The base of La Legion is once again host to the festivity of the Patron Saint of the Military Health Corps

"After three years of not being able to celebrate this day of the patron saint for the Military Health Corps and the Virgin of Perpetual Help as was tradition at this base," stated Colonel Francisco Gomez Dias. He is a medical doctor. Head of Health Service at the 'Rey Alfonso XIII’ II Brigade of Legion and the 'Alvarez de Sotomayor’ Base.

"Three years have passed, as we all know, by the pandemic. In which the health, civil, and military have played a logical part in fighting the virus that has done so much harm, it has been a difficult three years." Colonel Gomez emphasized the mission in times of pandemic, and his gratitude for the hard work that was done.

Yesterday, General Melchor Marin Elvira of the Brigade of the Legion presided over the homage to Our Lady at the 'Alvarez de Sotomayor Base.

Operation Balmis was the first to disinfect elderly residences and public spaces. It also included surveillance and other State Security Forces. For the monitoring and control of cases of military infections, Epidemiological Surveillance Units were also established. One of these units corresponded with the Brigade of La Legion controlling, and it continues to do so", cases in the provinces of Almeria (Granada), Malaga, Jaen. This required a lot of personal effort.

Operation Baluarte was launched in autumn 2020. It helped to track covid cases within the Andalusian community through the creation of Epidemiological Surveillance Sections with the involvement of "all of our units". It also collaborated with nurses and health personnel to vaccine civilian personnel in Almeria and Malaga provinces.

Colonel Gomez thanked the employees of the 'Alvarez de Sotomayor Base' for their support during the vaccination of military personnel. "Vaccinating more than 2000 in one morning was a difficult task that would not have been possible without the hard work of all."

During his speech, medical colonel Gomez Diaz.

The Balmis Institute of Vaccines awarded the distinction for the service rendered to the military during the pandemic. Our work is based on helping our country in any way it requires. The greatest reward for our efforts is the affection shown by our society. She also referred to the University of Almeria's gratitude for "distinguishing us for our efforts."

"But, not all was fighting the virus. My general health and that of the Brigade and Base allowed them to continue their daily work. They also continued participating in international missions, such as Mali and Lebanon, where the pandemic was also being fought.

Colonel Gomez concluded his speech by thanking the CNS health workers at the Base and all of those officers who made it possible for their health care to be a benchmark for our Army. Thank you all".

Functions

The Military Health Corps is composed of medical, nursing, psychology, pharmacy, veterinary medicine, dentistry and other specialties. It is assigned to the three Armies as well as the Civil Guard. Their main purpose is to maintain the health of the military in their respective units and at the hospital centers.

They have also participated in many missions where the Spanish Army has been deployed for over 30 years, including Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo, Afghanistan, Mali and Republic of the Congo, Lebanon and missions to respond to natural disasters such as Hurricane Mitch in Central America, Albania, and Mozambique.