APPROXIMATElast verified 2026-10-18Mando de Operaciones Especiales (MOE) — Grupos de Operaciones Especiales (GOE)
CABOE selection tests (pruebas físicas) — 2023 edition
Enlisted soldiers join Spain's Special Operations Command (the "Boinas Verdes" GOE) through the Basic Special Operations Aptitude Course (CABOE): about 1,000 hours over roughly 9.5 months in Jaca, Alcantarilla and Alicante. For the 2023 edition MOE published the selection values at 50 points — sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, an 8 km run and an agility circuit, plus a pass/fail swim — and admitted 54 of 190 candidates. Officers and NCOs take the separate Special Operations Course (COE) in Jaca, whose thresholds are not public.
Move the sliders to your latest results. The verdict updates instantly against the published standards — calculated in your browser, nothing stored.
Your profile
The bigger your shape, the closer you are to the target line.
minimumtargetyouPay · free · rates from 1 Jan 2026
What a GOE operator earns — Alicante
Spain is still on the extended 2023 budget: 2026 rates include +2.5% (2025) and +1.5% (2026) under RDL 14/2025, and a further +0.5% may be paid in early 2027 if 2026 inflation reaches 1.5%. No official 2026 military table is published, so the rank supplement and general component are our calculation from the civil-service post-level amounts and RD 248/2025. Not included: the post component (componente singular), through which special-operations duty is paid but whose amount is not public, and two extra payments a year in June and December — €1,940.20 each for a sergeant with no trienios, or €31,059.08 a year. Trienios use the grade's subgroup rate; enlisted soldiers on temporary contracts earn them only from their long-term commitment.
provisional = official source with a provisional legal status, a secondary source or our own calculation; see the sources.
- Retribuciones del personal funcionario 2026. Real Decreto-ley 14/2025, de 2 de diciembre (SEPG) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Cuantías retributivas año 2026. Real Decreto-ley 14/2025, de 2 de diciembre (SEPG) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Ley 31/2022, de 23 de diciembre, de Presupuestos Generales del Estado para el año 2023 (prorrogada) — art. 19, 25 (Oct 18, 2026)
- Real Decreto 1314/2005, Reglamento de retribuciones del personal de las Fuerzas Armadas — art. 2–3, Anexos I–II (Oct 18, 2026)
- Real Decreto 248/2025, de 25 de marzo — Anexo III (componente general del complemento específico) (Oct 18, 2026)
- Real Decreto-ley 14/2025, de 2 de diciembre — incrementos retributivos 2025 (+2,5 %) y 2026 (+1,5 %) (Oct 18, 2026)
The test, event by event
| Event | CABOE 2023 — 50 points |
|---|---|
| Sit-ups (flexión de tronco) | 57 |
| Push-ups (extensiones de brazos en tierra) | 37 |
| Pull-ups (flexiones de brazos en suspensión en barra) | 7 |
| 8 km run (8.000 m lisos) | 38:00 |
| Agility circuit (circuito de agilidad, CAV) | 13.3 s |
Also required
- CABOE eligibility (19th edition, 2023): enlisted soldiers from the Army's operational specialities grouping; those on an initial contract need 2 years of service in the Armed Forces by the end of the course; a pass in the general fitness test (Test General de Condición Física, TGCF); no psychophysical restrictions and compliance with the Armed Forces drug-prevention plan; under 34 on the first day of the residential phase (MOE and EMMOE personnel excepted).
- Selection also includes a pass/fail swimming test (suficiencia acuática) and a pass/fail psychotechnical assessment. The 19th CABOE (21 Sep 2023 – 3 Jul 2024) offered 110 places plus 10 for MOE and EMMOE and ran at the Military Mountain and Special Operations School (EMMOE) in Jaca, the Parachute School "Méndez Parada" in Alcantarilla and MOE in Alicante.
- Officers and NCOs of all three services take the Special Operations Course (COE) at EMMOE in Jaca, about 10 months in basic, specific and application modules. Its selection includes medical and psychological assessments, water proficiency, a balance test, a confined-space test, a water jump, a topography test, pistol and rifle shooting, an 8 km run, a circuit and pull-ups; priority goes to the last three graduating classes. No COE thresholds are public.
Questions
Are 50 points the pass mark?
Not necessarily. MOE listed the value of each test at 50 points but did not say whether that is the minimum or just a point on the scale; the full scale is in Annex I of the call published in the Defence Gazette (BOD), which is behind an access wall. We use the 50-point values as the minimum, so the page is marked approximate. In 2023 only 54 of 190 candidates were admitted.
Does the new Armed Forces fitness order change these tests?
Possibly. Orden DEF/15/2026 (in force since 22 Jan 2026) introduced a common test for all soldiers — push-ups, plank, agility-speed circuit and 2,000 m — with periodic-assessment tables from 1 Jan 2027 and a pass at 20 points in each test. Units with higher demands, such as special operations, may set a higher minimum and add tests. Sit-ups and pull-ups come from the old TGCF, so future CABOE editions may use a different set. For reference, the 2026 entry standard for male enlisted recruits is 9 push-ups, a 40 s plank, 15.4 s in the circuit and 11:54 over 2,000 m.
Where do the numbers come from?
From the MOE news item "Comienza el XIX Curso de Aptitud Básica para Operaciones Especiales" (29 September 2023), which summarises Annex I of Resolución 551/09445/23 (BOD no. 111, 8 June 2023); the eligibility rules come from the MOE item of 9 June 2023. The 2026 entry standards and the new common test come from Orden DEF/15/2026 (BOE, 21 January 2026).
Compare with
ITALY9° Reggimento d'assalto paracadutisti "Col Moschin" (Esercito Italiano)Army VFI 2026 — Special Forces track tests (comparto Forze Speciali)
GERMANYKommando Spezialkräfte (KSK) — KommandosoldatPFV Phase 1 — minimum standards (Kommandosoldat)
AUSTRIAJagdkommando (Österreichisches Bundesheer) — OperatorSportliche Limits AWV 2027 — Operator