=====Military Bases=====
An interesting overview of military bases can be found in the [[http://www.tni.org/detail_page.phtml?act_id=17252|Google Earth map of foreign military bases]] worldwide made by the Transnational Institute.
====Belgium====
50.8745, 4.42231, [[NATO]]
50.503, 3.98, [[SHAPE]]
51.166105, 5.47, [[Kleine Brogel]]
50.241, 4.647, [[Florennes]]
50.5775, 3.842, [[Chièvres]]
50.7587, 5.6039, [[Glons]]
50.772008468721474, 4.10064697265625, [[SATCOM Gooik-Kester]]
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Belgium hosts the political and military headquarters of [[NATO]]. The political headquarters are located in Brussels. [[SHAPE]], the military headquarter is located in Mons. Near Mons it is served in logistical terms by the airforce base of [[Chièvres]], which is run by US forces. Another support structure is the [[SATCOM Gooik-Kester|NATO Satcom installation in Kester]].
Belgium is also host of US nuclear weapons on the airforce base of [[Kleine Brogel]]. This base contains a US MUNSS or Munition Support Squadron as guards and maintenance group for the nuclear weapons. But the base has mostly Belgian military and the F-16 wing tasked with flying nuclear weapons is Belgian as well.\\
The other airforce base with F-16's is [[Florennes]]. In total the Belgian airforce has 72 operational F-16's, of which 60 have NATO tasks. Through the Control and Reporting Centre in [[Glons]] and the Air Traffic Control Centre in [[Semmerzake]] the air operations are co-ordinated.
====France====
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====Germany====
48.7355, 9.0805, [[EUCOM]]
49.3868, 8.6843, [[Heidelberg]]
49.6979, 11.9394, [[Grafenwoehr]]
49.6344, 7.3041, [[Baumholder]]
49.4368, 7.6, [[Ramstein]]
49.9761, 6.6975, [[Spangdahlem]]
50.1745, 7.0633, [[Buechel]]
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====Italy====
45.5422, 11.5784, [[Vicenza]]
37.4043, 14.9225, [[Sigonella]]
41.2158, 13.5773, [[Gaeta]]
46.0313, 12.5968, [[Aviano]]
45.433, 10.2662, [[Ghedi Torre]]
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====Netherlands====
51.656, 5.7064, [[Volkel]]
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====Spain====
36.6387, -6.3447, [[us-spain_naval_station_airbase_rota_cadiz|US-Spain Naval Station & Airforce base, Rota (Cádiz)]] \\ - Logistic and Command Support to US Forces in the \\ Mediterranean Sea, Middle East and Central Asia \\ - NATO Logistic Weapons Magazine \\ - NATO High Readiness Maritime (HRF-M) HQ (Spanish Frigate Castilla) \\ - Spanish Strike Group Alfa
37.175569, -5.60689, [[us-spain_airbase_moron_sevilla|US-Spain Airforce base, Morón (Sevilla)]] \\ - 294 B-52 bombing flights to Iraq during Gulf War I \\ - USAF 496th ABS and 18th SSS \\ - Spanish 11th Wing: 14 Eurofighter (EF-2000 Typhoon) airplanes
41.668424, -1.053400, [[airbase_zaragoza|Airforce base, Zaragoza]] \\ - USAF base from 1953 to 1990 \\ - Now regularly used by USAF for scaling and refuelling \\ - Spanish 15th Wing: 36 F-18A fighter-bomber airplanes \\ - Participation in 1999 in the NATO bombing in the Balcans \\ from Aviano (Italy): Mission "Icarus" \\ - Candidate to host the AWACS airplanes of NATO Alliance \\ Ground Surveillance (AGS)
40.486779, -3.448591, [[airbase_torrejon_madrid|Airforce base, Torrejón (Madrid)]] \\ - USAF base from 1953 to 1993 \\ Spanish 12th Wing: 40 F-18A \\ - Participation in 1994 in the NATO bombing in \\ the Balcans from Aviano (Italy): Mission "Icarus" \\ - Participation in 1999 in the "Allied Force" NATO bombing \\ operation of Serbia and Kosova \\ - Spying activities: Satellite Center of the EU \\ - NATO Combined Air Operation Center (CAOC)
38.951867, -1.864071, [[airbase_los_llanos_albacete|Airforce base, Los Llanos (Albacete)]] \\ - Spanish 14th Wing: 45 Mirage F-1 \\ - Candidate for NATO Tactic Leadership Programme \\ (training for combat pilots)
41.712264, -0.896845, [[Military Exercise Field, San Gregorio (Zaragoza)]] \\ - Largest Military Field in Europe: 34000 Ha \\ - NATO Exercises \\ - Training site for armoured vehicles
39.006112, -1.568298, [[Military Exercise Field, Chinchilla (Albacete)]] \\ - Mainly Spanish Military Exercises \\ - 14000 Ha
42.194633, -1.45925, [[Air Bombing Range, Bardenas (Navarra)]] \\ - Air-to-Air Combat and Air-to-Land Bombing Training \\ - Yearly Used by around 2000 Planes \\ - Weapons Testing Site \\ - USAF Main Bombing Range in Europe
42.367296, -6.325550, [[Artillery Exercise Field, Teleno (León)]] \\ - Training Site of the Spanish Artillery and Weapons Factories \\ - Used 200 Days a Year
40.402222, -3.823500, [[NATO Command Component Land HQ (CC-Land), Retamares (Madrid)]] \\ - Subordinated to Naples HQ \\ - Command of out-of-area worst case scenario NATO \\ operations in Northern and Central Africa: 180.000 troops
