Pilar Mañas Brugat
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María del Pilar Mañas Brugat (born 24 July 1975) is a Spanish military officer. In 2017 she became the first woman to take command of a
Spanish Air Force The Spanish Air and Space Force () is the aerial and space warfare branch of the Spanish Armed Forces. History Early stages Hot air balloons have been used with military purposes in Spain as far back as 1896. In 1905, with the help of Al ...
unit. She was named an Exemplary Woman () by the in 2018. In 2020 she was awarded the Commander of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild and in 2022 the Operation Balmis Commemorative Medal.


Biography

Pilar Mañas Brugat was born into an Aragonese family with a strong military tradition – her maternal great-grandfather was an officer of the Civil Guard, and two of her great-uncles participated in the
Alhucemas landing The Alhucemas landing (; also known as Al Hoceima landing) was a landing operation which took place on 8 September 1925 at Alhucemas by the Spanish Army and Navy and, in lesser numbers, an allied French naval and aerial contingent, that would ...
. Mañas has said that a martial atmosphere was instilled in her home "since we were little, through the photos, the military books, and the uniforms that were in the house." She trained in
Murcia Murcia ( , , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the Capital (political), capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the Ranked lists of Spanish municipalities#By population, seventh largest city i ...
and has developed her professional career in Madrid, but has always maintained a strong link with her homeland, Aragon. Her sister, Teresa de Jesús Mañas Brugat, is a career officer of the
Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...
, a Captain of Regulares Group No. 52 of the , and later Infantry Captain of the Army assigned to , part of in Zaragoza. The Mañas Brugat sisters have blazed a path as women, each through her own career.


Career

Mañas is an
air traffic Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled ai ...
and interception controller. She was trained at the in
San Javier, Murcia San Javier () is a small town and Municipalities of Spain, municipality in the Region of Murcia, autonomous community and province of Murcia in southeastern Spain. The municipality is situated at the northern end of Murcia's Mediterranean coastli ...
in the mid-1990s. After intensive preparation for the exam, she joined the Academy in September 1995 and finished in July 1998 as an Air Traffic Control Officer, Operational Air Traffic (CAO) Specialty, including airfield, approach, and area, as well as Interception Control. Upon completion, her first assignment was as Head of Operations and Instruction in the Operational Air Traffic Squadron (ECAO Madrid) in the municipality of
Torrejón de Ardoz Torrejón de Ardoz () is a municipality of Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. The European Union Satellite Centre (SatCen), an agency of the European Union, is located in Torrejón de Ardoz. It is also the location of the headquarters of ...
, a post she held from 1998 to 2003.Operational Air Circulation Squadrons are the instrument that allows the safe and fluid shared use of airspace for both General and Operational Air Circulation aircraft. From 2003 to 2013, she was assigned to the (SAR), also at
Torrejón Air Base Torrejón Air Base (Base Aérea de Torrejón de Ardoz) is both a major Spanish Air and Space Force base and the co-located Madrid–Torrejón Airport, a secondary civilian airport for the city and metropolitan area of Madrid, east-northeast of t ...
. She was the SAR Mission and Operations Coordinator, assuming responsibilities such as guiding aerial searches, rescuing damaged aircraft, and saving lives. At this point she was promoted to
captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...
. After a decade of service in the SAR, Mañas was assigned to Air Force Mixed Group 47 in November 2013, again at Torrejón. She held specific Intelligence functions between 2013 and 2017 as part of the Exploitation Squadron and Head of IKM (Information and Knowledge Management). Mañas is an expert in Tactical Leadership Programme-Electronic Warfare Course (EWC) since 2014, NATO CASPOA Q1 "Air Battle Training Course" (Lyon, France) since 2015 and Protocol, Ceremonial and Organisation of Events in the Royal Guard since 2016. Since 2010, she has participated as a member of the Selection Board for the Selection Processes of Officers for admission to the Academies and she is a member of the Evaluation Boards for the promotion of officers to higher employment. After a 20-year career, she was promoted to ''Comandante'' (equivalent to
major Major most commonly refers to: * Major (rank), a military rank * Academic major, an academic discipline to which an undergraduate student formally commits * People named Major, including given names, surnames, nicknames * Major and minor in musi ...
) and was commissioned to direct ECAO Madrid, thus returning to her first posting. On 2 August 2017, she became the first woman to take command of a unit in the Spanish Air Force. She took command of the headquarters of ECAO Madrid at a ceremony held at Torrejón Air Base. The ceremony was chaired by General Rafael García Hernández, Chief of the Command and Control System, and attended by military and civil authorities, including the heads of the units located at the base and the director of the Central-North Region of
ENAIRE ENAIRE is the air navigation manager in Spain, certified for the provision of enroute, approach and aerodrome control services. As a public corporate entity attached to the Spanish Ministry of Public Works, it is responsible for air traffic ...
. This historical event was picked up in the media and social networks, receiving congratulations from, among other people and institutions, the Minister of Defense, María Dolores de Cospedal. As head of the unit, Mañas leads a team of 35 people who control one of the four zones into which Spanish
airspace Airspace is the portion of the atmosphere controlled by a country above its territory, including its territorial waters or, more generally, any specific three-dimensional portion of the atmosphere. It is not the same as outer space which is t ...
is divided, in a coordinated manner with civilian controllers, to ensure that state aircraft make their journeys without incident and arrive at their destinations in the shortest possible time. She is in charge of "exercising control of operational aerial traffic and coordinating the shared use of airspace in conditions of safety and fluidity between military and civil air traffic." This includes aircraft that transport members of the
royal family A royal family is the immediate family of monarchs and sometimes their extended family. The term imperial family appropriately describes the family of an emperor or empress, and the term papal family describes the family of a pope, while th ...
and government, as well as those used in air evacuation, transfers to areas of operation and repatriation, and delivering humanitarian aid. The military magazine ''Ejércitos'' concluded that this was "news to be congratulated. ..Step by step, equality is becoming the new norm for our Armed Forces." In continuous training, Mañas specialised in 2019 in the Promotion of Women's Leadership in the FAS, through the Permanent Secretary for Equality, in 2020 in Equality Policy in the Armed Forces, at the Ministry of Defence. And in 2022 she completed the United Nations Military Gender Advisor Course from MGA Training, Australia. She also obtained a TRM Facilitator qualification from ENAIRE and a Private Pilot Licence from the Flyschool Air Academy. In February 2020, she was one of the key players in the positive resolution of the incident involving an Air Canada plane that had to fly over
Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
for hours before making a forced landing. This achievement, coordinated with other experts and a large team, could be made public and was reported in an article "Incidente Aéreo Air Canada" in the ''Aeronautics and Astronautics Magazine'' of Spain (in Spanish ''Revista de Aeronáutica y Astronáutica'') published in May 2020. In August 2020, she was assigned to the Office of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force (JEMA), as Head of Institutional Relations and Protocol, Head of Communication and website as well as assistant to the JEMA occasionally. This was an institutional rol. That year she was also one of the people chosen in the ''I Applaud You project'' (in Spanish proyecto ''Yo te aplaudo'') for her contribution to overcoming
COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...
during the
pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...
. In 2021, on the occasion of the Military parade on 12 October in Madrid, Mañas was the military expert on the Spanish public television team broadcasting the event. It was offered by Spanish channels through La 1, Canal 24 Horas, TVE Internacional and RTVE Play.


