Chief of Staff of the Air Force (Spain)

The Chief of Staff of the Air Force (JEMA) is a four-star general that under the authority of the defence minister exercises command over the Spanish Air Force, and as such is the principal military advisor to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Minister of Defence, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Under Secretary of Defence. It's also a member of the Council of Chiefs of Staff and a military advisor to the National Defence Council.

Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Emblem of the Office of the JEMA
Flag of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Air Staff
Ministry of Defence
StyleThe Most Excellent
StatusHighest-ranking officer in the Air Force
AbbreviationJEMA
Member ofAir Staff
National Defence Council
Council of Chiefs of Staff
Reports toMinister of Defence
SeatAir Force Military Headquarters, Madrid
NominatorDefence Minister
After being discussed in the Council of Ministers
AppointerMonarch
Countersigned by the Defence Minister
Term lengthNo fixed term
Constituting instrumentAir Force Act of 1939
Inaugural holderApolinar Sáenz de Buruaga y Polanco
FormationOctober 1, 1936
DeputySecond Chief of Staff of the Air Force
Website(in Spanish) Website of the Spanish Air Force Staff
Air Force Military Headquarters

The JEMA has two main roles: the support role by which advice the Minister of Defence about the air force military policy, the JEMAD about how to use the personnel and their operative status, the SEDEF about the economic, armamentistic and infraestructure policies and the Under Secretary about the personnel and teaching policy; and the operative role by which prepare the force for combat, instructs the military personnel, establishes the organization of its military branch and watches over the welfare of the personnel under his command and evaluates the needs of the Air Force.[1]

The Chief of the Air Force convenes the meetings and coordinates the efforts of the Air Staff (EMA), the main support body of the JEMA, responsible for providing the necessary elements of judgment to base its decisions, translate these into orders and ensure their fulfillment. The EMA has a whole body of military officers at its service, and among the main officers are include the Second Chief of Staff of the Air Force (SEJEMA), the Permanent Secretary of the Superior Council of the Air Force, the Chief General of the Secretariat General of the Air Staff (SEGE), the Chief General of Technical Services and Information Systems and Telecommunications and its Chef de Cabinet.[2]

The position is currently held by General of the Air Javier Salto Martínez-Avial.[3]

History

The position of Chief of Air Staff was created in 1936, when Apolinar Sáenz de Buruaga y Polanco was promoted to Colonel and appointed Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Sáenz de Buruaga y Polanco was not what is today the JEMA, because at that time, the JEMA was subordinated to a higher rank called Chief of the Air.

The position was not institutionalized until the creation of the Air Ministry in 1939, creating in turn the Air Staff. According to the Air Force Act of that year, the command of the air force belonged to the Head of State, and he delegated it to the Minister of the Air. With this ministry it was wanted to give the air weapon (which had been so important to win the Civil War) the same level that the Army or the Navy had.

The Air Staff was made up of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, the Second Chief of Staff of the Air Force, a private secretariat for the JEMA and a general one for the Air Staff, and 5 sections: Organization, instruction and mobilization; Information; Operations; Services and Cartography.

At that time, the JEMA exercised its powers over all the aerial resources of the Armed Forces, both those of the Air Force and the aerial means of the Army and the Navy, but always coordinating with the other Chiefs of Staff, although in practice the commanders of the air forces of the Army and of the Navy were of those respective branches, reason why the influence of the JEMA was null. The JEMA was part, together with the Under Secretary of Air and other ministerial officials, of the Administrative Technical Board, permanent advisory body of the Armed Forces Command on the election of prototypes of aircraft and engines, contracts, infrastructure programs, acquisitions, etc.,[4] and of the High Command (AEM) (that acted as a simple coordinating body).[5]

The JEMA depended on the Ministry of the Air until the disappearance of this in 1977. Since then, the JEMA has depended on the Ministry of Defence.

List of Chiefs of Staff of the Air Force
No. Rank Name Began Ended
1º Colonel Apolinar Sáenz de Buruaga y Polanco 1 October 1936 22 October 1937
2º Colonel Luis Moreno Abella 7 October 1939[6] 27 April 1940[7][8]
3º Brigadier general Eduardo González-Gallarza Iragorri 27 April 1940[9] 20 July 1945[7][10]
4º Brigadier general Francisco Fernández-Longoria González 26 July 1945[11] 6 June 1958[12][13]
5º Lieutenant general Eugenio de Frutos Dieste 6 June 1958[14] 21 September 1960[15]
6º Lieutenant general Enrique Palacios y Ruiz de Almodóvar 21 September 1960[16] 5 September 1962[17]
7º Lieutenant general Manuel Martínez Merino 20 September 1962[18] 31 May 1965[19]
8º Lieutenant general Luis Navarro Garnica 31 May 1965[20][21] 21 March 1970[22]
9º Lieutenant general Enrique Jiménez Benamú 31 March 1970[23] 6 April 1972[24]
10º Lieutenant general Mariano Cuadra Medina 7 April 1972[25] 11 January 1974[26]
11º Lieutenant general Ramiro Pascual Sanz 11 January 1974[27] 5 March 1976[28]
12º Lieutenant general (*) Felipe Galarza Sánchez 23 March 1976[29] 12 September 1978[30]
13º Lieutenant general (**) Ignacio Alfaro Arregui[31] 23 July 1977 12 September 1978
14º Lieutenant general (**) Emiliano Alfaro Arregui[31] 30 September 1978 15 January 1982
15º Lieutenant general (**) Emilio García-Conde Ceñal[31] 15 January 1982 11 January 1984
16º Lieutenant general (**) José Santos Peralba Giráldez[31] 11 January 1984 31 October 1986
17º Lieutenant general (**) Federico Michavila Pallarés[31] 31 October 1986 23 May 1990
18º Lieutenant general (**) Ramón Fernández Sequeiros[31] 23 May 1990 14 February 1994
19º Lieutenant general (***) Ignacio Manuel Quintana Arévalo[31] 14 February 1994 10 January 1997
20º General of the Air Juan Antonio Lombo López[31] 10 January 1997 20 April 2001
21º General of the Air Eduardo González-Gallarza Morales[31] 20 April 2001 26 June 2004
22º General of the Air Francisco José García de la Vega[31] 26 June 2004 18 July 2008
23º General of the Air José Jiménez Ruiz[31] 18 July 2008 27 July 2012
24º General of the Air Francisco Javier García Arnáiz 28 July 2012 31 March 2017
25º General of the Air Javier Salto Martínez-Avial[32] 31 March 2017 Present

