News detail
Visit at the 11th Spanish Mechanized Brigade in Badajoz
Badajoz (Spain), 4th June 08.
Today Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch, Eurocorps Commander, visited the 11 Spanish Mechanized Brigade in Badajoz, in the South-West of Spain, accompanied by Lieutenant General Virgilio Sanudo, Spanish Land Forces Commander.
The 11 Spanish Mechanized Brigade is one of the Spanish earmarked units for Eurocorps.
General Pitarch was welcomed by Brigadier General Casimiro José Sanjuan, Brigade Commander, who presented his unit to the Eurocorps Commander.
The Eurocorps Commander reviewed the Honour Company and afterwards several dynamic demonstrations took place in the exercise area.
The Spanish Mechanized Brigade’s main combat vehicle is the Spanish "Pizarro" Infantry Combat Vehicle (ICV); a combat vehicle designed to fight together with modern main battle tanks without needing to disembark the troops and able to operate in all kinds of terrains. The "Pizarro" vehicle has a crew of 3 men and a transport capacity of 7, its main weapons are the 30 mm gun and the 7.62 machine gun.
Impressed with the high level of readiness, Lieutenant General Pitarch expressed his satisfaction and praised the brigade for its recent mission accomplished in Lebanon. The 11 Mechanized Brigade could be Spain's choice in case they would place a combat unit under Eurocorps' operational command.
Lieutenant General Pedro Pitarch, Eurocorps Commander, paid yesterday a visit to the Headquarters of the Spanish Land Forces, command level of the Spanish Army units that are assigned to HQ Eurocorps.
The Eurocorps framework nations, Germany, Belgium, France, Spain and Luxembourg, have earmarked units for Eurocorps. General Pitarch has visited some of these units.
General Pitarch went first to Mülheim in order to visit the French-German Brigade, multinational unit that already in peacetime is under the command of Eurocorps and constitutes its "Initial Entry Force". Later he visited the 1st Belgian Medium Brigade in Leopoldsburg, and the 15 Polish Mechanized Brigade, in Orzysz, near the Russian border of Kaliningrad (former Königsberg).
The Eurocorps Commander was the predecessor of the current commander of the Spanish Land Forces. During this period and for the first time the majority of the Spanish Army's combat units and combat support units were under his command.
This week, during his stay in Spain, at a conference in the Antares Foundation Forum of Seville, Lieutenant General Pitarch will address a speech titled "Europe of the Defence: Reason of Peace".
Spanish press articles relating to this visit:
Terra 04/06/08 El Periodico Extremadura 04/06/08
El Periodico Extramadure 04/06/08