39.619640, -0.471253, [[NATO Response Force (NRF) HQ, Valencia]] \\ - NATO High Readiness Force HQ (HRF-L) \\ - NATO Response Force (NRF) Rotatory Command \\ - 15 HU-21L transport helicopters
39.714648, -0.570259, [[Armored Vehicles Regiment, Marines (Valencia)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force and some rotations \\ of the NATO Response Force \\ - Bosnia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Kosova, Kurdistan, Lebanon
42.385810, -8.653278, [[airborne_brigade_brilat_figueirido_vigo|Airborne Brigade (BRILAT) HQ, Figueirido (Vigo)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force and some rotations \\ of the NATO Response Force \\ - 2000 effectives \\ - Eurocorps \\ - Deployed in every Spanish Military Intervention
36.898602, -2.409289, [[legionary_brigade_brileg_viator_almeria|Legionary Brigade (BRILEG) HQ, Viator (Almería)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force and some rotations \\ of the NATO Response Force \\ - Deployed in every Spanish Military Intervention
36.758777, -5.189452, [[Legionary Brigade (BRILEG), Ronda (Málaga)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force and some rotations \\ of the NATO Response Force \\ - Deployed in every Spanish Military Intervention
38.351333, -0.497711, [[Special Operations Command, Rabasa (Alicante)]] \\ - Deployed in 2001 on US ships in the frame of \\ "Enduring Freedom" Operation
42.842711, -1.674326, [[Mountain Brigade, Aizoain (Pamplona)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force \\ - Deployed in Kosova and Afghanistan
42.577544, -0.545819, [[Mountain Brigade HQ, Jaca (Huesca)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force \\ - Deployed in Bosnia, Kosova, Iraq and Albania.
40.502240, -3.355712, [[Parachute Brigade, Alcalá de Henares (Madrid)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force and some rotations \\ of the NATO Response Force \\ - Deployed in every Spanish Military Intervention
40.298774, -3.719730, [[airbase_getafe_madrid|Airforce base, Getafe (Madrid)]] \\ - EADS Factory: production of EF-2000 Typhoon \\ - Spanish 35th Wing: C-295 Airplanes for Transport of \\ Troops and Equipment \\ - Training of EF-2000 pilots
37.424861, -5.88438, [[EADS Factory, Sevilla]] \\ - Production of the new european military transport \\ airplane A400M \\ - 180 airplanes ordered by Spain, Germany, France, \\ UK, Turkey, Belgium and Luxemburg
37.588323, -1.005163, [[Naval Station, Cartagena (Murcia)]] \\ - Maritime Transport of Troops and Equipment, along with the \\ harbours of Valencia and Alicante \\ - Navantia Factory: Production of S80 and Scorpene Submarines
37.314441, -6.002387, [[Helicopter Base, El Copero (Sevilla)]] \\ - 14 AS532L Cougar Transport Helicopters \\ - Deployed in Afghanistan \\ - Operation combined with the Special Operations Group \\ in 2002 to recover the Perejil/Layla small \\ islet reclamed by Morocco
38.951099, -3.741488, [[Combat Helicopter Base, Almagro (Ciudad Real)]] \\ Base will host 24 Attack Tiger Helicopters in 2015
39.026752, -6.89362, [[Armoured Infantry Brigade, Botoa (Badajoz)]] \\ 4500 troops and 200 armoured vehicles and tanks Leopard 2/A4 \\ Deployed in Bosnia, Kosovo and Iraq
38.019393, -4.780555, [[Armoured Infantry Brigade, Cerro Muriano (Córdoba)]] \\ Deployed in Bosnia and Kosovo \\ Armoured Vehicles Centaurus and tanks Leopard 2/A4 \\ - Asigned to Eurocorps
43.409023, -5.737717, [[Airborne Brigade, Siero (Oviedo)]] \\ - Part of the Spanish Rapid Action Force and some rotations \\ of the NATO Response Force \\ - Asigned to Eurocorps \\ - Deployed in every Spanish Military Intervention
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Spanish military is still in transition from the model of Franco's dictatorship (extensive military control of the territory against potential internal enemies) to the interventionist one, characterized by small highly deployable and combinable brigade-size units, and a strong investment in transport equipment, communication systems and new generation armament. It maintains a large number of bases and other military facilities all over the spanish territory while follows the NATO recommendations and increases the military budget, modernizes equipment and armament, and transforms its large divisions into interoperable brigades. Moreover, a chronical lack of soldiers, partly caused by the sustained action of the antimilitarist movement since the early 70's, is forcing the closing down of some bases and the dissolution of some units. The spanish military is today around 30.000 troops below of the figures planned in 1997, when the total profesionalization process started.
