights. Spanish pilots and EW/GCI personnel have worked with the French Air Force on an exchange basis in joint air defense exercises in the past. Spanish pilot and ground personnel have had the benefit of and continue to receive training assistance provided by US instructors and advisors, and they can be expected to improve their respective capabilities in regular exercises with US aircraft operating in or near Spain.

The University Air Militia, composed of flying and non-flying students in various universities, corresponds to the US Air Force Reserve Officer Training Program (ROTC) and provides both reserve officers and noncommissioned officers. Under this program selected university students attend two summer camp training periods during their university years. After graduation they serve 4 months as second lieutenants. The majority are engineer, medical, supply, and legal officers, who, although they do not remain on active duty after their required 4-month tour, are retained as members of the reserve force for life. Promotions may be obtained only by returning to active duty for a 6-month period. These tours are voluntary and must be separated by periods of at least 10 years. The rank of major is the highest attainable under this program. Additional reserve pilots are obtained under a program whereby selected individuals attend flying school and serve as enlisted men. Upon completion of their flying training they must request and complete a 4-year active duty tour as flying sergeants to qualify for advancement. A second 4-year tour must then be requested for which those selected are promoted to second lieutenant. Of this group, a select few are permitted to stay on as regular officers. The remainder return to reserve status and may obtain promotion only by returning to active duty for the prescribed 6-month period.

Additional reserves include both retired officers and regulars who have asked relief from active duty to pursue a civilian occupation. They are carried as supernumeraries by the air force and can remain in this status for 10 years or a maximum of 12 with active duty periods. A supernumerary may be promoted along with his active duty contemporaries during the first 3 years, after which he is frozen in rank. After 12 years a supernumerary must return to active duty or be permanently retired.

Reserve training for those who qualify and request it is, therefore, conducted on an individual rather than an organized basis. This unorganized force is assigned to the headquarters rolls of air region in which the members reside. Reservists having the most recent active duty experience would be recalled in the event of mobilization, since they would initially constitute the greatest reserve asset to the air force.

The major air force schools are as follows:

Superior Air School, Madrid

• 2-year general staff course for field- and company-grade officers (flight and ground services) to qualify for promotion (promotion is not automatic); 3-month command course for colonels to qualify for promotion to general officer rank; 3 month course for captains to qualify for promotion to major; 2-month air/ground cooperation course for officers of all three services; 1-month cooperation course to improve cooperation among the three services.

Central Motor Transport School, Madrid

• 8- to 12-month course in motor vehicles to include driving and maintenance training.

Aeronautical Engineering School, Madrid

• 5-year specialization courses for university graduates with technical degrees who desire a career in the air force; school is subordinate to the Minister of Education and Science.

Glider School, Madrid, Huesca, Llanes, and Somosierra

• Courses run approximately 6 weeks; 5 held each year; most of the 1,000 students trained annually are civilians who do not incur a military obligation.

National Meteorological Institute, Madrid

• School subordinate to the National Meteorological Service. Length and exact nature of courses are not known.

General Air Academy, San Javier Airbase

• 4-year professional course for regular flying service, ground service, and administrative officers; graduates commissioned as 1st lieutenants; primary flying training offered during first 3 years; 1st year -- 40 hours in BU-131 primary trainer to include formation, initial aerobatic, and other contact flying; 2nd year -- 34 hours of observer training in I-115 and JU-52 aircraft to include 14 hours in map reading and target identification and 20 hours in photographic reconnaissance and introduction to navigational aids; 3rd year -- 40 hours in T-34 aircraft to include 10 hours simulated instruments and 30 hours in contact/formation flying; cadets commissioned as 2nd lieutenants; academic training taken in first half of 4th year; basic jet and prop flying taken during 1st half of 4th year; cadets commissioned as 1st lieutenants and receive their wings; current total enrollment estimated at 230; 6-month course for non-regular officers who hold professional degrees in such fields as medicine and law.

Multiengine Flying School, Matacan Airbase

• Provides advanced instrument and multi-engine conversion training primarily in C-47 aircraft, supplemented by ground school; annual output is estimated at 160, which includes 60 airline pilots; course includes 193 hours of ground school and 127 flying hours.

Jet Flying School, Talavera la Real Airbase

• 7-month advanced course in conversion to jet aircraft for General Air Academy graduates, NCOs, and pilots qualified in conventional aircraft.

