He Major General Luis Cortes Delgado took office on the morning of this Friday, September 22, of his position as Chief of the General Staff of the Command of Canary Islands during an event held in the Captaincy Palace of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
Cortes Delgado stated that the “Cardinal points” that is always present are the preparationthe planninghe environmentthe values and the security. This is what he stated during his speech at the event, which took place in the central courtyard of the emblematic military building.
For the new chief of the General Staff, the Preparation is the “priority and main mission that we have in times of peace”. He believes that this parameter must become the greatest effort and this translates for a headquarters into being able to plan and coordinate, but also gather and adjust in a balanced way the training resources of our units as a basis for the generation and contribution to the operational structure of the capabilities that are required of us on a daily basis.
Regarding planning, he defends the importance of having “updated plans and their marking is key, even knowing that the branches and consequences are many and varied, but sustained and included within a framework.”
“We cannot take a single step without taking the environment into account,” said Cortés. “We must know, we have the obligation to support our actions by knowing and making ourselves known as guarantors of the environment; being leaders and being trained,” he clarified.
Regarding values, he said that, “if there is no spirit of service, if there are no values, I doubt that we will be an example and a reference in our society.” He recalled that “we are the only profession that swears or promises to give our lives in Defense of others.”
From their point of view, the four previous aspects are supported by a fourth: security. According to Cortés Delgado, “we cannot allow ourselves to avoid or ignore the risk analysis,” nor ignore the consequences of any decision made. He said that “legality and enforcement is security.”
The Division General expressed his gratitude to those who accompanied him in his inauguration, in person or from afar, as well as to the chain of command for “the luck (…good luck) that appears again in my professional path and appoints me for this new stage as chief of the General Staff of this Canary Islands Command Headquarters”.
Cortés’ professional career has been marked by the common denominator of having been between headquarters and Infantry units, with the exception of a parenthesis in the Military Emergency Unit (UME), where he served as head of the Chief General’s Technical Department. “I consider myself, therefore, a man who was born and raised militarily, especially in the Force, where preparation, availability and participation in operations have always constituted my frame of reference and commitment,” he explained.
“My time at Brigade, Division and Army headquarters as an analyst officer or chief of the General Staff gives me certain knowledge about how to serve in these destinations and know first-hand the enormous responsibility of leading the main auxiliary command body. and support to our general chief of the General Staff, to unite the efforts of the components of this house for the best service to the command and to our reason for being: the units,” he noted.
Luis Cortés Delgado is part of a saga of soldiers, both on his father’s and his mother’s side. He has great-grandparents, grandparents, uncles, cousins, brothers, nephews, father-in-law or brothers-in-law who have worn or wear the uniform of the different armies.
“Growing up in that military environment made it easy for me to choose a career in arms, where I entered the XLIV class of the General Military Academy,” he said. Cortés Delgado is married and has five children and nine grandchildren.
“I come to this land enchanted, with the addition of the roots that my maternal family has, especially in this Tenerife islandwhich from a very young age my grandmother and my mother, along with my cousins from the Canary Islands, here today, have been in charge of detailing me ancestor by ancestor,” he commented during his speech.
He explained that he is aware of the privileged situation of the Archipelago. He stated that the Autonomous Community “is considered to be a decisive strategic enclave as a bridge for Spain and Europe, when looking towards the African Sahel and towards Latin America, further enhancing the value of Spain as a reliable and safe ally in our globalized security environment.” “.
He also addressed his colleagues at Headquarters. “I am aware that I am joining a General Staff that is already a well-functioning, well-oiled machine with accumulated experience, the result of years of exercising the function both in the Canary archipelago For always, as for four years now, the extrapeninsular force has traveled through the Balearic Islands, Melilla, Ceuta and the Canary Islands.
He pointed out that he assumes the Head of the General Staff of the Canary Islands Command “knowing its uniqueness, with an area of responsibility so distant, so dispersed and so peculiar, the result of the latest reorganization of our Army, which requires making the purpose of our chief, more even if possible, our permanent guide and reference”.
He also explained the importance of providing the units we serve with this framework, “with the freedom of action to exploit preparation opportunities and be able to respond appropriately to changing or unforeseen situations, in an effective and timely manner. always keeping in mind in the fulfillment of our mission the strategic lines of action for prevention, deterrence and response included in our National Defense Directive“.
Major General Cortés Delgado is aware that “we cannot settle or be complacent; I am well aware that the only permanent thing since I have worn the uniform is change.”
“The society that we serve and of which we are an indivisible part is in a moment of transformation that affects our Armed Forces and I know for a fact that it will not be a tune-up, but will involve an absolute renewal of capabilities, in terms of employment. of means, resilience and a model of availability that will break established patterns.
“I am very aware that they have not given me a denarius to bury it and return it to the Lord at the end of my term, but that I must return it with interest, like the good servant of the Gospel and that the inheritance that I leave, that we leave, is better than the that I receive”, explained the new chief of the General Staff of the Canary Islands Command.