NATO general officer receives high-level U.S. award

Courtesy Photo | Portuguese Army Maj. Gen. Joao Boga Ribeiro poses for a photo with his recently awarded Legion of Merit medal. Boga Ribeiro served as the deputy commanding general of NATO Rapid Deployable Corps - Spain from February 2021 to August 2023. With him are the current and former U.S. senior national representatives at NRDC-Spain, Col. Romeo Macalintal (right) and Col. Jerzy Zubr. (Courtesy photo)  

VALENCIA, SPAIN

12.12.2023

Courtesy Story

U.S. Army NATO

VALENCIA, Spain – Portuguese Army Maj. Gen. Joao Boga Ribeiro received the U.S. Legion of Merit medal from U.S. Army Col. Romeo Macalintal during a ceremony at NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Spain headquarters here Nov. 17.

Boga Ribeiro received the award from the United States for his service as the deputy commanding general of NRDC-Spain from February 2021 to August 2023.

The award was signed by the U.S. secretary of defense on behalf of the U.S. president and awarded by Macalintal as the United States’ senior national representative at the corps headquarters, one of nine multinational Army corps in the NATO force structure.

“General Boga Ribeiro's superb leadership and visionary military acumen led to the certification of NRDC-Spain as the Standby Warfighting Corps headquarters for NATO in 2022,” said Macalintal. “He ensured the critical interoperability of the NATO allies and had a profoundly positive influence in achieving significant collective objectives.”

“His sage advice to the commander and mentorship of the staff greatly contributed to the training and readiness of NRDC­-Spain to counter threats to regional security, leading to a successful Combat Readiness Evaluation in December 2021,” said Macalintal. “General Boga Ribeiro also led the observations and lessons learned project to identify key tactical, operational, and strategic developments observed during the current war of aggression on NATO’s eastern flank.”

NRDC-Spain is the international part of the Spanish High Readiness Land Military Staff and represents Spain’s primary commitment to the NATO Force Structure.

Currently about 400 military personnel from Czechia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Spain work at the NRDC-Spain headquarters.
Col. Jerzy Zubr, the former U.S. senior national representative at NRDC-Spain, recommended Boga Ribeiro for the award and was available to attend the ceremony.

After the ceremony, Zubr said “maintaining close relationships with our NATO allies is a cornerstone of our national security strategy and helps deter potential adversaries and assure allies of the United States' commitment to NATO's collective defense.”

• Date Taken: 12.12.2023
• Date Posted: 12.12.2023 03:23
• Story ID: 459704
• Location: VALENCIA, ES