Spain’s Manoeuvre Support Command and 12th Guadarrama Brigade are participating in Exercise IMMEDIATE RESPONSE in Greece.
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Press Release, Coruña, 25 May 2025: [auto-translated] Between May 26 and June 9, the Manoeuvre Support Command (Mando de Apoyo a la Maniobra – MAM) and the 12th Guadarrama Brigade (Brigada Guadarrama XII) are deploying to Greece to participate in Exercise IMMEDIATE RESPONSE 25 (IR25), the second phase of Exercise DEFENDER EUROPE 25 (DE25). The latter exercise aims to test the speed and effectiveness of the deployment of US troops in Europe to defend the eastern flank alongside NATO allies and partners.
The primary objective of IR25 is to demonstrate land deployment capabilities and strengthen cybersecurity, while contributing to NATO’s training through national readiness programmes and combined training events with live-fire exercises held in Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Slovakia. During IR25, various US units train with allied countries in live-fire exercises, explosive ordnance disposal, cyber scenarios, and NBC threats, recreating scenarios such as a mechanised brigade attack or a decontamination operation following a chemical attack.
On the Spanish side, the participating Army units are the MAM and the 12th Guadarrama Brigade, part of the Castillejos Division. Both have deployed personnel and materiel by sea, through the Army Logistics Ship Ysabel, and by air. A total of 240 soldiers and 55 vehicles will be deployed, comprising:
- A Mechanised Tactical Subgroup from the 12th Guadarrama Brigade, as part of a Greek Brigade.
- A Logistics Unit from the Logistics Brigade (BRILOG) of the MAM, integrated with the 16th US Logistics Brigade.
- An EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) Section from the MAM’s Engineer Command (MING), which will work with the 184th EOD Battalion of the US Army.
- A Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) Reconnaissance Team from the MAM’s 1st Valencia NBC Defence Regiment, which will be integrated into the French NBC Battalion (Dragons).
IR25 represents an enormous challenge for the MAM and the 12th Guadarrama Brigade, as participating in this type of exercise will serve to improve interoperability with other allied units, as well as demonstrate the ability to respond quickly and effectively to crisis situations as a multinational force in a high-intensity operation and promote deterrence on the Eastern Flank.
The Army Manoeuvre Support Command: The MAM is a Division-type organisation made up of approximately 12,000 soldiers deployed throughout the country. It is organised into five Brigade-type units and two independent regiments, with its Headquarters (HQ) in Coruña; the Field Artillery Command, HQ in León; the Anti-Aircraft Artillery Command, HQ in Madrid; the Engineer Command, HQ in Salamanca; and the Signals Command, HQ in Valencia; Logistics Brigade, Headquarters in Zaragoza; Intelligence Regiment No.1, in Valencia; and NBC Defence Regiment No.1, in Valencia.
The MAM is the result of a restructuring of the Army carried out in 2020, bringing together all the enabling forces that contribute to providing an operational advantage on the battlefield, such as: Command and Control, Intelligence, Long-Range Fires, Logistics, Medical Assistance, Defence and Protection against Air Threats, as well as Mobility and Counter-Mobility, and Nuclear, Radiological, Biological, and Chemical Protection.
The MAM’s main mission is to prepare its units as part of the deterrence effort and, when required, to generate forces to make them available to national or international organisations.
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