Roberto Ruiz Oliva |
Granada (EFE).- Like a “lighthouse” in the middle of an immense sea of mountains, “Captain Cobo”, the highest inhabited military refuge in Europe at 2,550 meters above sea level, is not just a help point when something happens accident in Sierra Nevada, also serves as a base for the preparation and adaptation of members of the Armed Forces.
Located in the Hoya de la Mora area, next to the Col de los Peñones de San Francisco de Güéjar Sierra (Granada), this refuge, together with another nearby military shelter -the “General Oñate”- located a few kilometers down the road from the previous , provides support to military units in Sierra Nevada, in an optimal environment for adaptation and preparation in extreme contexts with very adverse weather conditions.
Both military installations, in the heart of the Sierra Nevada natural park, belong to the Military Establishment “Gran Capitán de Granada Military Logistics Residence” of the Second General Sub-inspectorate of the Army.
The “Capitán Cobo” Mountain Military Refuge, as the highest habitable facility in the Sierra Nevada, is usually the first place to go to for help when an accident occurs, Cavalry Colonel Rafael Tinahones García, chief of the Military Establishment “Great Captain of Granada Military Logistics Residence”.
A “lighthouse” in the high mountains
As a kind of “lighthouse” in the high mountains, it is possible to see its sources from afar and there are many occasions when the members of the permanent detachment of the military shelter are the first to go to help and stabilize accident victims until they They are cared for by rescue teams, the colonel has detailed.
The refuge has six rooms, a dining room, a cafeteria, a leisure room, an infirmary, a ski locker and a meeting room to house more than seventy people, together with a permanent permanent detachment; and the hostel -located at 2,200 meters in the Las Sabinas de Monachil pass- has ten rooms, a dining room, a cafeteria and a leisure room to accommodate another fifty people.
While the main beneficiary of “Captain Cobo” is the Army Special Operations Command (MOE) -which has a permanent detachment in the refuge-, it also houses other Army units, as well as other armies , of the Military Emergency Unit (UME) or of the Royal Guard that carry out mountain activities in Sierra Nevada.
The “General Oñate” is dedicated above all to house officers, non-commissioned officers and permanent troops with their families on rest, although, as a secondary activity, it also houses military units.
Both the refuge and the hostel, over the last few years, have given shelter to units of the Special Operations Command, the Royal Guard, the Emergency Unit, the Civil Guard or the Army, among others, and even other allied armies, such as the United States Marine Corps, or sports teams from the armed forces, which compete internationally in triathlon, pentathlon or marathon and can train at more than 2,000 meters of altitude.
Acclimatization to extreme contexts
Thanks to the support they offer, Sierra Nevada and its high mountain environment represent an optimal area for training in skiing, climbing, hiking or hardening marches, and the acclimatization of Army personnel and vehicles to extreme environments.
In this way, they are especially useful for units that are deployed in places with adverse climates such as Afghanistan or Latvia, those that have mountain rescue teams -UME or Civil Guard- and for those that must train in high mountains, in the case of the Command of Special Operations or the Mountain Military School.
In short, facilities capable of providing lodging and food for the units and which make the Andalusian massif one of the best places to improve their potential and military capabilities.
