NATO displays Spanish 'green berets' in a deployment with their Bulgarian counterparts

Last year we had the opportunity to see Spanish special operations soldiers during a deployment in Bulgaria.

The Spanish special operations vehicles VLOE Netón of the MOE in Bulgaria
Steadfast Dart 25, a joint training between special forces from Spain and Bulgaria

This deployment took place within the framework of NATO's Steadfast Dart 25 exercise, during which the Spanish Joint Special Operations Command (MCOE) led the Alliance's Special Operations Component (SOCC). The Spanish Armed Forces contributed 3,200 soldiers to the exercise, 370 of whom belonged to the Special Operations Component. On May 1, NATO's Allied Special Operations Forces Command (SOFCOM) published a video showing footage from that exercise:

In the video we see images of two Spanish special operations forces that have a distinctive garment in common, for which these soldiers are often known as "green berets": the Special Operations Command (MOE) of the Army and the Parachute Sapper Squadron (EZAPAC) of the Air Force.

Here we can see some screenshots from the video. Here we see three EINSA Neton Light Special Operations Vehicles (VLOE) from the MOE, followed by a Toyota Land Cruiser 79 from the Bulgarian 68th Special Forces Brigade. We already saw these vehicles deployed in that exercise on February 19, 2025.

Two Spanish operators, wearing Multicam camouflage uniforms, and two Bulgarian soldiers carrying a simulated casualty during that exercise. The Bulgarian soldiers belong to the aforementioned 68th Special Forces Brigade, which is based in Plovdiv and was attached to the Land Forces until 2017, when all Bulgarian military special units were grouped into the Joint Special Operations Command (CSSO), following the model implemented by Poland.

Spanish operators from the EZAPAC alongside a Uro VAMTAC ST-5 tactical vehicle from that Air Force unit. We see one of the operators aiming a Heckler & Koch G28 rifle, caliber 7.62 mm, a variant of the HK 417 assault rifle.

Spanish operators witnessing a fast-rope descent from an NH90 "Lobo" helicopter belonging to the 48th Wing of the Spanish Air Force. The 48th Wing deployed two NH90s to Bulgaria for this exercise. The Bulgarian Air Force contributed an AS-532 Cougar helicopter.

A Spanish operator from the EZAPAC (we can see the unit's patch on his right arm) alongside six Bulgarian operators from the 68th Special Forces Brigade. The Bulgarian soldiers are wearing a camouflage pattern very similar to the German Flecktarn, which has been in service with the Bulgarian Armed Forces since 2018. We can see several Bulgarian operators with rifles very similar to the Soviet AK-47 with folding stocks. They are most likely the Bulgarian variant of that rifle, the AR-M1.

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Images: Allied Special Operations Forces Command (SOFCOM).