Military Emergencies Unit

The Military Emergencies Unit (Spanish: Unidad Militar de Emergencias, UME; IPA: [uniˈðað miliˈtaɾ ðe emeɾˈxenθjas]) 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.

Military Emergencies Unit
Founded7 October 2005
CountrySpain
AllegianceKing Felipe VI
BranchSpanish Armed Forces
RoleEmergency management
Size3,987 (2008)
Part ofMinistry of Defence
HeadquartersTorrejón Air Base
Motto(s)Para servir (To serve)
ColorsYellow  
March"Himno UME"
AnniversariesOctober 7
Websitewww.mde.es/ume
Commanders
Commander in ChiefKing Felipe VI
Unit CommanderLt General Luis Manuel Martínez Meijide
Insignia
Guidon
Aircraft flown
BomberCanadair CL-215
Utility helicopterEurocopter EC135
TransportEurocopter AS532 Cougar

History

The decision to create the Military Emergencies Unit was agreed upon at a cabinet meeting of the Zapatero administration on October 7, 2005.[1] This was enacted in law by the Real Decreto 416/2006 (Royal Decree 416/2006) on April 11, 2006.[2]

Missions
  1. 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.
  2. Intervention fighting forest fires.
  3. Intervention during emergencies derived from technological hazards; among which are chemical, nuclear, radiological and biological hazards
  4. 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.
  5. Intervention during situations of environmental contamination.
  6. Intervention during any other emergency deemed appropriate by the Prime Minister of Spain.

Chiefs
Rank Name Start End
Lieutenant general Fulgencio Coll Bucher 21 January 2006[3] 19 July 2008
José Emilio Roldán Pascual 25 July 2008[4] 26 September 2012
Cesar Muro Benayas 28 September 2012[5] 15 May 2015
Miguel Alcañíz Comas 23 May 2015[6] 16 October 2019[7]
Luis Manuel Martínez Meijide 23 October 2019[8] Incumbent

Organisation

The UME consists of Headquarters (Unidad de Cuartel General, UCG), *five emergency intervention battalions (Batallon de Intervención en Emergencias, BIEM),

  • a support regiment (Regimiento de Apoyo a Emergencias, RAEM),
  • a communications battalion (Batallón de Transmisiones, BTUME) and
  • an aviation group (Agrupación de Medios Aéreos, AGRUMEDA)
Name Headquarters Areas Served
BIEM I Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base Ávila, Segovia, Madrid, Cáceres, Guadalajara, Cuenca, Ciudad Real, Toledo, Cáceres
BIEM II Morón Air Base Badajoz, Huelva, Sevilla, Cádiz, Málaga, Córdoba, Jaén, Granada, Jaén, 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
UCG Torrejón de Ardoz Air Base
RAEM
BTUME
AGRUMEDA

Ranks
Officers
NATO codeOF-10OF-9OF-8OF-7OF-6OF-5OF-4OF-3OF-2OF-1OF(D)Student officer
Military Emergencies Unit
 No equivalent
Unknown
General de división General de brigada Coronel Teniente coronel Comandante Capitán Teniente Alférez
Enlisted
NATO CodeOR-9OR-8OR-7OR-6OR-5OR-4OR-3OR-2OR-1
Military Emergencies Unit
Suboficial mayor Subteniente Brigada Sargento primero Sargento Cabo mayor Cabo primero Cabo Soldado de primera Soldado

See also

References
  1. "RESOLUCIÓN de 19 de enero de 2006, de la Subsecretaría, por la que se da publicidad al Acuerdo de Consejo de Ministros por el que se crea la Unidad Militar de Emergencias (UME)". Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  2. "Real Decreto 416/2006, de 11 de abril, por el que se establece la organización y el despliegue de la Fuerza del Ejército de Tierra, de la Armada y del Ejército del Aire, así como de la Unidad Militar de Emergencias". Boletín Oficial del Estado.
  3. "Royal Decree 39/2006, of January 20, appointing Mr. Fulgencio Coll Bucher as Chief of the Military Emergency Unit". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  4. "Royal Decree 1335/2008, of July 24, appointing Lieutenant General Mr. José Emilio Roldán Pascual, as Chief of the Military Emergency Unit". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  5. "Royal Decree 1368/2012, of September 27, appointing Lieutenant General César Muro Benayas as Chief of the Military Emergency Unit". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  6. "Royal Decree 392/2015, of May 22, appointing as Chief of the Military Emergency Unit to Miguel Alcañíz Comas". boe.es. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  7. "Unidad Militar de Emergencias- El general Miguel Alcañiz pasa a la Reserva y cesa como jefe de la Unidad Militar de Emergencias". www.ume.mde.es. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
  8. "El teniente general Luis Martínez Meijide, nuevo jefe de la UME - Por Tierra, Mar y Aire". ABC Blogs (in Spanish). 2019-10-23. Retrieved 2019-10-23.
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