2nd Landing Battalion (BD-II)

Welcome to the website of the Spanish Marines’ 2^nd Landing Battalion. Here you will find updated information on the Unit, its missions, organization and tasks.

Our Headquarters are in San Carlos, near San Fernando (Cádiz), sharing facilities with the 1^st and 3^rd landing battalions.

The current workforce of the BD-II consists of 735 Marines under the command of 1 Lieutenant-Colonel. There are 28 officers, 37 NCOs and 669 soldiers.

The structure of the BD-II is as follows:

• Battalion Command and Staff
• Service and Staff Company
• 5th Rifle Company
• 6th Rifle Company
• 7th Rifle Company
• 8th Weapons Company

Battalion Command and Staff. It is commanded by the Lieutenant-Colonel and his Staff. It is in charge of the command, planning and execution of operations.

Service and Staff Company. It includes the necessary elements to set up the Battalion command post with reconnaissance, intelligence and surveillance elements. It also provides logistic support to subordinate units and the required communications equipment to conduct and sustain operations.

• Communication and Information Systems (CIS) Platoon: It warrants the command action, and provides the necessary communications and computer elements to monitor and support subordinate or assigned units.
• Reconnaissance Platoon (SERECO): It gathers intelligence with reconnaissance patrols within the battalion area of influence. It also provides snipers for long range accuracy firing and force protection. It has paratrooper deployment capability, divers and laser designators for air and artillery targets.
• Service Platoon: It provides the necessary logistic support to ensure self-sufficiency.

Rifle Companies. Rifle companies are the basic tactical units of the Battalion. They can be reinforced depending on the mission assigned.

• 3 Rifle Platoons. Each rifle platoon is, in turn, divided into three rifle squads. The platoon is commanded by a First or Second Lieutenant. An NCO is the XO.
• A Weapons Platoon with 3 machinegun squads, 3 anti-tank rockets squads and one 60 mm mortar squad. This platoon provides the Company Captain with the necessary direct or indirect gunfire support. The commander of the Weapons Platoon is also a First or Second Lieutenant with an NCO as his executive.

Weapons Company. It provides the necessary gunfire support elements for the BD-II.

• 81 mm Mortar Platoon: Six artillery pieces.
• Medium Anti-tank Missile Platoon: SPIKE-type missile launchers.
• Heavy Machineguns Platoon: Six light vehicles (Hummer) with 12.7 mm heavy machineguns and six 40 mm automatic LAG-40 grenade launchers.

The 2^nd Landing Battalion (BD-II) is a key tactical unit of the Spanish Marine Corps. It can operate with or without reinforcements, independently or integrated into a larger unit, and in particular, into the Reinforced Landing Battalion (BRD) for amphibious operations.

It is a balanced team capable of fulfilling a wide variety of missions and contingency plans at short notice, with maritime and air assets.

Its combat capabilities are enhanced in bad weather or with poor visibility thanks to its flexibility, easy deployment capability and adaptation to any theatre, no matter the environmental conditions.

The mission of the BD-II is to locate, encircle and suppress the enemy, or repel an assault with gunfire, hand-to-hand combat and counterattacks.

In order to fulfill these missions, the Unit is normally reinforced with combat and logistic support.

Our daily activities are centered in a demanding physical training program with routines, races at the obstacle course and multiple tactical exercises with armored vehicles, inflatable craft, NBC equipment, fast-rope training, or cross-country marches.

Vehicles:

Mainly Hummer vehicles in different versions:

• Light armored Hummers with heavy machineguns and LAG-40.
• Hummer “Shelter” with command and communication systems.
• Cargo Hummers for personnel and materiel.

Weapons:

Individual weapons:

• 9 mm LLAMA M-82 and FN P9 pistols.
• HK G-36 (5.56 mm) assault rifles.
• AMELI and MINIMI light machineguns.
• MG-35 and 7.62 MINIMI medium machineguns.
• Shotguns.
• ACCURACY and BARRET rifles.
• 40 mm HK grenade launchers.

Group weapons:

• 12.7 mm heavy machineguns.
• LAG-40 grenade launchers.
• 60 and 81 mm mortars.

Other materiel:

• Night vision goggles
• Communications equipment
• GPS

Since its establishment, the BD-II has participated in many exercises and operations in different national and international ranges or scenarios. Among them:

Exercises:

• ADELFIBEX and MARFIBEX in Barbate (Cádiz)
• BREDEX in Almería
• BEDEX in Cerro Murciano (Córdoba)
• FTX in Chinchilla (Albacete)
• Amphibious exercises in Cartagena and the Canary Islands
• AFRICAN PARTNERSHIP in several African countries
• ROYAL MARINER in Cabo Teulada (Italy)

Operations:

• ALTHEA in Bosnia-Herzegovina
• MAR CARIBE in Haiti
• LIBRE HIDALGO in the Lebanon
• Cleaning the oil spills in Galicia and Santander
• CENTINELA ARAGONES on the occasion of the EXPO-2008 (Zaragoza)
• CENTINELA ELEGIDO in Spain (2008 General Elections)
• MIO on board different Spanish Navy ships

The 2^nd Landing Battalion (BD-II) was set up in 1974 and its first commander was Lt-Col. Ramiro San Martín. The following year it took part in operation TRITON in Western Sahara. Since then, this Battalion has deployed in most Marine Corps missions: among them, Bosnia, Central America, Indian Ocean, Haiti, Kuwait, the Lebanon, Perejil Island, etc.