The new chief of the Spanish Armed Forces is "one of the best military officers in Europe"

With the repeated phrase "one of the best military men in Europe, not only in Spain, one of the best military men in Europe", the Minister of Defence, Margarita Robles, has qualified and flattered Admiral Teodoro López Calderón during the ceremony of his inauguration as Chief of Defence Staff (JEMAD), who from that moment onwards takes over the operational command of the Armies, the Navy and all organisations of a joint nature.  

The face of the new JEMAD was covered by a protective mask against the coronavirus, making it impossible to see whether or not the admiral blushed at the minister's flattery, words she uttered in the presence of the highest officials of the department and the armies, and barely half a metre away from predecessor Air Force General Miguel Ángel Villarroya, who resigned from his post for an alleged action that no one in the political leadership of the Ministry of Defence has explained the reasons for or defended. 

Apart from the fact that to date there is no Forbes list or equivalent that annually measures, compares and establishes who are the best military officers in Spain, Europe or the world, Admiral López Calderón is a professional top military officer who "knows how to make himself loved and respected", according to those who have been his subordinates. Aged 66, among his many assignments is that of having been the Chief of the Defence Operations Command since 2012, responsible for operational planning, conduct and monitoring of military operations, a post he left in April 2017 when he was appointed Chief of the Naval General Staff (AJEMA), a post he held until now. 

From a human and professional point of view, he enjoys a high prestige within the Navy and the other armies. He is a "very prudent and reflective sailor, open to everyone, who likes to talk and learn about different points of view", agree his bosses and those who have worked side by side with him. They also agree that he has a "very complete" military career, has "foresight" and "knows how to discern and order priorities and urgencies with clarity".   

These professional virtues and human values are also expressed in one way or another by the minister, who stressed in her speech that she "admires him for his military virtues", but also for "...his human virtues". In short, a true military professional who from now on will be Margarita Robles' main collaborator in matters concerning the operations of the Armed Forces, a veritable mountain of issues to be resolved, each one more important than the last.   

The military ceremony to take over from the JEMAD was held in the morning of January 28th in the central courtyard of the department's headquarters in Madrid, under the presidency of Minister Margarita Robles, dressed in a red coat, which together with maroon are the dominant colours of her clothing. During the ceremony, the effusive words of the Minister of Defence towards Admiral Lopez Calderón contrasted with the protocolary displays of recognition and public affection towards the man who is leaving the post, who was her closest and most trusted collaborator. 

Since Margarita Robles took over the Defence portfolio in June 2018, until January 2020, Lieutenant General Villarroya was her head of the Technical Cabinet, the military officer with the highest military rank and experience in her immediate management team. He was the person who guided the magistrate's first steps and actions through the building at Paseo de la Castellana 109 - the Ministry's headquarters - and through a sphere of the State administration that she did not know.   

General Villarroya was the person with whom Margarita Robles dealt with the main affairs of the department. He coordinated and prepared the content of her speeches in Congress and the Senate, drafted and shaped her answers to parliamentary questions, and accompanied and guided her on each of her official trips around Spain and abroad. He was a totally trustworthy and discreet source of security for her actions in the military arena. He was a kind of loyal squire at the highest level. As JEMAD, he was responsible for the Balmis operation against COVID-19.  

The promotion of General Miguel Ángel Villarroya to the highest position in the Armed Forces was prepared at the end of 2019, when the minister decided to get rid of former JEMAD, Army General Fernando Alejandre, who, like the entire military leadership, Robles decided to retain from her predecessor Maria Dolores de Cospedal. But General Alejandre put forward and argued with knowledge, solidity and a great deal of firmness professional points of view that were not to Margarita Robles' liking. So when she asked President Pedro Sánchez to replace Alejandre, he had no doubts. He proposed the military officer he knew best and with whom he had the most direct relationship, General Villarroya, with whom she could maintain a more fluid relationship.   

The dismissal of General Fernando Alejandre as JEMAD took place in January 2020 and has never been sufficiently explained. His replacement had no other movement in the department, as the heads of the Navy and the Army and Air Force were confirmed, as were the then Secretary of State and Undersecretary of Defence, Ángel Olivares and Alejo de la Torre, respectively, who left their posts in the summer of 2020.   

With a brilliant record of service in Spain and abroad, recognised as a great professional in the military and with a detailed knowledge of the military capabilities and operational limitations of the Spanish Armed Forces, General Alejandre defined from his privileged overview the list of priorities for obtaining weapons systems that should renew the outdated armaments and materiel pool.  

He also evaluated the volume of military personnel essential to fulfil the commitments acquired in missions abroad and to maintain the potential of the land, sea and air forces. For all of these tasks, Alejandre relied on a high-level team led by his second-in-command, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (EMACON), Admiral Javier González-Huix.  

General Alejandre was previously - from October 2015 to March 2017 - the first Spaniard to become Commander-in-Chief of one of NATO's two major military structures. Based in Brunssum, the Netherlands, he was one of the Alliance's top operational commanders and his prestige was such that he had significant support and options for the position of chairman of the Alliance's Military Committee, NATO's highest military command and the Secretary General's principal collaborator. But his unexpected removal as JEMAD prevented him from entering the shortlist of candidates for the post.  

Now that the minister has had three JEMADs in 32 months in the Defence portfolio, Admiral Lopez Calderón will have to re-evaluate, update or sanction everything that Alejandre and Villarroya had already finalised or had pending on the table. In his inauguration, the now head of the Spanish military stressed the military's contribution to the fight against the pandemic and that Spain has a "lean" Armed Forces, which is why "they must be at the cutting edge of available technology", to provide them with "the necessary superiority in combat" to ensure "the defence of Spain and our society".   

The admiral is aware that he faces "a volatile and uncertain global strategic scenario" and that there are "risks and threats looming over Spanish society and its values". He affirms that "coordinated action is needed from all of our country's instruments, political, civilian, economic and military" and that it is necessary to "act in the virtual, cognitive and physical multi-domain field" in order to be able to operate in "multidimensional cyber, maritime, land, aerospace and special operations combat".  

However, some questions may arise. Will the new JEMAD have a national government strategy to deal with the military danger that looms over Spain's areas of interest? If so, will Pedro Sánchez's government back and support this strategy with an adequate budget? Doubts in this regard are reasonable.