Colonel Carlos Jiménez Andrés took office this Wednesday as head of the Lanzarote Air Base and Military Air Commander of the Lanzarote Airport.
The event, presided over by the general chief of the Canary Islands Air Command, Francisco Javier Vidal Fernández, was attended by numerous civil and military authorities, such as the mayor of San Bartolomé Isidro Pérez Martín, mayor of Tías José Juan Cruz Saavedra, Insular Director A.G.E. in Lanzarote Pedro Marcial Viera Espinosa, General Director of Emergencies of the Government of the Canary Islands Fernando Figuereo Force and 1st vice president of the Island Council of Lanzarote María Jesús Tovar Pérez; military personnel from the different units located in the archipelago; members of the State Security Forces and Corps, as well as family and friends.
After the arrival of General Vidal, the resolution by which he was appointed was read. Next, the formula for taking office was pronounced and, next, Colonel Carlos Jiménez took the oath to faithfully fulfill the obligations of the position.
During his speech, Colonel Jiménez highlighted the outstanding work carried out by the members of the Lanzarote Air Base, expressing: "We have a unit in excellent condition of readiness and preparation for the performance of the mission entrusted to it." He highlighted that this achievement is the result of a collective effort, which reflects the committed work of each and every one of the members of the base.
In an emotional moment in which he expresses gratitude for his appointment, Colonel Jiménez wanted to express special thanks to his wife, expressing: "to the person who keeps my intrepid aviator mind with my feet firmly on the ground." His speech culminated with the promise to honor, with his daily effort, the work of all those who passed through the unit since its foundation, preserving its work and improving it with everything that his professional capacity reaches.
Later, General Vidal took the floor, who highlighted the importance of this Air Base on the island of Lanzarote. In his speech, he stressed that "it is key to the operation and operability of the Air and Space Force in the Canary Islands", expressing that the recent change of name that this unit has had, from aerodrome to air base, is a sign of this. He also pointed out that the Lanzarote Air Base plays a crucial role in the security and defense of the Canary Islands skies, both due to its strategic location and the logistical and operational capabilities it makes available to the Armed Forces.
The act, in which, as is traditional in military units, a heartfelt tribute was paid to the fallen, concluded with a land parade formed by the Squad of Spenders of the B.A. of Lanzarote, Music Unit of the Canary Islands Air Command and three sections formed by personnel from the B.A. of Lanzarote and the Air Surveillance Squadron no. 22.
Curriculum vitae of Colonel Carlos Jiménez Andrés
Colonel Carlos Jiménez Andrés was born in Madrid in 1972. He is a pilot of the Air and Space Force with more than 3,000 flight hours and is part of the 46th Promotion of the General Air Academy. His first destination was Wing 12 of the Torrejón Air Base, where he was a pilot of Squadrons 123 and 121, flying in RF-4C Phantom II fighter planes and F-18 fighter until ascending to the rank of commander in 2006.
From that moment on, he joined the disappeared Land Component Command of NATO (Land Component Command-Madrid) in Pozuelo de Alarcón, where he served for four years as an officer in charge of integrating air and land activities in international exercises of the Atlantic Alliance.
After the previous period, he joined as a flight instructor with F-5 aircraft at the Fighter and Attack School of Wing 23 of the Talavera La Real Air Base in Badajoz, for four academic courses.
In 2014, he joined as a student the Staff Course at the Joint Services Command and Staff College of the United Kingdom.
Upon his return to Spain, he is assigned to the Air Force Staff, in Madrid, where he is framed in the General Secretariat, as interim head of the Inspections Section and accidental head of the Coordination Section for a period of less than a year, interrupted by service needs to be assigned to Wing 46 of the Gando Air Base, on the island of Gran Canaria.
There he returns to fly in F-18 fighters for about three years, in which he performs for the Wing the tasks of head of the Material Group and head of Group 46 of Air Forces until the beginning of 2019. On that date he is assigned to the NATO Deployable Command and Control Center in Poggio Renatico in Italy. Upon returning from that destination, in the summer of 2022, he was assigned to the JFAC (Joint Force Air Component) cell of the Combat Air Command at the Torrejón Air Base in Madrid, where he has remained until now.
Colonel Jiménez has participated in various international operations, including participations in KFOR (Republic of Serbia) in 2011, ISAF (Afghanistan) in 2012, Persistent Effort eAP/eVA in Ramstein (Germany) in 2022 and the Head of the Ivory Detachment in Senegal in 2023.
