The Spanish Army is ready to face the current threats

Flesh and blood heroes... do they exist? Putting a human face to the Spanish soldier who saved lives in the resort, Le Campement, near Bamako in Mali, is not an arduous task when you stumble upon humility personified.

The Commander (currently, Lieutenant Colonel of the Army, San Gregorio Training Center), Miguel Angel Franco Fernandez, with a short gun and 14 cartridges, was able to neutralize the jihadist attack, perpetrated on June 18, 2017.

Under an intense African sun, at siesta time, together with 12 members of the EU Training Mission, the reaction-action intervention of this military made that, the shots of the Group of Support to Islam and Muslims, the Jama'at Nasr Al-Islam wal Muslimin, did not throw more victims than there were.

The "hero of the red swimsuit", as he is popularly known and as he executed the operation, was honored at the headquarters of the CESEDEN (Superior Center of National Defense Studies), yesterday afternoon, under the presidency of an emotional Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, who proceeded to the official baptism of the book, "Nobody is going to do it for you", written by this champion of the Spanish Armed Forces. 

I understand that it was a planned attack, a full-fledged ambush. I presume that responsibilities would be established. Is there any report on this situation?

It is more than likely that the intention of the terrorists was to cause the greatest possible terror among society using the media as a loudspeaker. With the taking of hostages and their subsequent agony to certain death, they would have ensured that the news would be extended and cause a greater impact.

That day, despite the fact that I was on a day off participating in a decompression activity, they were unable to complete their objective thanks to a prompt reaction and subsequent action.

Inside the compound, apart from 12 EU military personnel, there were members of Operation Barkhane, two UN officers, Western businessmen operating in Mali and locals. The entrance fee to the resort was about five euros at the exchange rate. We would total about 50 people.

As far as the results of the investigation are concerned, I have little information. Apart from the aforementioned authorship claimed by a terrorist group of jihadist Salafist ideology that emerged in 2017, the death of five of the attackers and the suspected collaboration of two young Malians who appeared in a nearby village, disoriented and with incendiary materials, no further information transcended to the media.

I know that the National Court requested reports from the Malian authorities when my status as a victim of terrorism was processed and that it was somewhat difficult to obtain them, nothing more.

Do you, as a soldier on missions, raise the moral question of killing, the legal use of force in the face of lethal violence that leads to death?

As a human being, every soldier has a moral code that marks his conduct in his behavior before the society in which he is integrated.

Among them, it may be to follow a fundamental commandment of his religion such as that of thou shalt not kill. In my case, one of the precepts that guides my actions is the protection of people in disadvantaged or weak situations.

However, when that protection requires the use of force (including lethal force) to protect innocent lives at risk of death, the moral debate is softened. To prevent ethical issues from detracting from the effectiveness of combat, this judgment must have been made prior to other levels of decision making.

The so-called rules of engagement are not set by the combatant but, for each operation, are contained in an agreement of a markedly legal nature covered by international conventions.

The aim is to relieve the actors of this responsibility when deciding on the legitimacy of the use of force in critical situations, where decisions have to be taken almost automatically.

When we act in a conflict, colloquially speaking, we have to do our homework at home and, when this extreme situation arises, we must proceed in accordance with the premises that others have refined, approved and agreed upon. In this way, the person acting is freed from this moral or ethical debate. 

My moral debate in the case of the attack in Mali was relatively easy because, given the unfavorable situation of the presence of unarmed soldiers, women and children in that resort, the protective actions to save their lives were fully justified.

You allude to an early action in your performance and transferring it to the present day, what is your personal opinion about the capabilities of the Spanish Army and the EU in the face of the current challenges and threats?

After my international experience, sharing mission with contingents from other countries, I must say that society can be calm and proud of having the best and most admired professionals in the field of security. I believe that we have a very well prepared army and in conditions to be employed in the most demanding missions that Spain needs.

Society expects its Armed Forces to be trained in peacetime in a permanent way for their use in the spectrum of the conflict that may be necessary and I am a witness that this is being carried out with great professionalism.  

