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.
Rear Admiral Ostilio de Majo was born in Salerno in 1966. He attended the Naval Academy from 1986 to 1990 and obtained a Naval Artillery qualification. He served on-board Amphibious ship San Giorgio, Frigate Espero and Destroyer Audace as officer in charge of the weapons systems. Subsequently he held the position of Chief Artillery Department of Frigate Artigliere and then Chief of the Operations Department of Frigate Granatiere. From 1998 to 1999, he commanded the Patrol Ship Vega based in Sicily. From 2001 to 2004, he was assigned to Aircraft Carrier Garibaldi, and served as Aide de Camp and Public Information Officer to the Commander in Chief of the Italian Fleet and Commander of the European Maritime Force (CINCNAV – EUROMARFOR). After completing the 106th Course at the NATO Defense College, he was promoted to Commander and served as Military Assistant to the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe (SACEUR) and Commander of US EUCOM at the NATO Headquarters in Belgium (SHAPE) from 2005 to 2008. Upon returning to Italy, he assumed command of the Frigate Euro, based in Taranto, and subsequently transferred to the Navy General Staff, in Rome, where he served as a manpower specialist at Navy Personnel Command (Officers Department), first as Head of Office, then as Deputy Head of Department.
At the end of his duty ashore, he was promoted to Captain and assigned back on board in Taranto, from 2013 to 2014 when he commanded the Destroyer Luigi Durand de la Penne, conducting - among other activities - a training cruise in favour of the Cadets of the Naval Academy.
At the end of the command, until the end of 2016, he held the position of Chief of the External Relations Office of the Naval General Staff, and attended the 67th Course at the Institute of Advanced Studies for Defense (IASD). Subsequently, having returned to the Navy Personnel Command, he held the position of Head of the General Coordination Office and Assistant to the Personnel Director, before taking on the role of Head of the Petty Officers, Graduate, and Navy Troops Department (2017).
From 2019 to 2026, he has been the Military Assistant for the Navy and Aide-de-Camp to the President of the Italian Republic.
Since September 2026 he assumed the duty of Deputy Commander of EUNAVFOR ATALANTA OPERATION.
He has several Navy and NATO medals and one US medal.
Married to Mrs. Cristina, he has two adult children.
Rear Admiral Francisco Javier Vázquez Sanz is a 1992 graduate of the Spanish Naval Academy.
He has commanded the gun patrol boat "LAYA", mine hunter "TAMBRE", frigate "NAVARRA" and the Specialist Navy School "LA GRAÑA". In these commands, he participated in diverse operations as "Active Endeavor STROG", an SNMCMG2 deployment, and the command of the NATO TG in a SURGE OPS in the Mediterranean as part of the "Active Endeavor" effort.
On board, he has served in a variety of assignments as the frigates "NUMANCIA" and "REINA SOFIA", amphibious as "PIZARRO", "HERNAN CORTES" and "CASTILLA". In his role of Tactical Action Officer, CIS and ASW SEAHWAK controller, he has participated in up to four NATO Standing Naval Forces deployments and two EUROMARFOR tours, and operations as "Sharp Guard", "Active Endeavor" or "Alba ops" in Albania.
Ashore, he served also in different assignments, most notably as a staff officer in the Joint Operation Command, as J6 leader, with responsibilities in terms of C2 and CIS connectivity, and in the Logistic Branch HQ as leader of the logistic advisory group. In July 2022 he was appointed as Navy HQ, to lead the Armada Digital Transformation.
Abroad he was stationed in Mons, Belgium, serving at SHAPE-PLANS as the ACO capability requirements and force planning officer; and in Tampa, USA, assigned as national liaison officer in the USCENTCOM.
Additionally, he has attended several national and NATO courses including the NATO INFOOPS and the NATO Staff Officer Defense Planning. He's a CIS specialist, Tactical Action Officer and ASW helo controller. He graduated in the Joint Staff War College in 2006.
He was promoted to the rank of Rear Admiral in February 2025 and appointed Deputy Commander of Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA. Subsequently, he was designated Force Commander of the 50th rotation of Operation EUNAVFOR ATALANTA, serving in that role from June to October 2025.
He has several national, EU and NATO medals, and numerous awards and citations as the SACEUR's Commendation Award.
Born in Cartagena (SPAIN) in 1967, he is married to LtCdr Mónica Cuervo and has two children.