Spanish Army The Spanish army ( ; lit , " ground army " ) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land - based military operations . It is one of the oldest active armies - dating back to the 15th century . Background . The Spanish army has existed continuously since the reign of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella ( late 15th century ) . The oldest and largest of the three services , its mission was the defense of peninsular Spain , the Balearic Islands , the Canary Islands , Melilla , Ceuta and the Spanish islands and rocks off the northern coast of Africa . The army is completing a major reorganization . It had previously been organized into nine regional operational commands . These were reduced to six commands in conjunction with a revised deployment of forces : Central Command , Southern Command , Levante Command , Eastern Pyrenees Command , Northwestern Command , and Western Pyrenees Command . In addition there were the two military zones of the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands . Ceuta and Melilla fell within the Southern Command . At the head of each regional and zonal command was an officer of three - star rank . Although his authority had been reduced , the regional commander , who held the title of captain general ( Spanish : " Capitán General " ) , was still among the most senior officers of the army . Under its earlier organization , the army was grouped into two basic categories : the Immediate Intervention Forces and the Territorial Operational Defence Forces . In theory , the former , consisting of three divisions and ten brigades , had the missions of defending the Pyrenean and the Gibraltar frontiers and of fulfilling Spain ' s security commitments abroad . The latter force , consisting of two mountain divisions and fourteen brigades , had the missions of maintaining security in the regional commands and of reinforcing the Civil Guard ( Spanish : " Guardia Civil " ) and the police against subversion and terrorism . In reality , most of the Immediate Intervention Forces were not positioned to carry out their ostensible mission of protecting the nation ' s borders . Many units were stationed near major cities — as a matter of convenience for officers who held part - time jobs — from which they also could be called upon to curb disturbances or unrest . In a gradual process that had not been fully completed , the division of the army into the Immediate Intervention Forces and the Territorial Operational Defence Forces was being abolished . The brigade had become the fundamental tactical unit . The total number of brigades had been reduced from twenty - four to fifteen by the dismantling of nine territorial defence brigades . Eleven of the brigades had been organized within the existing five divisions ; three brigades were to be independent , and one was to be in general reserve . The best equipped of the five was the First Division , the Brunete Armored Division , with its armored brigade in the Madrid area and its mechanized brigade farther to the southwest near Badajoz . The motorized Second Division , Guzman el Bueno Division , which had acquired a third brigade as a result of the reorganization , was the major defensive force in the south , with full capability for rapid maneuver . The mechanized Third Division , the Maestrazgo Division , under the Levante Command , consisted of two brigades considered to have a moderate degree of mobility . The two mountain divisions , the Fourth Division — or Urgel Division and the Fifth Division — or Navarra Division , each consisting of two mountain brigades , remained in the Pyrenees border area of the north . Two of the four independent brigades were armored cavalry , one was an airborne brigade , and one was a paratroop brigade ( in general reserve ) . Numerous other changes were introduced as well , including the reorganization of artillery forces not included in the major combat units . This involved the creation of a field artillery command that consisted of a restructured and consolidated former artillery brigade , the creation of a single straits coastal artillery command that replaced two former coastal artillery regiments , and the introduction of an antiaircraft artillery command that was expected to benefit from significant modernizing of its weapons inventory . The personnel strength of the army , which previously had been maintained at about 280 , 000 , including 170 , 000 conscripts , had been trimmed to 240 , 000 by 1987 . This was achieved through lower intakes of conscripts and volunteers and through cuts in the table of organization for officers and NCOs . The government ' s goal was a smaller but more capable army of 195 , 000 effective by 1991 . Outside peninsular Spain , about 19 , 000 troops were stationed in Ceuta and Melilla . These included , in addition to the Spanish Legion and other specialized units , four regular regiments of North Africans . An additional 5 , 800 troops were assigned to the Balearic Islands , and 10 , 000 were in the Canary Islands . The Spanish Legion , founded in Spanish Morocco in 1920 , has always been under the direct command of the chief of the army staff . It has had a reputation as the toughest combat unit in the service , although modelled after the French Foreign Legion , reduced in size in 1987 , as a result of successive reorganizations , the legion was scheduled to undergo further cuts to an overall strength of 6 , 500 . It had a higher number of career soldiers than other units , but it was manned mostly by conscripts who had volunteered for the legion . Recruitment of non - Spanish personnel , who had never