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President’s Christmas message to troops: “Please come back safe and sound”
25/12/2018
“IF ANYONE is working for world peace right now, it’s you,” Spain’s president Pedro Sánchez told the nation’s troops abroad in the traditional government Christmas message via video conference on Christmas Eve.
Along with defence minister Margarita Robles, Sánchez told Spanish soldiers that they were ‘the best ambassadors in the whole world’ and expressed his pride on behalf of his cabinet in them and their work.
The first message to the Forces overseas as president, Sánchez spoke to commanding officers from the LHD Juan Carlos I Naval ship at the military base in Rota (Cádiz province), connecting with servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Djibouti, Dakar (Sénégal) and Sicily where soldiers are working on NATO, United Nations and European Union missions, training security forces, fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean and patrolling borders.
For each of the 10,000 troops stationed abroad, another three were enlisted in bases at home, Sánchez recalled, all of whom showed their excellent team-working skills and were ‘the greatest proof of efficiency and professionalism’.
He also made special mention of the Armed Forces Emergency Unit, or UME, for their vital work in dealing with natural disasters both at home – such as forest fires and major floods – and abroad.
“I’ve been on the scene, and I know very well how hard you work,” the president assured.
Sánchez and Robles also mentioned, separately, the 14,000 women currently in Spain’s forces, of whom 263 will be spending Christmas and New Year abroad.
This year, 2018, was the 30th anniversary of females being allowed to join the military, and Sánchez commented on the ‘pioneers’ of 1988 who ‘opened the door’ to others of their gender.
He recalled how ‘tough’ it could be spending Christmas away from their families and friends, and sent a ‘very special greeting’ to their loved ones at home who would be celebrating without them.
“In the name of all the people of Spain, I only ask you one thing: come back safe and sound with the satisfaction of having fulfilled your duty,” the president stressed.
At present, a total of 3,025 members of the military – including the Guardia Civil – are overseas on 16 different missions, the largest of which are in Lebanon, with 620 working for the UN, and Iraq, with 575 Spaniards based there to train native security forces.
NATO troops from Spain are on missions in the Baltics and Turkey, and are advising security forces in Afghanistan.
European Union missions Spain is participating in are based in Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), Somalia, Sénégal and Gabon.
Spanish soldiers, additionally, are taking part in operations to prevent human trafficking off the coast of Libya, and stopping pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Related Topics
“IF ANYONE is working for world peace right now, it’s you,” Spain’s president Pedro Sánchez told the nation’s troops abroad in the traditional government Christmas message via video conference on Christmas Eve.
Along with defence minister Margarita Robles, Sánchez told Spanish soldiers that they were ‘the best ambassadors in the whole world’ and expressed his pride on behalf of his cabinet in them and their work.
The first message to the Forces overseas as president, Sánchez spoke to commanding officers from the LHD Juan Carlos I Naval ship at the military base in Rota (Cádiz province), connecting with servicemen and servicewomen in Iraq, Afghanistan, Turkey, Djibouti, Dakar (Sénégal) and Sicily where soldiers are working on NATO, United Nations and European Union missions, training security forces, fighting piracy in the Indian Ocean and patrolling borders.
For each of the 10,000 troops stationed abroad, another three were enlisted in bases at home, Sánchez recalled, all of whom showed their excellent team-working skills and were ‘the greatest proof of efficiency and professionalism’.
He also made special mention of the Armed Forces Emergency Unit, or UME, for their vital work in dealing with natural disasters both at home – such as forest fires and major floods – and abroad.
“I’ve been on the scene, and I know very well how hard you work,” the president assured.
Sánchez and Robles also mentioned, separately, the 14,000 women currently in Spain’s forces, of whom 263 will be spending Christmas and New Year abroad.
This year, 2018, was the 30th anniversary of females being allowed to join the military, and Sánchez commented on the ‘pioneers’ of 1988 who ‘opened the door’ to others of their gender.
He recalled how ‘tough’ it could be spending Christmas away from their families and friends, and sent a ‘very special greeting’ to their loved ones at home who would be celebrating without them.
“In the name of all the people of Spain, I only ask you one thing: come back safe and sound with the satisfaction of having fulfilled your duty,” the president stressed.
At present, a total of 3,025 members of the military – including the Guardia Civil – are overseas on 16 different missions, the largest of which are in Lebanon, with 620 working for the UN, and Iraq, with 575 Spaniards based there to train native security forces.
NATO troops from Spain are on missions in the Baltics and Turkey, and are advising security forces in Afghanistan.
European Union missions Spain is participating in are based in Mali, the Central African Republic (CAR), Somalia, Sénégal and Gabon.
Spanish soldiers, additionally, are taking part in operations to prevent human trafficking off the coast of Libya, and stopping pirates in the Indian Ocean.
Related Topics
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