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The intervention of the Armed Forces in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic under Operation Balmis was an example of the so-called new missions of the Navy, the Army and the Air Force, as a key tool for solving all kinds of crisis. The missions allotted to the Armed Forces were set forth in Spanish Organic Law 5/2005 on National Defence, which states: “The Armed Forces, together with the National Institutions and the Public Administrations, must preserve the security and well-being of citizens in case of serious risk, catastrophe, calamity and other public needs, in accordance with current legislation.” However, the first time that the Armed Forces took on this task was with Operation Balmis, as part of the effort to defeat COVID-19 (except for interventions of the Military Emergency Unit and 43 Air Force Group as well as minor interventions by some other units in recent years). Operation Balmis, which involved over 188,000 military professionals, was the largest peacetime effort in the history of the Spanish Armed Forces.

Spanish Royal Decree 463/2020 from 14 March 2020, on the state of alarm, was the legal framework for involving the Armed Forces in the fight against the pandemic. As soon as the political directives were received, it was decided to launch a military operation conducted by the Armed Forces. The Operations Command and the Joint Chiefs of Staff began planning and, almost simultaneously, executing Operation Balmis. It was named after the Spanish military doctor who had the insight to effectively bring the smallpox vaccine from Europe to the Americas in the 19th century.

Several factors were key to the success of Operation Balmis. The unit of command was adapted, the chain of command was simplified, and procedures were streamlined from requests for assistance to their fulfillment. All available assets worked under the Operations Command, organised into five Component Commands: Land, Sea, Air, Emergency and Military Health. Even the operation logistics were centralised.

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