APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090014-1
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
FIGURE 7. Troops from a Spanish Legion regiment stationed in Ceuta (U/OU) (picture)
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200090014-1
