Expanding the New Roles of the Military—The Case of Spain’s Military Emergency Unit: A Research Note

Abstract

This note illustrates some of the new roles that armed forces are taking on in developed countries, highlighting the structure, capabilities, and missions developed by the Spanish Military Emergency Unit (UME). The note describes some of these new roles assumed by UME, such as its response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and shows, using official temporal and georeferenced data, the growing use of the military to support civilian authorities in response to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and other emergencies alike. In addition, we also analyze public opinion survey data to argue that this is helping to improve society’s perception of the armed forces even in a country like Spain where, due to its recent history, a significant part of its population is reluctant to the military. In short, the military is taking on more emergency roles as needs arise and these new roles can help to improve its perception by citizens.