Helicopter Flying School, Cuatro Vientos Airbase

• 3-month course in light helicopter to include 60 flying hours; training conducted for air force, army, and navy pilots, as well as civilian pilots; also provides helicopter mechanic training.

Cartography and Photography School, Cuatro Vientos Airbase

• No set programs or courses exist; students learn by working on actual projects; majority of students are officers; normally, fewer than 10 undergoing training at any time.

Communication School, Cuatro Vientos Airbase

• 1-year controller course for for officers with emphasis on ground-controlled intercept procedures and related English language terminology; 1-year electronics course primarily for enlisted personnel and directed at electronics equipment maintenance; 3-year professional development course designed to produce professionals in the communications area; graduates of latter course are accredited as electricians.

Military Paratroop School, Alcantrilla Airbase

• 1-month basic paratroop course; other courses include command training (2 months), instructor training (10 weeks), refresher training (2 months), equipment drop training (2 months), and sapper training (2 months). Both army and air force personnel are trained, with army predominating in numbers of both students and instructors.

Reserve Pilots School, Armilla Airbase

• 10-month primary flight school for civilian volunteers who desire to serve 4 years as sergeant pilots; BU-131 aircraft are utilized; graduates proceed to Matacan Airbase and then to multi-engine or jet training in the advanced phase.

University Air Militia, various universities

• Headquarters located at Burgos; both flight and ground support personnel are trained during 3-month summer camp sessions in successive years; those completing course of instruction are commissioned as reserve 2nd lieutenants and required to serve a 4-month tour on active duty; BU-131 aircraft are utilized.

Aircraft and Engineering School, Leon, Malaga, Logrono

• Specialist courses of various durations related to aircraft electronics and ordnance, mechanics, and maintenance for airmen through senior NCOs; courses related to supply activity are also offered.

4. Logistics

Logistical support of the air force is a responsibility of the Minister of Air, who controls procurement and establishes logistic policies. In actual practice he delegates this responsibility to the Subsecretariat for high-level planning, coordinating, and centralizing of air force requirements and to the Air Materiel Command for day-to-day logistical support of air force operational units. The Subsecretariat issues a requisition to effect delivery of materiel required by the Air Materiel Command or directs that its subordinate Central Procurement Board obtain the item if it is not available. Requests for unusual and expensive items must be referred to the Minister of Air for approval, and they are channeled through the Directorate of Aeronautical Industry in the Subsecretariat if they relate to significant aircraft and ordnance developments. Requests for additional or ongoing funds for existing programs or projects are often bogged down in the time-consuming chain of command, causing gaps in aircraft production, training, and logistical support.

The Air Materiel Command, created in late 1965, is primarily concerned with the acquisition, storage, maintenance, and distribution of materials required by the operational forces and the inspection and maintenance of aerospace systems (aircraft and associated equipment). Subordinate to the Chief, Air Materiel Command are the Technical Department for Purchases; the Office of Economic Statistics; sections for aircraft, communications, armament, automobiles, and fuel; and air force depots.

Logistic support for the air force is tied to four main depots at Cuatro Vientos, Getafe, Albacete, and Sevilla Airbases. Cuatros Vientos, the most significant, provides aircraft and engine overhaul. The Getafe depot handles communications and electronics equipment. It provides excellent facilities for receipt, storage, and issuance of these items, and is capable of conducting their overhaul and repair. Smaller depots which handle armament, POL, and vehicles are located in the Madrid area.

Unit maintenance is conducted by maintenance squadrons located at the various operational bases and is considered good, even though it is often handicapped by shortages of spare parts and materials. The majority of depot maintenance on airframes and engines is accomplished by civilian aerospace firms on a contract basis.

The Spanish aerospace industry has to date been unable to meet the requirements of the air force. Assembly of the SF-5 Freedom Fighter under license from Northrop is probably its most significant contribution to the present air force, although there are a considerable number of Spanish-designed and built aircraft in the inventory, such as the HA-200 and the Azor 207. The aerospace industry is reasonably active in the civil aircraft field as it constructs components for the Mercure, Falcon 20, Boeing 727, and the A-300 Airbus.

F. Paramilitary (C)

Spain has two paramilitary forces -- the Civil Guard and the Armed Police. These national police organizations, with missions of maintaining internal security throughout the nation, are loyal to the regime and are well trained and equipped for controlling disorders in the performance of their missions.

