Senior Course 119 reached Madrid, the capital of Spain, on Wednesday 14th December for the last leg of its third and final Field Study period.
Spain is one of the most important contributors to the College’s courses, in terms of the number of Officers attending. The acknowledgement of the College’s contribution to the Alliance from a Spanish perspective was reflected in the office call that Lieutenant General Arne Bård DALHAUG, Commandant of the NATO Defense College, was honoured to pay on the Spanish Chief of Defence, General José Julio RODRIGUEZ FERNANDEZ.
On 15th December, the NDC delegation was warmly welcomed at the Spanish Centre for National Defence Studies (CESEDEN) by its Director, Lieutenant General Alfonso de la
ROSA MORENA. The discussion panel was opened by Mr Antonio ALVAREZ BARTHE, Assistant Director of Foreign Policy, who gave the audience a most valuable overview of Spanish foreign policy. This is strongly influenced by Spain’s strategic position, by the widespread official use of the Spanish language in South America, and by the country’s European vocation. The privileged link between Spain and the New World is historically very strong, and is today reinforced by NATO membership. In addition, Spain is strongly committed to fostering common policies with North African countries to protect Europe from terrorism.
The second briefing was presented by Mr Luis M. CUESTA CIVIS, Secretary General for Defence Policy, who gave an extremely authoritative account of Spanish defence policy. His talk focused on the legal framework, organization, areas of action, and the overriding principles of national defence and security policy.
A presentation on the Spanish Armed Forces concluded the very interesting panel session. Vice Admiral Angel MARTINEZ NUNEZ, Chief of the Strategy & Plans Joint Staff and an Ancien of the NDC, covered a number of fundamental areas – structure, transformation, budgetary considerations, education and training, and current commitments. His excellent lecture elicited considerable interest from Course Members, which was reflected in a memorable Q&A period.
The concluding event of the day was a reception, providing an important opportunity for bonding between NDC and Spanish representatives.
On Friday 16th December, Senior Course 119 brought its last Field Study period to an end with a visit to the Spanish Army Museum in Toledo. For security and defence professionals, this visit was a most valuable way of concluding a fruitful study trip in readiness for the final few weeks of the course at the NDC – not forgetting, of course, a well deserved short Christmas break.
More about the Field Study:
Collège de Défense de l'OTAN 
