Lieutenant Colonel Ezquerra takes command of the VI Maneuver Helicopter Battalion of the Canary Islands

This past Thursday, July 16, the change of command ceremony for Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Javier Ezquerra Cerdán, who will serve as head of the VI Maneuver Helicopter Battalion, was held. At the ceremony, presided over by Lieutenant General Julio Salom Herrera, the outgoing Lieutenant Colonel, Luis Alonso Sánchez Sánchez, handed over the command he had held for three years.

During these years, important milestones have been achieved. Among them, the incorporation of AB212+ model helicopters, from the Navy, whose military designation is HU-18 AS, participation in numerous military exercises, highlighting participation in the European Union Combat Group for 2026-27, or participation in DIFAS 25 where 5 helicopters paraded over the skies of Santa Cruz. The total has been more than four thousand flight hours, mostly in our Canary Islands archipelago. 

Lieutenant Colonel Francisco Javier Ezquerra Cerdán, in his first words as head of the VI Maneuver Helicopter Battalion, expressed his gratitude for this appointment, emphasizing that "I face my next years with enormous pride and enthusiasm to serve alongside men and women whose commitment, effort, preparation, and spirit of sacrifice are a permanent example."

To conclude this ceremony, Lieutenant General Julio Salom addressed the attendees, first congratulating the new head of the Battalion and giving a brief overview of the milestones achieved by the Unit during the three years of Lieutenant Colonel Sánchez's command: "The exercise of our profession has never been easy, and even less so in this Unit, where flight and ground preparation are very demanding; you belong to a type of unit that must always be prepared, so one cannot let their guard down in any way."

With this handover, the unit's commitment to maintaining the aeromobile capability of the Canary Islands Command and the Land Operational Command is renewed.