The interventionist core of the spanish military is mainly made up of the following units:
* **Airforce**: the **12th Wing** (2 squadrons of F-18A fighter-bombers in [[airbase_torrejon_madrid|Torrejón]]), the **15th Wing** (2 squadrons of F-18A in [[airbase_zaragoza|Zaragoza]]), the **11th Wing** (1 squadron of EF-2000 Typhoon in [[us-spain_airbase_moron_sevilla|Morón]]), and the **35th Wing** (9 C-295 transport airplanes in [[airbase_getafe_madrid|Getafe]]).
* **Army**: The units that compose the spanish Rapid Action Force participate in international operations since 1990. With its command HQ located in Madrid, the FAR is made up of the **Legionary Brigade (BRILEG)** in [[legionary_brigade_brileg_viator_almeria|Almería]] and [[legionary_brigade_brileg_ronda_malaga|Málaga]], the **Airborne Light Brigade (BRILAT)** in [[airborne_brigade_brilat_figueirido_vigo|Vigo]], the **Armored Vehicles Regiment** in [[armored_vehicles_regiment_marines_valencia|Marines (Valencia)]], the **Special Operations Group** in [[special_operations_command_rabasa_alicante|Alicante]], the **Parachute Brigade** in [[parachute_brigade_alcala_de_henares_madrid|Alcalá]], the **Mountain Brigade** in [[mountain_brigade_aizoain_pamplona|Pamplona]] and [[mountain_brigade_hq_jaca_huesca|Jaca]], and the **helicopter battalions** in [[nato_response_force_nrf_hq_valencia|Valencia]], [[helicopter_base_el_copero_sevilla|Sevilla]], Madrid and [[combat_helicopter_base_almagro_ciudad_real|Almagro]].
* **Navy**: **F-100 series frigates** usually transport troops and equipment from the Naval Stations of [[naval_station_cartagena_murcia|Cartagena]] and [[us-spain_naval_station_airbase_rota_cadiz|Rota]], and the harbours of Valencia and Alicante. They also participate in multinational maritime deployments with US Navy (aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt strike Group in 2005) and the Royal Navy (this year). The spanish [[us-spain_naval_station_airbase_rota_cadiz|Strike Group Alpha]] has participated in international operations.
**UN**
Until now, the spanish military interventions are much better characterized by internal objectives like propaganda, public image clean-up and relegitimation of the military than by economic or strategic ones. The list of UN military interventions with spanish participation is very long. It starts with the deployment of the [[parachute_brigade_alcala_de_henares_madrid|Parachute Brigade]] in Kurdistan in 1989 and ends with the highly controversial interventions in Haiti and Lebanon. But it was in Bosnia where the spanish government finally realized of the huge potential of legitimation contained in the "humanitarian" missions, despite of the fact that the spanish troops were far from being neutral and often were passive in front of the ethnic cleansing of the muslim population of Bosnia carried up by the croatian and serbian troops.
**NATO**
Spain joined NATO political (not militar) structure in 1986 when the socialist party government at the time won a referendum on this issue against the population. Geopolitical changes in the following years and the tale of the "new NATO" served as an excuse for the Aznar government to force the integration of Spain in the Alliance military structure in 1996. Since then (and even before) units of the Airforce and the Rapid Action Force have increasingly participated in NATO operations.
