The 'green berets' of the Spanish Armed Forces in action in northern Germany

On Friday we saw here a series of images about the deployment of a Spanish special operations contingent in Germany.

The arrival of a Spanish special operations military contingent in Emden, Germany
A convoy of the Spanish Army's BRIPAC at the start of its deployment to Germany

That contingent has already completed its deployment phase in that country, within the framework of NATO's Steadfast Dart 26 exercise. In this exercise, the Spanish Joint Special Operations Command (MCOE) is leading NATO's Special Operations Component Command (SOCC) for the second consecutive year, which speaks volumes about the level of preparedness of the elite of the Spanish Armed Forces.

Spain contributes to this exercise both members of the Special Operations Command (MCOE) and the three special operations units within it: the Army's Special Operations Command (MOE), the Navy's Special Naval Warfare Force (FGNE), and the Air Force's Parachute Sapper Squadron (EZAPAC). All three units wear the green beret as their distinctive headgear, a headgear also used by special operations units of other allied countries.

In the last few hours, through its social media channels, the NATO Joint Forces Command Brunssum (JFCBS) has published images of the Spanish "green berets" deployed in this exercise (you have the links at the end of this article).

In these publications, the JFCBS has not indicated where the photos were taken, but in its statement on Thursday it indicated that this exercise is taking place in several training camps in northern Germany, without giving further details about them.

In these images we see MOE operators, specifically from the Special Operations Group "Tercio del Ampurdán" IV (GOE IV), if my information is correct.

The operators in these photos are wearing uniforms and gear with Multicam camouflage, very popular among special operations groups in various countries, with coats in Spanish M09 pixelated camouflage in its two variants: arid and woodland. Above, we see an operator armed with a 5.56 mm FN Minimi light machine gun.

A Special Operations Command (MOE) operator armed with a Heckler & Koch G-36KV, the short-barreled version of the standard-issue assault rifle in the Spanish Armed Forces. In this case, the operator is wearing a stormtrooper suit with Spanish woodland pixelated M09 camouflage.

Another image (I think it's the same operator as in the previous photo) of the same exercise. We see that this soldier is carrying a 9mm Heckler & Koch USP pistol, the standard sidearm of the Spanish Army, hanging from his belt on his left.

An MOE operator with the traditional Cross of Burgundy on a patch on his helmet. The "EO 41" we see on the patch refers to Operational Team 41 of GOE IV.

An image that shows the relative freedom these team operators have in choosing their equipment. We see a coyote-colored backpack on the left, a Multicam backpack on the right, coyote-colored helmets with or without covers... The operator in the foreground is carrying a 7.62 mm Heckler & Koch MG-5 machine gun.

Another perspective of the operators in the previous photo. In this image we see in more detail the MG-5 machine gun, whose operator carries an H&K USP pistol on the right side of his waist.

An image showing the FAST High Cut helmets used by MOE operators. These helmets allow for the attachment of accessories on their sides, in addition to carrying headphones.

We conclude with this image showing the MCOE patch for Exercise Steadfast Dart 26, with the name of the exercise at the top, the MCOE emblem between the flags of Spain and Germany, the NATO emblem, and the text "ARF Deployment Exercise."

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Photos: NATO Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum (JFCBS) - Instagram / Facebook / Twitter.