Vice Admiral Ignacio Villanueva is a 1987 graduate of the Spanish Naval Academy.
In 1989 he earned his US Navy wings, becoming a Naval Aviator. He then flew the AV-8V PLUS on board the Spanish carrier ‘PRINCIPE DE ASTURIAS.’ During that period, he was also appointed as an exchange pilot with the Spanish Air force, flying the EF-18 A+ and taking part in the B-H conflict, where he flew several combat missions deployed from Aviano AB, Italy.
He has commanded the gun patrol boat ‘P-11 BARCELO’, the high seas patrol boat ‘P-63 ARNOMENDI’, the LST ‘L-42 PIZARRO’, the Fleet Air Arm ‘FLOAN’ and the Airfield of the Rota Naval Base. He was the Director of the Fleet Naval Aviation School and the CO of the 9th HARRIER Squadron. Ashore, he has served in a variety of assignments, most notably as a staff officer in the International Relations Department at the Navy HQ, as ACOS N3 in the SPMARFOR High Readiness Maritime HQ, and as Head of the Operations department at the Spanish Fleet HQ. Abroad he was stationed in Mons, Belgium, serving at SHAPE J5 as the ACO capability requirements and force planning officer; and in Pristina, Kosovo, working as UN peace observer and liaison officer between KFOR HQ and UNMIK HQ.
Additionally, he has attended several national and NATO courses including the NATO perational Planning, NATO Staff Officer Defense Planning and NATO expeditionary operations courses. He graduated with distinction from the US Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, after having completed the Naval Staff and the Naval Command Courses in years 2001 and 2018 respectively. He also obtained a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the same US Naval War College. His academic background is completed with a job as a professor at the High Defense Studies Center in Madrid, Spain.
He was promoted to Rear Admiral on the 5th December 2019. As Flag Officer he has been appointed as 2nd Commander of the Spanish High Readiness Maritime HQ and DCOM SPMARFOR. He was appointed as Force Commander of the EU NAVFOR Somalia Op Atalanta on board the frigates NUMANCIA and SANTA MARIA. On 26 February 2021 he was appointed as COS Spanish Fleet HQ, being promoted to Vice Admiral on 3 November.
He has several national Navy medals, one UN medal, one UE medal, one NATO medal and one SPAF medal, and numerous awards and citations.
He is married to Matilde and has four children.
Born in 1966, Rear Admiral (Lower Half) Guglielmi joined the Navy in 1984 and graduated from the Naval Academy (Livorno) in 1988.
He is a Surface Officer. In the first part of his career (1988-1996) he served onboard the corvette “Chimera”, the training vessel “Amerigo Vespucci”, the frigate “Aliseo” and the Cruiser “Vittorio Veneto”.
After that, he started rotations among national General Staff, both Navy and Defence, International Commands and Italian Fleet.
Main general staff assignments have been:
- Navy Officer Education, as Section Head (1998-2002);
- Navy Officer assignment, as Branch Head (2007-2011);
- Defence Personnel management, as Branch Head (2013-17).
The main assignments onboard have been:
- Offshore patrol vessel “Libra”, as Commanding Officer (1996-1997);
- Frigate “Zeffiro”, as Second Commanding Officer (2004-2005);
- Frigate “Euro”, as Commanding Officer (2005-2006);
- Destroyer “Andrea Doria”, as Commanding Officer (2011-2012).
During fleet assignment, he took part in the following main operations:
- Embargo to former Yugoslavia, under both EU and NATO flag;
- Migration flow control in Sicily Channel (National flag);
- Maritime Security Operation “Resolute Behaviour” (Indian Ocean, EU flag),
- Maritime Interdiction Operation “Enduring Freedom” (Indian Ocean and Arabian Sea);
- Anti Piracy Operation “Ocean Shield” (Somali Basin and Horn of Africa, NATO flag).
He’s been Italian Defence Attaché in Madrid (2017-2020).
From 2020 to 2021 he’s been Deputy Director of the Military Institute for Maritime Studies (Venice).
From 2021 to 2023 he’s been Division Head for External Relations and Public Affairs of the IT Navy.
He is Rear Admiral (LH) since January 2022 and his last position was as Deputy Chief of Human Resources Division in the Italian Defence General Staff.
About the education curriculum, he has received:
- Physics degree (Parma University);
- Naval and Maritime Science degree (Pisa University);
- Master in International and Strategic Military Studies (Rome “LUISS” University);
- Master in Global Strategy and Security (Rome “La Sapienza” University).
He also attended the Spanish Naval War College (1997-98) and the Italian Joint Staff College.
Domenico got married to Olga Maria in 1998, they have two daughters, born in 2000 and 2002.
Commodore Armando Pereira da Costa Valente Tinoco was born in 1966 and joined the Portuguese Navy in 1985.
His seagoing career has been primarily spent in patrol boats, corvettes, and frigates, serving as a bridge-watching officer, navigator, electronics officer, and executive officer.
He has also been fortunate to command three warships: the patrol vessels NRP “Cacine” and NRP “Cunene” and the replenishment ship NRP “Bérrio”.
He also served on the Portuguese Navy Staff, Superintendence of Personnel, Directorate of Personnel, Flotilla and Naval Command; he commanded the Lisbon Naval Base between 2018 and 2020.
In the structure of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, he performed functions in the NATO/EU Military Mission (2008-2011) and took command of the Portuguese Immediate Reaction Force between 2016 and 2018.
As a General Officer – Commodore since 22nd February 2022 - he served as the head of the Military Information and Security Center between 2022 and 2023.
From February 2022 to October 2024, he took command of the Portuguese Marines Corp based in Alfeite.
Commodore Armando Pereira da Costa Valente Tinoco has a master’s degree in human resources management, he is married and has three daughters.