exceeded 10 percent of the group ' s manpower , ended in 1986 . Foreign legionnaires already in the service were not affected . The Spanish Legion is grouped into four " tercios " ( sing . , " tercio " ) , a unit intermediate between a regiment and a brigade , each commanded by a colonel . The first and the second " tercios " constituted the core of the military garrisons at Melilla and Ceuta ( North Africa ) . Each had been reduced by a motorized battalion , leaving it with a single motorized battalion , a mechanized battalion , an antitank company , and a headquarters company . They were equipped with BMR armored personnel carriers . The Third Tercio , stationed in the Canary Islands , consisted of two motorized battalions and a headquarters company . The Fourth Tercio was being converted from a support role to a combat unit at the legion headquarters in Ronda near Malaga . Although , probably not as " glamorous " outside Spain as their French counterparts , the Spanish legion is as professional and fierce as any other elite force in the world . The Ministry of Defence was planning the creation of a rapid deployment force composed entirely of volunteers . This force , which would include the Spanish Legion , the Paratrooper Brigade , the Airborne Brigade , and Marine units , would be available for use in trouble spots on twelve hours ' notice . Lack of adequate air and naval transport would , however , be a limiting factor . In spite of new procurement programs , introduced in the mid - 1980s , weapons and equipment were not in sufficient supply , and they were not up to the standards of other NATO armies . The inventory of medium tanks was made up of nearly 700 American models , as well as about 300 Franco - Spanish AMX - 30 s manufactured in Spain between 1974 and 1983 . Although the military felt that it was essential to adopt a new main battle tank for the 1990s , some considerations led to a postponement of the decision and the upgrading of the AMX - 30s with new German - designed diesel engines and transmissions , reactive armor panels , and laser fire - control systems . Armored troop carriers included about 1 , 200 M - 113 s as well as AML - 60 s and AML - 90 s and Pizarro infantry fighting vehicles . The Spanish army is in the process of being equipped with more than 1 , 200 BMRs , a new armored vehicle designed and manufactured in Spain . A variety of towed and self - propelled artillery guns was available , ranging from 105 mm to 203 mm guns and howitzers . The main antitank weapons were recoilless rifles ; 88 . 9 mm rocket launchers ; Milan , Cobra , and Dragon missiles ; and a small number of TOW ( tube - launched , optically tracked , wireguided ) and HOT ( high subsonic , optically guided , tube - launched ) antitank missile systems . A considerable quantity of additional antitank missiles and rocket launchers was on order . The army aircraft inventory included about 280 helicopters , about 40 of which were armed with 20 mm guns or HOT antitank missiles . 1985 : situation and equipment . In this year the Spanish army began a reorganization that included a reduction by 45 , 000 men . It had , at the time , one armoured division ( 2 active armoured brigades and one reserve ) , one mechanized division , one motorized division , and five separate brigades ( one each : airborne , armored , air - assault , infantry , heavy artillery ) . These units , together with some separate regiments , were in the active component of the army ( Field Army or FII ) . In the Territorial Army ( reserve forces , known in Spanish as FDOT ) there were : Other forces were : in the Balearics ( three infantry regiments and support units ) , Canary Is . ( one Tercio regiment and three infantry regiments ) , Ceuta and Melilla ( 2 regiments of African [ i . e . ethnic Moroccan ] troops and three Tercios ( all regular ) . Weapons were ( SP means Self Propelled ) : A . T weapons : rocket launchers M65 89 mm , M 40 RLC 106 mm , ATGW Cobra , MILAN , HOT , TOW , M 47 Dragon 1991 : situation and reorganization . At that time there was a plan called META , in Spanish Modernization of Army , that was discussed between 1982 and 1988 . Military regions were reduced from 9 to 6 , FII and DOT ( Field Army and Territorial Army ) were united and the brigades were reduced from 24 to 15 . Men were recently reduced from 279 , 000 to 230 , 000 . Five divisions , with 11 brigades , were organized as : Three separate brigades were : the Jarama air - assault Brigade , the Castillejos armoured brigades , and the BRIPAC airborne brigade , this latter within the General Reserve . Minor units comprised 14 , 000 men on the Canary Is . , 9 , 000 on the Balearic Is . and 7 , 000 in Ceuta and Melilla . Six groups and three companies were devoted to special operations ( GOE and COE ) . Standard divisional structure was : 12 , 000 - 17 , 000 men , with one HQ , one light armoured cavalry regiment , two or three brigades , artillery regiment of two groups ( 12 or 18 guns each ) , one Bofors - armed AAA group , and several support units ( signal , NBC , transport ) . Brigades were organized with a 3 - 5000 strength , 3 or 4 battalions , one artillery group and support units . As for weapons , at that time there was a total of 850 tanks : 299 AMX - 30 E . 164 M - 48 A5E1 , 325 M - 47 E1 and 46 M - 47E2 . The CFE agreements reduced it to a 794 maximum , but this has not yet been implemented . AMX - 30E were built under license by Empresa Nacional Santa Barbara between 1974 and 1983 . They were the mainstay of the army , and although new , they performed below expectations because of transmission problems . 