Within the NATO intervention framework, some F-18A from [[airbase_zaragoza|Zaragoza]] and [[airbase_torrejon_madrid|Torrejón]] airbases have participated in NATO bombings of Bosnia in 1994 (Deliberate Force) and of Serbia-Kosova in 1999 (Allied Force). Troops from the units of the Rapid Action Force have been deployed in Bosnia (SFOR), Kosovo (KFOR) and Afghanistan (ISAF). This units are also part of the the new interventionist corps NATO Response Force (NRF) in almost everyone of its semestral rotations.
Besides of this increasing contribution to NATO military muscle, the spanish governments have decided to increase the role of spanish military within the NATO force and command structure, and is offering almost obsolete bases to host NATO facilities. In this way, the city of [[nato_response_force_nrf_hq_valencia|Valencia]] hosts a **command headquarter of NRF**, and near of Madrid is located the headquarter of the **[[nato_command_component_land_hq_cc_land_retamares_madrid|NATO Land Command Component]]**, a third level command depending of that of Naples. Other bases are also candidates for NATO facilities. The airforce base of [[airbase_los_llanos_albacete|Albacete]] could host in 2009 the **Tactic Leadership Programme (TLP)**, and that of [[airbase_zaragoza|Zaragoza]] could receive the AWACS airplanes of the **Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS)**.
The military exercise fields of [[military_exercise_field_san_gregorio_zaragoza|Zaragoza]] and [[military_exercise_field_chinchilla_albacete|Albacete]] are regularly used for multinational exercises.
**EU**
Some units of the Rapid Action Force are assigned to **Eurocorps**: the Heavy Forces Command in Burgos, the [[airborne_brigade_brilat_figueirido_vigo|Airborne Brigade]] in Vigo, and the [[mountain_brigade_hq_jaca_huesca|Mountain Brigade]]. The spanish military also contributes to the European Union **Battle Groups** in 2008 with troops from the [[mountain_brigade_hq_jaca_huesca|Mountain Brigade]], Armoured Vehicles Brigade, and transport helicopters from the [[nato_response_force_nrf_hq_valencia|Valencia]] battalion.
The new european transport airplane A-400M are partly produced in the factories of the consortium European Aeronautics Defence and Space Company in [[eads_factory_sevilla|Sevilla]]. The EF-2000 Typhoon fighter airplane is mounted in its factory in [[airbase_getafe_madrid|Getafe]].
**USA**
In order to break the international isolation, Franco's regime signed in 1953 an agreement with the USA. The Pact of Madrid established that Spain would host US bases in exchange of economic assistance. In this way, since 1955 the airbases of [[airbase_torrejon_madrid|Torrejón]], [[airbase_zaragoza|Zaragoza]], [[us-spain_airbase_moron_sevilla|Morón]] and [[us-spain_naval_station_airbase_rota_cadiz|Rota]] hosted US forces (and maybe in some cases, US nuclear weapons). Since the early 90's, Torrejón and Zaragoza are no longer US bases but used frequently by the USAF for scaling and refueling. Rota and Morón are two key sites for the US deployment in the Mediterranean Sea, Middle East and Central Asia, as logistic and support bases, and as platform for bombing missions. For example, during Gulf War I the spanish government authorized 294 B-52 bombing flights to Iraq from the airbase in Morón, and in 2007 Rota coordinated the [[http://www.mediafire.com/?zq1qxya1euc|relief of 40 Black Hawk]] attack helicopters coming from Afghanistan in the frame of US operation //Enduring Freedom//.
Spanish troops from brigades of the Rapid Action Force participated in the first stages of the occupation of Iraq, once the war "ended". From July 2003 to April 2004, a total of 2600 troops formed the "Plus Ultra" Brigade, based in Diwaniya, south of Baghdad. In April 2004, began the spanish withdrawal.
Spanish ships also participate regularly in US deployments like //Active Endeavour//, a so-called counter-terrorist surveillance operation in the Mediterranean Sea started in 2001. In 2005 the frigate F-101 was part of the US aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt Strike Group, deployed in the frame of "Iraqi Freedom" operation.
The bombing range in [[air_bombing_range_bardenas_navarra|Bardenas (Navarra)]] is believed to be the main training site of the USAF airplanes in Europe.
====United Kingdom====
52.3625, 0.4817, [[Mildenhall]]
52.4075, 0.5571, [[Lakenheath]]
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