SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Nov. 21 (EUROPA PRESS) –
General Julio Salom Herrera took possession of the Canary Islands Command this Monday in a ceremony presided over by the Chief of Staff of the Army (JEME), Army General Amador Enseñat y Berea, and held at the Canary Islands General Captaincy Palace .
Salóm has described it as “a real challenge” that “forces him to give his best” from this moment on, “without reservations, without mortgages and with no other goal than guaranteeing the exact fulfillment of the orders received, the proper functioning, the preparation and generation in the best degree of readiness” of the combat units.
In his opinion, “this is what is required in such a volatile and uncertain operating environment, such as the one we find ourselves in.”
Likewise, addressing the Commanders of his subordinate units, he added that “it will be from self-criticism, from humility, creating a team from the rigor of one’s own demands” as it will be possible to “reach the highest levels of preparation.”
For this, he pointed out, “you have the best tool: our men and women.”
The events began at 12:00 noon with a formation for the rendering of honors in the Plaza de Weyler in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, led by an Honors Company under the command of a captain of the ‘Tenerife 49’ Infantry Regiment, made up of a squad of spenders and Flag of the ‘Tenerife 49’ Regiment, War Band Number 2 of the ‘Canarias XVI’ Brigade, Music from the Canary Islands Command and a company made up of a section of the ‘Tenerife 49’ Infantry Regiment, a section of the Artillery Regiment of Campaign 93 and a section of the XVI Sappers Battalion.
Subsequently, with the Throne Room of the Captaincy Palace as the setting, the actual act of Taking of Possession and Oath of Office took place, according to a note from the Ministry of Defense.
After reading the Royal Decree of appointment as Head of the Canary Islands Command, General Salom was sworn in and addressed a few words to those present, where he thanked the chain of command, personalized in this case by Army General JEME, for their confidence when designating him for this demanding position, also having a few words of recognition for his predecessor, Lieutenant General Escámez, present at the event.
General Salom thanked the numerous civil authorities present for attending the event, including the President of the Parliament of the Canary Islands, Gustavo Matos, the Government delegate in the Canary Islands, Anselmo Pestana and the mayor of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, José Manuel Bermúdez. .
APPOINTMENT ON NOVEMBER 8
He was appointed Chief of the Canary Islands Command of the Army by Royal Decree 950/2022 of November 8, at the proposal of the Minister of Defense and after deliberation by the Council of Ministers on the same day, November 8, 2022, which will also serve as Commander of the Land Operational Command (MOT).
He studied Higher Military Education and was promoted in July 1987 to Infantry Lieutenant, being assigned to the Tercio Gran Capitán I of the Legion, in the II Motorized Bandera, in Melilla, where he exercised Section command.
In the job of captain, he was in the Motorized Infantry Regiment “Pavía” 19 and was later assigned to the Tercio Gran Capitán I of the Legion, in the I Mechanized Banner.
In 1993 he participated in his first deployment abroad, as a component of the “Canarias” Tactical Group, UNPROFOR II in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
After obtaining the diploma of General Staff, in the job of commander, he carried out his tasks in the Directorate of Education, Instruction, Training and Evaluation, in Granada.
Subsequently, he was assigned to the General Headquarters of the General Command of Melilla, performing the functions of head of the logistics area.
During this period, he was also assigned to Najab (Iraq) as head of the CIMIC Unit.
Promoted to lieutenant colonel, he was appointed head of the I Bandera de la Legión, and was later deployed with his unit in the KSPFOR XXV contingent, in Istok, Kosovo.
In February 2011 he was assigned as a field assistant under the orders of King Juan Carlos and in June 2014 he passed under the orders of King Felipe VI, as a field assistant, until the month of December.
In July 2014, he was promoted to colonel and in December of that year he was assigned to command the Tercio “Alejandro Farnesio” IV of the Legion.
In January 2015, he was deployed with part of his unit in Besmayah (Iraq) in the first deployment of Operation A/I, against Daesh.
In July 2017 he was promoted to brigadier general, taking charge of the Command of the Operations Division of the Army General Staff, until in February 2019 he was promoted to the rank of division general, occupying the position of Chief of the General Staff of the Land Force from March 2020 until his appointment as Head of the MCANA.
Born in Madrid, he is in possession of numerous civil and military decorations and speaks English.
