Deployments
The UOE always maintains one of its three operational teams on maximum alert (Alpha-1) for immediate deployment on a rotational basis.
The UOE was first deployed overseas in 1969, just two years after it was founded, when it spearheaded the evacuation of Spanish citizens from the former Spanish colony of Equatorial Guinea in Africa. Since then, the unit is reported to have participated in the fight against Basque ETA terrorists operating inside Spain (though today this is strictly the preserve of civilian police forces).
More recently, among its publicly known missions, the UOE was deployed to the former Yugoslavia as part of the Spanish IFOR and SFOR contingents. Also, in December 2002, while participating in Operation Enduring Freedom in the Indian Ocean, UOE commandos stormed a suspect North Korean vessel, the So San, transporting a shipment of SCUD missiles destined for Yemen. The unit is also known to have recently deployed its teams on undisclosed missions in the Middle East.
The UOE is a central element of the Spanish Maritime Counter-Terrorism capability.
Read more about this topic: Unidad De Operaciones Especiales