Defence Staff (Spain) Explained

Unit Name:	Defence Staff
Native Name:	Estado Mayor de la Defensa
Dates:	1984–present
Country:	Spain
Branch:	Spanish Armed Forces
Type:	Military staff
Role:	Coordination of the joint actions of the three branches of the Armed Forces
Command Structure:	Ministry of Defence
Garrison:	Madrid
Garrison Label:	Headquarters
Commander1:	Admiral General Teodoro Esteban López Calderón^[1]
Commander1 Label:	Current Chief
Identification Symbol Label:	Coat of Arms

The Defence Staff (Spanish; Castilian: link=no| Estado Mayor de la Defensa, EMAD), based in Madrid, is an organ of the Ministry of Defence that operates as an auxiliary to the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD) within the organic structure of the Spanish Armed Forces and in a military hierarchical position of dependence on the former.

Functions

The EMAD is regulated by the Organic Law 5/2005, of 17 November 2005, on the National Defence, the Royal Decree 1551/2004 and the Order of Defence 1076/2005. Its objectives are to support the Chief of Staff, develop military strategy and design military operations. These are basic organs of the Defence Staff:

• The Joint Defence Staff.
• The Operations Command.
• The Spanish Armed Forces Intelligence Center
• The Joint Cyberspace Command.
• The General Headquarters of the Defence Staff.
  • The Permanent Secretariat of the Council of Chiefs of Staff.
  • The Secretariat of the Chief of Defence Staff.
  • The Head of Economic Affairs.
  • The Human Resources Headquarters.
  • The Security and Services Headquarters.
• Permanent operating organizations.
  • The Maritime Security and Surveillance Command.
  • The Defence Command and Air Operations.
  • The Military Emergencies Unit.
• Spanish military bodies related to international or multinational organizations.^{[2] [3]}

The aims of the EMAD are the assistance to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, the command of the military structure, the direction of the military operations, the planning and joint action of the Spanish Armed Forces and multinational actions, as well as the coordination of the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

See also

• Chief of the Defence Staff (Spain)
• Spanish Armed Forces
• Board of Joint Chiefs of Staff

References

• Defence Staff, Ministry of Defence.
• Organic Law 5/2005, of 17 November 2005, on the National Defence
• Royal Decree 1551/2004, of 25 June 2004, on basic organic structure of the Ministry of Defence.
• Order of Defence 1076/2005, of 19 April 2005, by which the structure of the Defence Staff.

Notes and References

1. Real Decreto 15/2020, de 14 de enero, por el que se nombra Jefe de Estado Mayor de la Defensa al Teniente General del Cuerpo General del Ejército de Tierra don Miguel Ángel Villarroya Vilalta. The Spanish Official Gazette.
2. Conócenos: estructura del EMAD. Estado Mayor de la Defensa. Consultado el 23 de diciembre de 2016
3. El CESEDEN depende funcionalmente de la Subsecretaría de Defensa y de la Secretaría General de Política de Defensa CESEDEN: misión . CESEDEN - Centro Superior de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional. Consultado el 23 de diciembre de 2016