MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
And at last, at present, among the many agreements introduced on the NATO summit this week, the U.S. stated it might improve its army presence in quite a few NATO member nations. However we questioned what that truly means and, frankly, what that appears like. Our producer, Miguel Macias, who’s right here with us in Madrid, went to search out out, and he’s with us now to inform me what he noticed. Hello, Miguel.
MIGUEL MACIAS, BYLINE: Hello, Michel. Nice to be with you in Madrid.
MARTIN: Properly, likewise. So inform us a little bit bit about the place you went this week and why it issues.
MACIAS: Properly, whilst you all have been on the summit, I took a cab for about 20 minutes to the air base at Torrejon de Ardoz, simply outdoors of Madrid. This can be a main Spanish Air Pressure base that has been in use because the late ’50s and continues to be a significant asset for quite a few functions. However the motive why we’re speaking about it at present is as a result of additionally it is dwelling to a NATO unit – the so-called Mixed Air Operations Centre.
MARTIN: What did you see whilst you have been there? What stood out to you?
MACIAS: So to begin with, let me level out that a part of their safety measures concerned no recording in any respect till the second I sit for my interview. And as a radio producer, this was painful. As you recognize, Michel, I used to be…
(LAUGHTER)
MARTIN: Sure, I might think about.
MACIAS: …You understand, dying to report extra. I used to be picked up on the entrance to the bottom by my contact, Lieutenant Colonel Manuel Dominguez.
MARTIN: Lieutenant Colonel Dominguez – is he from Spain?
MACIAS: Truly, no. Manuel is French. Lengthy story – he is tremendous charming, he is telling me all this stuff, and I requested him once more if I might report. After all, the reply was no.
Anyway, NATO has two buildings inside the bottom. One in every of them is a more moderen constructing with all of the flags of the NATO members outdoors, and that is just about the one newer building I see. All the things else seems to be form of previous, truly, and never notably effectively saved, not less than from the seems to be of it.
MARTIN: Properly, what else did you see?
MACIAS: Enjoyable truth – all of the planes from the official delegations on the NATO summit have been parked there. So, for instance, I noticed Air Pressure One for the primary time in my life, together with 4 different planes from the American delegation.
MARTIN: So that you noticed a little bit {hardware} – that is attention-grabbing. However have been you in a position to discuss to anyone on the report whilst you have been there?
MACIAS: Sure, I used to be. However first, I needed to depart all my issues in a locker on the entrance of the second constructing NATO has inside the bottom. That is all a categorised space. I needed to depart my mobile phone, USB drives, laptop computer, and I might solely take the tools I had reported to them days earlier than. In addition they gave me a badge that I had to make use of each time we modified rooms. However I digress. You need to know who I used to be in a position to report an interview with?
MARTIN: Sure.
MACIAS: OK. I spoke to Lieutenant Normal Fernando de la Cruz Caravaca, commander of the NATO Mixed Air Operations Centre in Torrejon. I will let him introduce himself.
FERNANDO DE LA CRUZ CARAVACA: Properly, I am Lieutenant Normal de la Cruz from the Spanish Air Pressure, and we’re within the Mixed Air Operations Centre in Torrejon, which is a devoted unit that handle and safe the airspace in southern Europe – from Madeira and Canary Islands till Turkey and all of the Black Sea, Romania. And naturally, proper now, we’ve got devoted flights in these nations near the Ukrainian border.
MACIAS: De la Cruz is aware of a factor or two about air operations and planes.
DE LA CRUZ CARAVACA: My background – I used to be a fighter pilot within the Spanish Air Pressure, so I joined the army way back. The truth is, I began my profession when Spain joined NATO in 1982. So I used to be, for example, within the NATO atmosphere from the start.
MARTIN: So what number of NATO models are there in Spain, and what do they do?