1. Civil Guard

The peacetime mission of the Civil Guard is the maintenance of law and order throughout rural Spain and frontier areas. It performs highway traffic control duties, maintains customs control along the borders, and operates an effective intelligence network in connection with its responsibilities for the prevention of subversive activities and control of smuggling.

Under the reorganization of the Spanish Army Ministry, which is expected to take place during 1974, the Civil Guard will be directly subordinate to the Minister of Army (and in his absence to the Chief of the Central General Staff). Until November 1973 the guard was under the Ministry of Interior for administration and peacetime employment, but had close ties with the Ministry of Army for matters of personnel, training, and armament. It depends upon the Ministry of Finance for guidance in its responsibilities for the prevention of fraud and smuggling.

The headquarters, or Directorate General, of the Civil Guard in Madrid, includes a staff organized along normal military lines. The Director General of the Civil Guard is always a career lieutenant general of the army. The majority of the officer corps are graduates of the army's General Military Academy and a 2-year course at the Civil Guard Academy; the remainder are former Civil Guard noncommissioned officers who have attended the course at the Civil Guard Academy. A few army officers are assigned to the Civil Guard for special duties, such as communications, supply, weapons specialties, and general staff functions. All enlisted men are volunteers. Except for sons (including orphans) of Civil Guard personnel, all enlisted men must have completed their term of compulsory service. The former, who receive preference when vacancies occur, enter a special preparatory school (Colegio de Guardias Jovenes) as children; their training is rigid. All other enlistees are required to attend a 3-month course in special techniques of the Civil Guard, given at one of the three regional academies of instruction located in El Escorial, Sabadell, and Ubeda.

The strength of the Civil Guard is 62,000 officers and enlisted men. The force consists of 28 regiments deployed throughout the peninsula and the islands. There is a battalion each in Ceuta and Melilla (both of which are components of a regiment stationed in southern Spain), but no units are in Spanish Sahara.

A regiment has no fixed table of organization and equipment; its strength is determined by geographic and population considerations. Below the regiment is a unit roughly comparable to a battalion, called a comandancia, which is the basic unit that works with the provincial governors. The battalions are subdivided into companies, lineas (roughly equivalent to platoons), and posts. All units are linked by wire and radio communications to the Directorate General in Madrid. Units are well armed with pistols, rifles, submachine guns, and machine guns; some have mortars, anti-tank guns, and flamethrowers. Headquarters maintains a reserve supply of weapons in Madrid. Transportation includes horses, bicycles, motorcycles, automobiles, and a variety of trucks. Units assigned to traffic control duties are well supplied with motorcycles and other vehicles, they also have six light observation helicopters for surveillance. The Civil Guard makes effective use of police dogs, which are trained at a special school in the outskirts of Madrid.

2. Armed Police

The primary mission of the Armed Police is to maintain law and order in metropolitan areas. The organization is controlled by the Directorate General of Security, one of the directorates of the Ministry of Interior, but in wartime or in an emergency it would come under army control. Its headquarters, called the Inspectorate General of Armed Police, has a small staff, most of whom are field-grade army officers. The commander -- the Inspector General -- is a career arms brigadier or major general. Some officers are obtained from selected enlisted personnel who graduate from a 9-month officers' training course at the Special Academy of the Armed Police, but most of the officers are on detached service from the army. Enlisted men are recruited from volunteers who have completed their compulsory military service. All personnel -- army officers on special detail and new enlisted men -- must attend a 4-month orientation course at the Special Academy of the Armed Police in Madrid. Training includes police techniques, with special emphasis on riot control.

The strength of the Armed Police is 32,000. The organization is mainly administrative, although units are roughly of battalion and company size. The force is administered through nine zones called circumscriptions, plus a separate command for the Canary Islands administered from headquarters in Madrid. The Balearic Islands are administered by the Third Circumscription, which is responsible for the mainland area near the islands. The circumscription boundaries generally follow the boundaries of the army's nine military regions. Operational units have no standard size; strength is determined by local requirements. Units of police mounted on horses are used in parades and for crowd control. There are a number of units that are highly mobile and capable of providing reinforcements rapidly to any metropolitan area where disorders may occur. The principal weapons are pistols, clubs, carbines, submachine guns, light machine guns, rifles, and grenade launchers for use with chemical riot control agents; some mortars are available for use as required. Transportation includes horses, motorcycles, a variety of trucks, including water trucks used in riot control and sedans.

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