The Grupo Especial de Operaciones (GEO, ; ), is the police tactical unit of Spain's National Police Corps.
History
With the intention of fighting against terrorism and several organized crime groups from Spain in the 1970s, in November 1977 the third section of Spanish military staff announced for members of the Policía Nacional vacancies which could be accessed freely for the newly formed Grupo Especial de Operaciones. The first training course began in March 1978.
A select group who had been months before in the GSG 9 base in San Agustín del Guadalix was selected to train this new unit. Colonel Ulrich Wegener, along with some members of his unit, took care of the equipment, the training and techniques which this new special unit in Spain would use. Aside from that, the GEO has disarmed several organized crime groups, arrested forty-one armed members of different terrorist groups, freed 424 persons who had been kidnapped or taken as hostages and boarded twenty ships used to carry narcotics to seize their load and arrest their crew.
During the 27 years, it has been active, five members of the GEO have died. This fatality was probably caused by the fact that the agents who entered the flat didn't know that the terrorists could have explosives.
As of 2005, the GEO was having problems with the number of members, which was below the necessary quantity. This meant that riot control units had to be sent to guard the Spanish embassy in Baghdad instead of GEO members, as originally intended.
On 17 August 2017, an unconfirmed amount of GEO operators were sent to Barcelona after the ramming of multiple people in the Cataluna section of the city.
Organization
thumb|Members of the GEO during a police assault demonstration riding a [[URO VAMTAC|VAMTAC vehicle]]
The GEO reports to the General Operative Subdirector of the Cuerpo Nacional de Policía and its commander is a police superintendent. Its 110 members are divided into an Operative Section and a Support one.
Each group, led by a Subinspector, is split into two subgroups formed by three operative commandos of five men each. Every operative commando includes two snipers, a lock picking specialist, an explosives expert, a combat diver and a special environment technician.
The GEO can also be used in a support role for Spanish Police operations outside the realm of terrorism, and is active in protecting visiting heads of state and providing security for high-profile events such as the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona. and to have at least one of the following skills: expertise in a martial art, scuba diving, being a marksmanship instructor, is an explosives expert and having worked in one of the operative groups the Police has in some province capitals.
The trial features both physical fitness and psychological tests. Its physical fitness test includes arm flexions on a bar, vertical jump, an obstacle course, running three kilometers in eleven minutes and a half, fifty meters of freestyle swimming, a strength test, a speed race and the last challenge which tests the candidates' decision-making capacity.
On the psychological and intelligence test the mental capabilities of the candidates are checked.
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|colspan=4 style="text-align:center;" | Uniforms of GEO
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|File:Cnpuniform4.png
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Aside from their uniform, GEO members use protective gear which features helmets, Bolle Commando protective goggles, balaclava, Draeger gas mask, ballistic vest, Safariland sheaths for SIG P226 and gloves.
They also use vision-enhancing devices such as MATIS thermographic cameras, daylight thermographic cameras, binoculars, PalMIr 250 night vision cameras, Philips BM8028A1 binocular night vision goggles, ITT AN/AVS-9 binocular night vision goggles, ITT Pocket F6010 night vision visor and laser rangefinders. Motorola MXR-1000 and MXR-2000 models and VHF/UHF portable repeaters.
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|Heckler & Koch MP5
| rowspan="4" |Submachine gun
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| rowspan="4" |
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|Heckler & Koch MP7
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|CZ Scorpion Evo 3 A1
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|FN P90
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|FN F2000
| rowspan="5" |Assault rifle
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|SIG SG 551 SWAT
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|SIG SG 552
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|Heckler & Koch G41TGS
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|Heckler & Koch HK33
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|Heckler & Koch HK417
| rowspan="6" |Sniper rifle
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|Mauser SP66
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|Heckler & Koch PSG1
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|AMP DSR-1
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|Heckler & Koch G3SG/1
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|Sako TRG
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|Remington 870
| rowspan="4" |Shotgun
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|Heckler & Koch HK512
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|Franchi SPS 350
| rowspan="2" |
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|Franchi SPS 230
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GEO members also employ electroshock weapons, which caused some controversy when Amnesty International denounced the use of such weapons by the Policía Nacional.
To increase shooting accuracy they employ shooting support devices such as the holographic weapon sight, AMT reflex sights, Schmidt & Bender 1.5 – 6 x 42 daylight sights, Simrad KN250F night vision sights, Zeiss Diavari daylight sights, Varo AN/PVS-4 night vision sights, EDS laser sights and Sure-Fire flashlights.