The Role of the Spanish Armed Forces in the Fight against the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Similarly to other European countries, the Spanish Government decided to take extensive measures against the spread of the Covid-19 virus in the country with the announcement of special legal order, curfews and the deployment of the armed forces. The ‘Fuerzas Armadas Españolas’, the FAS, have had an active role in the fight against the pandemic ever since executing a wide variety of tasks on a daily basis, including disinfecting critical infrastructure, and supporting the detection and the monitoring of infected citizens. Besides summarising the role of the Spanish Armed Forces in the fight against Covid-19 in the first year of the pandemic, the present paper explores other aspects of the deployment, such as civil–military relations and the attitude of the society towards military personnel.