(*) Promoted posthumously to General of the Air in 1999.
(**) Promoted to General of the Air ad honorem in 1999.
(***) Promoted to General of the Air while in office.

See also

References
  1. "Royal Decree 872/2014, of October 10, which establishes the basic organization of the Armed Forces". www.boe.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  2. "Order 1/2016, of January 7, of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, developing the organization of the Air Force" (PDF). Official Gazette of the Ministry of Defence. 2016.
  3. El Consejo de Ministros aprueba el nombramiento de los nuevos jefes de Estado Mayor de Tierra, Armada y Aire
  4. "DECREE of September 1, 1939 on organization of the Ministry of the Air" (PDF).
  5. "DECREE of August 30, 1939 creating the High Command" (PDF).
  6. Historia del Ejército del Aire, Cronología (1939) Archived 2016-03-03 at the Wayback Machine. Ejército del Aire (España).
  7. Decreto de 20 July 1945 por el que se nombra Ministro del Aire a don Eduardo González Gallarza. Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 202, de 21/07/1945, página 520.
  8. Historia de la Aviación Española. Ejército del Aire (España), p.251.
  9. Historia del Ejército del Aire, Cronología (1940) Archived 2017-09-11 at the Wayback Machine. Ejército del Aire (España).
  10. González-Gallarza Iragorri, Eduardo Archived 2017-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. Ejército del Aire.
  11. Decreto por el que se nombra Jefe de Estado Mayor del Aire, del Arma de Aviación, al General de Brigada don Eduardo González Gallarza. Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 142, de 14/06/1958, página 5542.
  12. Decreto 6 June 1958 por el que se nombra Jefe de la Región Aérea Atlántica al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Francisco Fernández-Longoria González. Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 277, de 04/10/1941, páginas 7651 a 7652.
  13. Fernánedez-Longoria González, Francisco Archived 2017-02-21 at the Wayback Machine. Ejército del Aire.
  14. Decreto por el que se dispone el del Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Eugenio de Frutos Dieste para el cargo de Jefe de Estado Mayor del Aire. Boletín Oficial del Estado núm. 142, de 14/06/1958, página 5542.
  15. Decreto 1779/1960, de 21 de septiembre por el que se dispone que el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Eugenio de Frutos Dieste pase al grupo «B». Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  16. Decreto 1777/1960, de 21 de septiembre por el que se nombra Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Enrique Palacios y Ruiz de Almodóvar. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  17. Decreto 2171/1962, de 5 de septiembre, por el que se dispone que el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Enrique Palacios y Ruiz de Almodóvar pase al Grupo «B». Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  18. Decreto 2320/1962, de 20 de septiembre, por el que se promueve al empleo de Teniente General del Ejército del Aire al General de División don Manuel Martínez Merino, nombrándole Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  19. Decreto 1527/1965, de 31 de mayo, por el que se dispone que el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Manuel Martínez Merino pase al grupo «B». Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  20. Decreto 1524/1965, de 31 de mayo, por el que se promueve al empleo de Teniente General del Ejército del Aire al General de División de dicho Ejército don Luis Navarro Garnica. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  21. Orden de 24 June 1965 por la que se nombra Vocal nato del Patronato del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial «Esteban Terradas» al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire, Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire, don Luis Navarro Garnica. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  22. Decreto 771/1970, de 21 de marzo, por el que se dispone que el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Luis Navarro Garnica pase al Grupo B. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  23. Decreto 775/1970, de 31 de marzo, por el que se nombra Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Enrique Jiménez Benamú. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  24. Decreto 798/1972, de 6 de abril, por el que se dispone que el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Enrique Jiménez Benamú pase al grupo «B». Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  25. Decreto 806/1972, de 7 de abril, por el que se nombra Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Mariano Cuadra Medina. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  26. Decreto 58/1974, de 11 de enero, por el que cesa como Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Mariano Cuadra Medina. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  27. Decreto 59/1974, de 11 de enero, por el que se nombra Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Ramiro Pascual Sanz. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  28. Decreto 447/1976, de 5 de marzo, por el que se dispone que el Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Ramiro Pascual Sanz pase al Grupo «B». Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  29. Decreto por el que se nombra Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Felipe Galarza Sánchez. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  30. DOrden por la que se nombra Vocal nato del Patronato del Instituto Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial «Esteban Terradas» al Teniente General del Ejército del Aire don Felipe Galarza Sánchez, Jefe del Estado Mayor del Aire. Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  31. "Jefaturas. Ejército del Aire". Archived from the original on 2018-01-18. Retrieved 2018-10-02.
  32. Real Decreto 352/2017, de 31 de marzo, por el que se nombra Jefe de Estado Mayor del Ejército del Aire al Teniente General del Cuerpo General del Ejército del Aire don Javier Salto Martínez-Avial. Boletín Oficial del Estado (01/04/17). Consultado 1 de abril de 2017.
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