150 were planned to be upgraded to AMX - 30E2 with enhanced protection ( with ERA bricks ) , fire - control systems ( based on laser and ballistic computers ) and improvements in mobility . Total cost was budgeted at 30 billion ( 30 , 000 , 000 , 000 ) pesetas . Over 80 % of this bill was allocated to replacement of Hispano - Suiza HA - 110 engines and mechanical transmissions , the same as with Leopard 1 ( MTU 833 , 840 hp ) and ZF LSG - 3000 automatic transmissions . FCS is Hughes Mk 9 , while ERA is the Israeli - made Blazer . M - 47 E1 and E2 had diesel powerplants instead of original gasoline engines , M - 47 E2 and M - 48 A5E1 had 105 mm guns , with the latter a computerized FCS Hughes Mk 7 . Advanced night - vision sistems were also in program . To replace many of these tanks there was a program for 272 M60A 1 and 260 M60A3 ex - US Army main battle tanks . This meant that all M - 47 and M - 48 will been phased out and sent to Pakistan and Bolivia . Cavalry had at the time 13 regiments ( infantry had around 40 ) , 7 light ( RCLAC ) , 4 armoured ( RCAC ) and one school . They had several units : 1 with M113 and one tank squadron with 30 vehicles ( 13 tanks and 17 M113 basic or with 120 mm SP mortar ) . BMR VEC were the mainstay of cavalry squadrons ( three for each regiment ) . These 6x6 armoured were built in Spain , had OTO - Melara turrets and different weapons : 20 had the relatively weak 20 mm Rh - 202 , while 70 had Cockerill 90 mm gun , far powerful also for anti - tank actions . But the majority had M - 242 Bushmaster gun , the same as the M2 Bradley ( Without DU ammunition ) , for a total of 208 out 298 . M242 have range and power to threat many tanks and all light AFV with APDS ammunition . Other valuable machines were 1 , 200 M113 , included special versions like 81 and 120 mortar - carriers . MAAA ( Anti - aircraft Command ) and MACA ( Field artillery command ) were also commanded by General Reserve , directly dependent by ET HQ . The six regiments of MAAA had 12 groups . Six had Bofors guns , 3 had Oerlikon 35 mm , 1 HAWK and NIKE - HERCULES , 1 Roland , and 1 with TOLEDO , a combination of 35 / 90 mm gun and ASPIDE missiles . All the units had : MACA was organized with an HQ and several regiments : 61 localization Regiment , 62 MLR Regiment and 63 Artillery Regiment . 62 was organized with one group TERUEL MLR ( 12 140 mm launchers , 40 tubes each ) and two groups with old 122 / 46 mm guns . 63rd had one group with 122 mm guns and one with 203 / 25 M115 guns . Programs at the time saw the increasing to 64 TERUEL launchers and 60 new cannons with two different Spanish models , Santa Barbara REMA ( 155 / 39 mm ) and SITECSA ST - 102 with longer range , 40 km with Base - Bleed projectiles ( 155 / 45 mm ) compared to 30 km of REMA gun . FCS for artillery was AN / TPQ - 36 ( four ) and SORAS ( Swedish model ) . Totally , at the time ET had : 90 OTO Model 56 howitzers ( 105 / 26 mm ) , 64 122 / 46 mm , 64 203 / 25 mm M - 115 , 12 M110A2 , 48 M108 ( 105 / 30 mm ) , 96 M - 109 , 12 TERUEL for a total of 442 pieces . Cleary , the field artillery of ET was obsolete and modest compared with a . a artillery . Other artillery were in Command coastal defence , serving in 30 batteries . These weapons were obsolete but powerful having 150 , 152 , 305 and even 381 mm guns . Also for them it was planned a replacement with missiles and modern artillery . Many small weapons were projected or manufactured in Spain , among them 40 mm grenade - launchers and ECIA 81 mm mortars , both self - propelled and ground used . CETMA 7 , 62 mm automatic rifles were the standard . FAMET was also a part of General Reserve . This service had as main tasks the air mobility , recognition and attack for the army and was organized with several units , among them five support and six flight units . One attack battalion was BHELA I ( mainly with BO - 105 ) , One BHELTRA for transport ( CH - 47 and UH - 1H ) , four BELMHA multi - role . Over 180 helicopters were in charge , making FAMET one of the most modern and effective among the ET forces . 71 BO - 105 , 17 OH - 58 , 60 UH - 1H , 6 AB - 212 , 18 CH - 47 , 18 Super Puma ( under license built by CASA ) . Weapons were HOT missiles ( for 28 BO - 105 ) , 20 mm guns ( for 18 BO - 105 ) , 70 mm M - 158 and M - 9 launchers , 7 , 62 ( also Gatling model ) and 12 , 7 mm weapons , 40 mm Mk 94 automatic grenade - launchers . Spanish Legion had 7 , 000 men among SLEG and four Tercios : the 1st , 2nd , 3rd and 4th . Personnel , ranks . In 2001 , when compulsory military service was still in effect , the army was about 135 , 000 troops ( 50 , 000 officers and 86 , 000 soldiers ) . Following the suspension of conscription the Spanish Army became a fully professionalized volunteer force and by 2008 had a personnel strength of 61 , 300 . In case of a wartime emergency , an additional force of 80 , 000 " Civil Guards " comes under the Ministry of Defence command . Recent defense reforms will see the number of soldiers in the Spanish Army fall significantly . The military rank s of the Spanish army are as follows below . For a comparison with other NATO ranks see Ranks and Insignia of NATO . Ranks are wore on the cuff , sleeves and shoulders of all army uniforms , but differ by the type of the uniform being used . < / small > Current structure . Land Forces Command . Light Forces . Note that " Bandera " ( " Flags " ) are the names of the battalions of the Spanish Legion and the Parachute Infantry Brigade and the old term of " Tercio " is used to identify Spanish Legion regiments . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Support units of the land forces . Other Units of the Land Forces :