Photo By Maj. Danielle Phillips | U.S. Marines are invited to celebrate the Spanish Marine Corps’ 478th anniversary...... read more read more
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MORON AIR BASE, Spain — U.S. Marines with Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force Crisis Response-Africa attended the 478th anniversary of the Spanish Marine Corps on Feb. 27, 2015, near San Fernando, Spain, by invitation of the Tercio de Armada (the Marine Brigade).
“We, as Marines, share the same expeditionary mindset and the enduring principles of combativeness, innovativeness, adaptability, versatility, and combined arms capability,” said Lt. Col. Evaristo Gutierrez del Castillo, 2nd Infantry Battalion’s commanding officer. “We thought the presence of the unit’s commanding officer as a distinguished visitor to the Marine brigade’s military parade was a good starting point to establish a solid relationship between both forces.”
Colonel Thomas B. Savage, the commanding officer, and Sgt. Maj. James Boutin, the senior enlisted advisor, SPMAGTF-CR-AF, both attended the ceremony. Although this is the first time U.S. Marines attended the anniversary parade, the relationship between the U.S. and Spanish Marines has a long history.
The NATO allies have collaborated in bilateral exercises over the last 50 years. Most recently, the Spanish Marines worked alongside the unit in the U.S.-led multinational exercise Bold Alligator 2014. Currently, the Spanish are aboard the USS Spearhead with American and British forces conducting theater-security cooperation exercises in Ghana, Angola, Cameroon and Gabon as a part of Africa Partnership Station.
“As allies, I personally see our friendship gradually transforming into something more relevant…We want to strengthen our interoperability with your forces and to have the honor of being the SPMAGTF-CR-AF counterpart in Spain,” said Castillo.
Castillo, an Amphibious Warfare School and Command and Staff College graduate, understands the similarities between these forces and offers a closer partnership as the SPMAGTF continues to mature and remain a presence in Europe and Africa.
At the conclusion of the ceremony, attended by officials from across the Spanish armed forces, Castillo identified the critical similarity between the U.S. and Spanish Marines: “Our high quality Marines.”
| Date Taken: | 02.27.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 03.10.2015 03:51 |
| Story ID: | 156487 |
| Location: | SAN FERNANDO, ES |
| Web Views: | 703 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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