The Defence Staff (Spanish: Estado Mayor de la Defensa, EMAD), based in Madrid, is an organ of the Ministry of Defence that operates as an auxiliary to the Chief of the Defense Staff (JEMAD) within the organic structure of the Spanish Armed Forces and in a military hierarchical position of dependence on the former.
Functions
The EMAD is regulated by the Organic Law 5/2005, of 17 November 2005, on the National Defence, the Royal Decree 1551/2004 and the Order of Defence 1076/2005. Its objectives are to support the Chief of Staff, develop military strategy and design military operations. These are basic organs of the Defence Staff:
Spanish military bodies related to international or multinational organizations.[2][3]
The aims of the EMAD are the assistance to the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence, the command of the military structure, the direction of the military operations, the planning and joint action of the Spanish Armed Forces and multinational actions, as well as the coordination of the Chiefs of Staff of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
^(in Spanish) El CESEDEN depende funcionalmente de la Subsecretaría de Defensa y de la Secretaría General de Política de Defensa CESEDEN: misiónArchived 2016-12-20 at the Wayback Machine. CESEDEN - Centro Superior de Estudios de la Defensa Nacional. Consultado el 23 de diciembre de 2016