The Emergency Military Unit (, UME; ) is a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for providing disaster relief throughout Spain mainly, and abroad if required. It is the newest branch of the Spanish Armed Forces.
History The decision to create the Military Emergencies Unit was agreed upon at a cabinet meeting of the Zapatero administration on October 7, 2005. This was enacted in law by the Real Decreto 416/2006 (Royal Decree 416/2006) on April 11, 2006.
Missions Intervention during emergencies that have their origin in natural hazards; among these are floods, spill-overs, earthquakes, land slides, large snow storms and other adverse weather conditions. Intervention fighting forest fires. Intervention during emergencies derived from technological hazards; among which are chemical, nuclear, radiological and biological hazards. Intervention during emergencies as a consequence of terrorist attacks or illicit or violent acts, including those acts against critical infrastructures, dangerous installations or with nuclear, biological, radiological or chemical agents. Intervention during situations of environmental contamination. Intervention during any other emergency deemed appropriate by the Prime Minister of Spain.
Chiefs RankNameStartEndLieutenant generalFulgencio Coll Bucher21 January 200619 July 2008José Emilio Roldán Pascual25 July 200826 September 2012Cesar Muro Benayas28 September 201215 May 2015Miguel Alcañíz Comas23 May 201516 October 2019Luis Manuel Martínez Meijide23 October 201916 August 2023Francisco Javier Marcos Izquierdo16 August 2023
Organisation The UME consists of Headquarters (, UCG), five emergency intervention battalions (, BIEM), a support regiment (, RAEM), a communications battalion (, BTUME) and an aviation group (, AGRUMEDA) Name Headquarters Areas Served BIEM I Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base Ávila, Segovia, Madrid, Cáceres, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Toledo BIEM II Morón Air Base Badajoz, Huelva, Sevilla, Cádiz, Málaga, Córdoba, Jaén, Granada, Ceuta, Melilla, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, La Gomera, El Hierro, Lanzarote, La Palma, Tenerife BIEM III Bétera Albacete, Murcia, Alicante, Valencia, Castellón, Balearic Islands BIEM IV Zaragoza Air Base Biscay, Guipúzcoa, Álava, La Rioja, Soria, Navarre, Zaragoza, Huesca, Teruel, Lleida, Tarragona, Barcelona, Girona BIEM V San Andrés del Rabanedo Pontevedra, La Corunna, Lugo, Orense, Asturias, Cantabria, León, Zamora, Salamanca, Valladolid, Palencia, Burgos Name Headquarters UCGTorrejón de Ardoz Air Base RAEM BTUME AGRUMEDA
Ranks
Officers
Enlisted
Gallery
See also 2011 Lorca earthquake Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Emergencies
References
External links Official website