Recognitions

Among the awards recognising her career: * 2021. Best Manager of the Year Award from the Spanish Association of Women Entrepreneurs (ASEME) * 2018. 'Inspiring Woman Award' (in Spanish 'Premio Mujer Inspiradora') at the Inspiring Girls Awards * 2018: Named an Exemplary Woman by the * 2018: Madrid Third Millennium Forum (FMTM) Woman of the Year


Military awards

Mañas military awards: * 2022. Operation Balmis Commemorative Medal * 2020. Commander of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild * 2015. Cross of the Royal and Military Order of Saint Hermenegild * 2004. Cross of Aeronautical Merit, white badge * 2002. Spanish Military Honourable Mention


Community engagement

Comandante Mañas participates in events aimed at developing vocation in girls and boys so that they can dedicate themselves to what they are passionate about when they grow up. Among other groups, she has collaborated with Inspiring Girls in Spain to motivate the women of the future in events together with women such as the Olympic athlete Carlota Castrejana, as well as with Raquel Sáez, Gloria Ortega, Victoria Alejandre, Verónica Fernández, and Eire García on the project "Break Stereotypes in Schools" that culminated with an audiovisual presentation describing the experience. In 2018, she was named an Exemplary Woman () by the Spanish Government's in the first edition of these awards, and Woman of the Year by the Madrid Third Millennium Forum (FMTM). She continues to give talks about the importance of the presence of women in the Army. She also collaborates with the National Association of Women Entrepreneurs, Managers and Executives (ANAEDE) and continues to give talks on the importance of the presence of women in the military.


References


External links

*
Mujeres que inspiran: Comandante Mañas, Jefe ECAO - Madrid
' (''Inspiring women: Major Mañas, Chief ECAO Madrid''). Aragón Televisión 2019 *

' (''Boys' professions? A workshop to break down stereotypes in the classroom''). El País 2018 {{DEFAULTSORT:Manas Brugat, Pilar 1975 births 20th-century Spanish military personnel 21st-century Spanish military personnel Living people Military personnel from Zaragoza Spanish military officers Women air force personnel