Have you seen the failure of trying to implement European postulates and doctrines in less developed countries, such as those on the African continent?

I have been in many conflicts. The clock with which we measure time in Africa does not coincide with ours; the rhythms are different. Tactically, I have been confronted with that reality. In Kosovo, we were trying to run multi-ethnic courses, but they were not ready to reconcile, no matter how hard we tried.

On the one hand, those who had suffered direct armed confrontation and on the other, the children of a new generation. The EU had its deadlines for training the Somali forces but the recipient was not prepared enough, depending on the training.

We faced a different kind of mentality with very complex clan structures, without vertical structure orders. Implementing European doctrines was complicated, when concepts such as ownership or service delivery are not understood.

It requires a lot of empathy, imagination, putting oneself in the other's shoes, patience, understanding, emotional intelligence. Not being part of the problem but part of the solution. Efforts bear fruit in the medium or long term.

I understand that in this book we can observe your experience in facing critical situations. Terrorism is at ease in the face of institutional weakness. Could this situation be extrapolated to any EU country?

I am referring to the theory of "empty spaces".  In countries where there is weakness in the structures that make up a state, obviously, the terrorist (the one who exercises power by force) occupies those spaces.

European countries are light years ahead in terms of consolidated democracy and the rule of law. There is no possible comparison with unstructured countries like Libya. Even with nations with several governments acting in the same territory, with interests in non-legal networks that base their economy on the archaic. There is no regular army to provide security.

You have gone from military action in the field to teaching, commanding the Academy's Alumni Battalion during the pandemic. Have you had the opportunity to meet HRH Princess Leonor? In which scenario do you feel more comfortable?

My philosophy of life invites me to take the positive out of things and to be at ease in whatever I have to do at any given moment. A family situation involving my disabled sister has made it necessary for me to take care of her for the last two years and I have had to take my foot off the gas when it comes to deployments in the area of operations.

After a two-year assignment in charge of a battalion of students at the General Military Academy, I am now advising on the optimization of the training of the Army units that come to carry out their exercises at the San Gregorio maneuver field. In any case,

I already have my sights set on an eighth mission abroad, which is where I feel most fulfilled as a soldier. As for H.R.H. Princess Leonor, I sent her a copy of my book in the hope that it will serve as a guide in her future mission as the first soldier of Spain. I know from former colleagues that she is playing an exceptional role during your initial training period in the military.

What will this book contribute to society and what is your intention as an author?

I would like this book to serve as a motivation and inspiration for society, especially for its youth. It is a provocative title to try to make the reader see the benefits of getting out of their comfort zone.

Start a path that will lead you to be a better person or a better professional. Together with co-author Míchel Suñén we have tried to bring together in 7 chapters all those personality traits, virtues, qualities, in short, the values that "being prepared" requires.

The book is a journey from my childhood to the person I am now. Through personal anecdotes and references, I have studied, in an exhaustive way, what things are necessary to become who I am.

How do you spend every June 18th in your life? 

June 18th are special days in my life. I usually wear the red swimsuit I was wearing that day. I make a few nods on my social networks to pay tribute to those who are at that moment fighting for their lives, far away from their families.

My conscience is clear because I did what was expected of me and I fulfilled the expectations placed on me. This makes me feel serene. I have normalized that moment and I live in peace and harmony for having been able to save innocent lives.

Can you define the concept of hero? What is a hero for you?

It is difficult for me to recognize myself as a hero. There is a theoretical term that defines him as the person who, in a critical situation, bursts in, putting his own life at risk, to defend those who are not prepared to deal with that situation.

It is that person who performs an extraordinary action. It arises unexpectedly in the concentration of two factors: preparation and opportunity. On that fateful day, June 18, 2017, both came together. When I look back, I know I acted effectively. I wouldn't change a thing. Being prepared is the essence. 

By Carmen Chamorro, CIP/ACPE officer, SEI graduate in International Relations and Global Terrorism.