MACIAS: Properly, that is attention-grabbing, Michel, as a result of rising up in Spain, after I was younger, I at all times thought that the U.S. Army bases – and there are two of them in Spain – have been NATO bases, however they are not. They’re fairly actually U.S. army bases on Spanish soil. They’re each within the south of Spain – Andalusia, the place I am from – the air power base of Moron and the naval base of Rota. However the unit inside Torrejon is the one NATO unit in Spain.
DE LA CRUZ CARAVACA: This unit in Spain is a – we work collectively – 18 nations – individuals from 18 NATO nations. Our – my accountability is to guard the 14 nations in southern Europe. So we work all collectively for a similar mission. And naturally we’ve got Individuals, however we’ve got from many different nations – Canada, the U.Okay., Germany, Italy, France – in fact, all of the 14 nations within the south as effectively. So the nice factor is that we work all collectively for the one mission – that’s, defending our nations.
MARTIN: Defending our nations. What does that imply precisely?
MACIAS: That principally means, in easy phrases, that they police the skies of Europe. They usually work 24/7. Which may appear apparent, however it’s not. It is not the identical for the naval or the land models.
DE LA CRUZ CARAVACA: Within the air area, NATO has two devoted models who’re working 24/7, which isn’t the identical for the Army. They usually – they’ve some models, like in – right here in Spain, the NRDC. That could be a Spanish unit ready to be moved each time they – NATO requests them to maneuver. However we’ve got to be within the air area as a result of every part occurs so quick, we should not have to attend and to maneuver the individuals. We now have to be there at all times.
MACIAS: And Michel, there are two models like this in Europe – the one in Spain, which watches over the south of Europe, and the unit in Germany, which watches over the skies within the north.
MARTIN: So, Miguel, what issues do these two models deal with? May you simply inform us a little bit bit extra about what we’re speaking about right here? Did de la Cruz let you know?
MACIAS: Sure, he did. We have been speaking about something from a industrial flight that has misplaced communications – so an precise fighter jet might pull up subsequent to the industrial flight and name them on an emergency channel and say, hey, what is going on on with you? – or it may be a army airplane that’s the place it is not presupposed to be, or it might even be unlawful flights, like smugglers. From what he instructed me, they’re form of the police of the skies in Europe. And with the struggle in Ukraine, they’re additionally watching each transfer. De la Cruz is unquestionably happy with the work they do.
DE LA CRUZ CARAVACA: If you see individuals from completely different nations, completely different experiences, completely different cultures typically, doing their very own enterprise, and on the finish, all of them work for a similar objective. And it is superb that that is NATO.
MARTIN: Miguel, that is attention-grabbing as a result of this sounds a bit just like the United Nations in a means, than a protection alliance that is making an attempt to decelerate a nasty actor. Do you see what I imply?
MACIAS: I do know. I used to be pondering the identical factor after I was listening to de la Cruz, and I pushed him a tiny bit on that.
It sounds very a lot, like, virtually like a world peace operation. I feel that some people who find themselves important of NATO suppose that it is a struggle machine.
DE LA CRUZ CARAVACA: In no way. The truth is, NATO is a defensive group. As an illustration, proper now, on this battle with Ukraine, we’re very cautious to not overreact and never miscalculate something as a result of we’re defending our nations from the start. We’re ready, we’re prepared, however we’re not offensive in any respect. So this is a vital message that folks, I feel – they should know. It is a group of countries working all collectively, making an attempt to assist one another as a lot as attainable.
MARTIN: Earlier than we allow you to go, the U.S. introduced that it might set up a brand new NATO base in Poland, and that is the primary of its sort on the jap flank. And did the commander provide you with any sense of how that base could be used?
MACIAS: Properly, from what de la Cruz instructed me, extra American bases on European soil means extra capability to activate troops for NATO. It does not imply that these are NATO models. It simply implies that, if there was a have to defend a member nation, the troops could possibly be there and able to be operational. For de la Cruz, it in all probability does not make a lot of a distinction. He nonetheless has half of the continent to look at over daily.
MARTIN: That’s NPR’s Miguel Macias. Miguel, thanks.
MACIAS: Thanks, Michel.
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