- 10 provincial capital mayors
- With 14 years of life, the Military Emergency Unit (UME) is one of the most acclaimed in the Army for its actions in recent fires and floods in our country. We talked to some of the 230 members of this elite body.
In my years of work I had never seen a catastrophe like the September floods in Murcia. Being very hard what we found when we arrived, what struck me most was the response of the people when we left. Those families who had lost everything went outside to thank us and applaud us. I couldn't contain the emotion, I started to cry. '' Patricia Viñó, corporal of the Army of Earth destined in the Military Unit of Emergencies (UME), remembers the day that they left the locality of Los Alcázares devastated by the DANA, that had taken the life of five people and had caused 3,500 evacuees.
The EMU is the most popular unit of the Army because of its close relationship with the ordinary citizen; In recent months its members have helped alleviate the effects of the last snowfall of Burgos and Asturias and the cold drop of September, and quell the fires that calcined thousands of hectares last summer.
Corporal Viñó has been a member of the UME since 2006 , the year that was launched to intervene quickly anywhere in the Spanish national territory in cases of catastrophe, serious risk, calamity or other public needs. It is formed by 3,500 people, but only 230 of them are women, 211 destined for intervention.
Laura Castellano
One of them, Corporal Laura Castellano (specialist in water and sludge evacuation), recalls her mission in Murcia: `` We were activated in the afternoon. When you receive that call you have to go immediately to the base. We leave at five in the morning. When we arrived at Los Alcázares we found ourselves in a chaotic situation, the cars of the large amount of water that flooded the streets were not visible. Our first mission was to rescue people. It was very hard because there were children and older people who were reluctant to leave their home. Some stories stay marked forever, like that of a child looking desperate for his parents. Or that of an eight-year-old girl who kept crying in my arms. ''
PATRICIA WINE
Corporal Viñó, a specialist in technical search, arrived hours later: `` After lending a hand in rescue work, our water bilge work began, there were buildings with three flooded plants. '' The mission in Los Alcazares crowned a summer in which the fire gave no respite. '' Fires can be spectacular, but helping people make flooding more emotional. I spent 10 days in Los Alcázares, but I would have stayed longer. ''
Their usual days begin at 7 in the morning, when they arrive at their base in the Madrid town of Torrejón de Ardoz. At 8 they raise the flag and, after just over an hour of exercise, they begin their preparation until 3, each day simulating a different urgency. And always alert because the call to mobilize can arrive at any time. Thus four weeks pass, the fifth is concentrated 24 hours inside the barracks; That check is the first to leave when an alert is activated.
SUSANA BELT
First sergeant Susana Correa shares destiny with Patricia and Laura, although she belongs to Transmissions. In your hands is that the EMU always maintains communication, whatever the destination where the troops are deployed, in addition to the network working in all battalions (Valencia, Seville, Leon, Zaragoza, Madrid and the two of the Canary Islands). Born in Torrejón de Ardoz, she arrived in this unit after being a paratrooper and having completed missions in Bosnia and Afghanistan. "I always wanted to be a military, this is a very vocational profession," he says, "I would recommend it to any woman who is interested in this world. Of course, you must also know the sacrifices involved: spending time away from home, traveling from one moment to another and having to separate from your children. ''
His companions ratify these words, their profession is based on a deep vocation. Jéssica Velasco , corporal of the UME in the Third Battalion of Valencia, speaks of the paradox that lived in his house: `` My brother did not make the mili and I suddenly told my mother that I wanted to be a military. At 18 I entered the Paratrooper Brigade. I lived very hard moments, like the death of two companions when we were on a mission in Afghanistan. Then I asked for the transfer to the EMU, a very comforting job. ''
Patricia and Laura assure that, in the missions, that 7% of girls still shrink water or put out fires. They point to them and look in amazement when it is they who put themselves in front. All affirm in unison that they have never felt discrimination and that they are one more within their teams.
Of course, they have to be fit. Jéssica Blanco loves sports: '' I do crossfit, I compete in rescue championships. Keep in mind that heavy material must be handled in very adverse conditions. '' She adds to her history in the Army (she has been awarded twice with the Military Merit Cross) her sports career, which led her to be summoned to participate in the World Rescue and Lifeguard Championships held in Sweden.
'' There are those who still ask us how we can reconcile our career with being mothers. We usually answer that like any family. In the Army it is easier if your partner shares work with you because, thanks to the regulations, you cannot mobilize the two members of a couple at the same time if they have dependent children; the commanders decide who comes depending on the needs of the mission, '' says Corporal Laura Castellano. "That is undoubtedly the hardest part of the job," he adds, "sometimes I don't have time to say goodbye to my daughter; I'm leaving and I don't know when I'm going back. ''
These four women blame the lack of references on the fact that there are no more women in the EMU. But this is something that can change.
RACHEL DÍAZ
Raquel Díaz, at 25, is already a lieutenant in the second battalion of Morón de la Frontera (Seville): `` I wanted to be a doctor and I learned that the Army summoned 25 places to train as a military doctor, I introduced myself and approved . It is a path still little known to people who are thinking about studying at the university and at the same time being military. I have taken my medical degree from the University of Alcalá de Henares and I am also an officer. In this modality women are not a minority, in my promotion half were girls. ''
"I have already been destined in the floods of El Campillo and in the fires of Gran Canaria," says Lieutenant Diaz, "I chose the EMU because it is not routine, you work with civilians and I feel very useful and accomplished. Next February I go to Lebanon with the Legion, they needed a doctor and I'm going to fill that position. ''
More than 1,400 soldiers from this unit are now available to deal with the possible effects of probable snowfall. Laura, Patricia, Raquel, Jéssica and Susana know that at any time their phone can ring and they will have to leave to do their duty, help others. As the motto they have embroidered on their shield says, `` To serve. ''
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
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