The commitment of the Armed Forces both at home and abroad continues, even during the Christmas holidays. In fact, there are about 7800 soldiers of Operation Safe Roads employed on the national territory for the garrison, in competition with the police forces, of sensitive targets, places of worship, railway and subway junctions of the Italian cities to which are added 7500 men and women of the Forces Armies operating in 39 international missions in 24 countries.
Commitment that has been enriched by a new challenge, that brought by the epidemiological emergency Covid 19. In fact, both during the first wave and subsequently in the second with the IGEA Operation first and with the advent of Operation EOS then, desired initiatives by the Minister of Defense Guerini, the Operational Command of Vertice Interforze (COI) planned and directed the effort of the Armed Forces, in synergy with the commissioner structure for the management and contrast of the epidemic of the Prime Minister, aimed at supporting the Ministry della Salute, in coordination with the local health authorities and the Civil Protection.
From 23 October 200 Drive Through Defense (DTD) have been made available for swabs, to date over 860.000, by joint teams of health personnel, for a total of about 430 doctors and nurses, then analyzed in the 8 health laboratories permanent and 2 furniture of the Armed Forces. Added to these are the availability of 230 beds, of which 54 for intensive care, the Military Hospital of the Celio in Rome and the Hospital Medical Centers of Milan and Taranto, the 18 logistic structures that can be used as "Covid Hotel" and 5 field health facilities that help ease the pressure on the National Health Service.
With Vaccine Day, Operation EOS also began on December 26, in support of the national vaccination campaign, which, apart from the initial distribution of the first 9.750 vaccine doses, will go live early next year when the Forces Armate will provide for the storage and surveillance of vaccines in the main hub of Pratica di Mare from where they will be transported, thanks to the use of 11 airplanes, 73 helicopters and 360 land vehicles, to the 21 secondary hubs located in all regions and then distributed to various administration sites identified by the commissioner.
Equally significant is the contribution of the Armed Forces in Overseas Operations, where they are engaged with 7.500 men and women in multinational coalitions or under the aegis of NATO, the European Union and the UN, from sub-Saharan Africa to Afghanistan. , across the Mediterranean, the Balkans, Lebanon and the Middle East, up to the waters of the Indian Ocean, contributing through capacity building activities to the stabilization of the areas of use, rather than carrying out operations aimed at strengthening the defense of the Euro-Atlantic spaces , along the east flank, in the skies and seas of the Alliance.