Military Emergencies Unit
The Military Emergencies Unit 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.
History
The decision to create the Military Emergencies Unit was agreed upon at a cabinet meeting of the Zapatero administration on October 7, 2005. This was enacted in law by the Real Decreto 416/2006 on April 11, 2006.Missions
- 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.
- Intervention fighting forest fires.
- Intervention during emergencies derived from technological hazards; among which are chemical, nuclear, radiological and biological hazards
- 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.
- Intervention during situations of environmental contamination.
- Intervention during any other emergency deemed appropriate by the Prime Minister of Spain.
Chiefs
Organisation
The UME consists of Headquarters, *five emergency intervention battalions,- a support regiment,
- a communications battalion and
- an aviation group
| 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, A Coruña, Lugo, Ourense, Asturias, Cantabria, León, Zamora, Salamanca, Valladolid, Palencia, Burgos |