Major General Ricardo Esteban Cabrejos appointed new head of the Balearic Islands General Command

March 10, 2026

Major General Ricardo Esteban Cabrejos has been appointed the new head of the Balearic Islands General Command and President of the Board of Founders of the Menorca Military Consortium.

General Esteban, formerly of the 16th Canary Islands Brigade (BRICAN), which he commanded until his promotion to Major General, has extensive knowledge of the Canary Islands Command, to which both the Balearic Islands General Command (COMGEBAL) and the BRICAN belong, thus ensuring continuity of command.

Born in Madrid in 1967, General Esteban studied at the General Military Academy (Zaragoza), graduating in 1991 as an infantry lieutenant with the 46th graduating class. Assigned to the “Roger de Flor” 1st Parachute Battalion as an Infantry Section Leader, he remained in that brigade, holding the ranks of lieutenant and captain, exercising direct command of paratroop troops for 11 consecutive years, including two missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, until his promotion to major in July 2002.

In 2004, after completing the Armed Forces Staff Course, he held staff positions at the Brigade, Division, and Army Headquarters levels, including the Headquarters of the Rapid Action Force (currently the Castillejos Division), the Headquarters of the Parachute Brigade, and the Army General Staff.

In 2011, he was promoted to lieutenant colonel and assigned command of the “Roger de Flor” 1st Parachute Battalion. Upon completing his command in 2015, he was assigned to the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) of NATO in Mons, Belgium. He was promoted to colonel in July 2018 and selected to command the Operational Plans Section (J5) of the Operations Command (MOPS) at the Retamares Base (Pozuelo de Alarcón). This posting is considered to be of “special responsibility” and is equivalent to a colonel’s command. He was promoted to brigadier general in June 2022 and assumed command of the “Canarias” XVI Brigade in July 2023. In February 2026, he was promoted to major general and appointed Commander General of the Balearic Islands in March of that same year.

He participated in the UNPROFOR operation for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1993; in the NATO stabilization operation (SFOR), also for Bosnia and Herzegovina, in 1999; and at the European Union Headquarters (OHQ) in Potsdam, Germany, to monitor the elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2006. and in NATO’s ISAF operation in 2008, as Head of Operations and Intelligence for the Spanish-Italian Rapid Reaction Force (QRF) Battalion in Herat, Afghanistan. From August 5, 2022, to July 31, 2023, having been promoted to Brigadier General, he served as Chief of Staff (COS) of the NATO mission (NATO Mission Iraq: NM-I) at Union III base in Baghdad, Iraq. From May to November 2025, he served as Commander of Sector East of the UN mission in Lebanon (UNIFIL).

He holds diplomas in Parachute Unit Command and Special Operations Unit Command. He is certified in Manual Parachute Opening and High Altitude Parachute Jumps, and holds paratrooper certifications from France, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, and the United States. He is a graduate of the Spanish Armed Forces Staff College and also of the Argentine Army. He has completed several courses at the NATO School (Germany), the NATO College in Rome (NADEFCOL), and at the European Union (Brussels).

In addition, he has studied at the Society for International Studies and holds a Master’s degree in Economics and International Relations (Geopolitics and Geoeconomics) from the Autonomous University of Madrid (UAM). He is the author of several articles on Geopolitics (Army Magazine and IEEE) and co-author of the book “Energy and Power: A World in Change” (Algón Publishing, 2014).

He speaks English and has a working knowledge of French. He holds numerous national and international awards, including the Commendation for Victims of Terrorism, a Grand Cross and three Crosses of Military Merit from the Spanish Army, a Cross of Naval Merit, and a Cross of Aeronautical Merit, all with white distinction.

He is the father of two children.