On 3 July, a Ceremony was held at the Torrejon Air Force Base, Madrid, Spain to attest the finalization of the implementation process of the Combined Air Operations Centre Torrejon (CAOC TJ).
"The CAOC has now assumed responsibility for all operations in NATO Airspace from the Canary Islands to Hungary, from the Azures to Turkey," Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) GEN Philip M. Breedlove stated at the ceremony. In addition present at the Ceremony were Deputy Commander AIRCOM LGEN Dominique de Longvilliers, the Spanish Chief of Staff of Defence, Admiral Fernando Garcia Sánchez, and MGEN Rubén C. García Servert, Commander CAOC TJ.
The CAOC incorporates previously separated air control elements, a modernization which significantly increases the efficiency of Command & Control for air operations and has reduced the number of CAOCs in Europe from seven to two in recent years. The NATO Communications and Information (NCI) Agency has supported CAOC TJ during its implementation and validation process, and continues to provide close support to the CAOC through its CIS Support Unit in Torrejon. At the ceremony the NCI Agency's General Manager was represented by Mr Enzo Montalti, the NCI Agency Programme Director for Air Command & Control.
In his speech at the ceremony MGEN Rubén García Servert, Commander CAOC TJ praised the team effort and highlighted the value of the CAOC. "The CAOC relies on CIS and technologies and the NCI Agency supports us with this. We are satisfied with the support that we continue to receive", MGEN Servert said.