The Diplomat
The Albanian Ambassador to Spain, Gazmend Barbullushi, commemorated his country’s National Day on Tuesday at an event held at NATO’s Combined Air Operations Centre in Spain (CAOCT), which is based at the Torrejón de Ardoz air base in Madrid.
The ambassador was met on his arrival at the Centre by the unit’s commander-in-chief, Lieutenant General Fernando De la Cruz, with whom he had a brief meeting. After the meeting, Gazmend Barbullushi joined the military ceremony with which the CAOCT celebrated Albania’s National Day and at which the Albanian flag was raised.
In his speech, General De la Cruz thanked the Albanian Ambassador for attending the commemoration and for his country’s contribution to the collective effort to defend Europe’s airspace in the framework of NATO’s permanent mission “Air Policing”.
For his part, the ambassador underlined the importance of the daily work carried out by CAOC Torrejón personnel to achieve a European airspace free of threats or dangers. After a brief historical review of the event, he highlighted the importance of the National Day for the Albanian people, thanking the CAOCT for the celebration of this event.
The main mission of the CAOC Torrejón, under the direct command of a Lieutenant General of the Spanish Air and Space Army, is to plan, direct, coordinate, supervise, analyse and report on air defence operations in southern Europe, following the directives of the NATO Air Component Command on which it depends and with the resources assigned to NATO by the nations in peacetime.
The Spanish Armed Forces make an important contribution to the mission carried out by this centre. Some 120 Spanish military personnel serve in the CAOC itself as well as in the National Support Element (NSE) and the NATO Communications and Information Agency Unit (NCIA).
