Change at the top of the Army, General Serino takes over from Parigrade Farina.

The General of the Army Corps Pietro Serino today takes the baton from the General of the Army Corps Salvatore Farina in the office of Chief of Staff of the Army. The handover ceremony took place this morning in the courtyard of honor of the Army Palace, in full compliance with the regulations in force for the contrast and containment of COVID 19.

In the morning the homage to the chapel of the Unknown Soldier with the deposition of a laurel wreath at the Altare della Patria, a sign of respectful remembrance of the fallen of all wars.

The passage of the Army War Flag between the Army Corps General Pietro Serino and the Parigrade Salvatore Farina officially sanctioned the alternation of the Army Chief of Staff in the presence of the Minister of Defense, Honorable Lorenzo Guerini, of the President of the IV Permanent Commission (Defense) in the Senate, Senator Roberta Pinotti, the President of the IV Permanent Commission (Defense) in the Chamber, Honorable Gianluca Rizzo, the Chief of Defense Staff, General Enzo Vecciarelli and many other military, civil and religious.

After thanking all the defendants, in particular the Minister of Defense and the Chief of Staff of Defense for having always supported and accepted the proposals of the Armed Force, General Farina, at the end of his long career, addressed his thoughts to all the women and men of the Army: “It is only thanks to you, Commanders, NCOs, Graduates, Volunteers of troops and civilian personnel, if the Army is able to fully carry out the many tasks assigned. You are the undisputed protagonists.

Tasks that are carried out despite the Covid-19 pandemic which saw the Army - naturally, together with the other Armed Forces and Institutions in the country - always ready, relevant and capable, and that is why I am truly grateful to all women and men of the Army, who are always committed to the service of the country and our fellow citizens, working with the people and among the people, both at home and beyond national borders. Thank you so much!

In recent years I have seen a healthy, capable and ready institution, which has consolidated day by day the three fundamental pillars which are the backbone of the Army: continuity in values ​​and traditions, cohesion and change.

When the opportunity arises to meet you tomorrow I will be happy to hear you say: “We are always there”. I will answer: "more, together!"

General Serino, coming from the Cabinet of the Minister of Defense, addressed a first thought to the War Flag of the Army, guardian of the values ​​that have always guided the members of the Armed Force, the Fallen and the wounded comrades in the fulfillment of their duty. "I am about to face this mandate of mine, aware of the commitment that it entails and a convinced supporter of the role that the Army must play within an operationally and structurally integrated and cohesive joint system ... which represents the only effective response to complex challenges that the country is facing today and will face even more tomorrow ".

Thanking General Farina for what he has done in the past 3 years at the helm of the Army, he addressed him with these words: "It is not the first time, dear Salvatore, that I have collected your inheritance and I know the value of your work well. , your commitment and your dedication ".

 “We, the men and women of the Army”, concluded the new Head of SME, “are and must feel ourselves a symbol and substance of our democracy. We are the Army of the citizens, the Army of the Italians ”.

The Chief of Defense Staff, General Enzo Vecciarelli, thanking the Army Corps General Salvatore Farina for the precious collaboration constantly marked by the search for synergies and collaborations in a joint perspective, highlighted:

"The Army, working alongside the other Armed Forces, has made its excellence, its organizational capacity, its structures, know-how and professionalism available to the national health system".

Addressing General Serino, the Chief of SMD underlined the delicacy of the position assumed in a period full of challenges in which "the country needs the professionalism, dedication and sense of duty that distinguish the Army and the Armed Forces" .

Following, in his speech, Minister Guerini declared. "It is a great honor for me to preside over this rotation at the top of an institution which, together with the other components of the Dicastery, represents a real pillar in the architecture of national defense, as well as a component of absolute importance in the context of the contribution that our Country guarantees international security, within the framework of the missions that see us engaged abroad ”.

Addressing in particular to General Farina, the Minister added: "At the helm of the Armed Force you lived, together with your women and men, intense years, of profound changes, of far-sighted choices, in step with the times, which always carried out with genuine and sincere dedication, intelligence and sense of duty, at the service of the country, inspired by the principles of transparency and openness to inter-force integration, in order to implement the transformation process of the Terrestrial Military Instrument. Choices that have allowed the Army to confirm itself as a very precious resource for Defense, fundamental for the security of the country and for the contribution made to international stability ”.

“I am convinced”, Guerini concluded, “that General Serino, to whom I wish to address, will be able to continue along the path traced, projecting the Army towards ever greater successes and satisfactions. Today you are taking over the leadership of the Army in a historical period in which, as we well know, profound changes have matured in our society and in international scenarios, in which we must always face new challenges and emerging risks. A context marked, at the same time, by important results achieved in the direction of ever greater cooperation between States, both within the Union and within NATO, in which our country has gained a position of absolute centrality and credibility " .

The Army is now engaged on several fronts: that of the health emergency in which it actively supported the National Health Service by providing facilities such as the "Celio" Military Polyclinic, the Military Hospital Center of Milan, the Campo Hospitals, laboratories , the health task forces and the numerous Drive Throughs deployed within the “Igea” Operation; that of security, in which the device of Operation “Safe Roads”, which assisted the application and control of the containment measures of the pandemic, further increased, reaching almost 8.000 units; that of operations beyond national borders, where there are about 4.000 soldiers deployed in 15 different countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Libya, Somalia and Mali with tasks ranging from cooperation to development and support for stabilization and reconstruction processes , up to the training of local security forces.

A 360 ° commitment that of the Army represents the clear confirmation of a ready, capable and cohesive institution, which over the centuries, always with the highest dedication and enthusiasm, has worked hard for Defense, Security and the good of all Country.

General Serino: “We, men and women of the Army, are and must feel the symbol and substance of our Democracy. We are the Army of the citizens, the Army of the Italians ”.

General Serino is the new Chief of EMS

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