This morning in the "Rossetti" barracks, inside the "Cecchignola" military district, the alternation ceremony in the position of Army Chief of Staff was held between the Army Corps General Danilo Errico and the parigrade Salvatore Farina . The ceremony was preceded by a tribute to the tomb 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 General Errico and General Farina officially sanctioned the alternation of the Army Chief of Staff in the presence of the Minister of Defense, Speaker Paolo Gentiloni, of the Minister of Defense, Sen. Roberta Pinotti, Undersecretary of State for Defense, Hon. Domenico Rossi, and Chief of General Staff of Defense, General Claudio Graziano, together with numerous civil and religious military authorities.
After thanking all the participants, General Errico, at the end of a career spanning 44 years, turned his thoughts to all the Army personnel, currently employed in training, preparation and operations in Italy and abroad. He also added: "in these last 3 years, you have always worked with silent dedication and alacrity generosity, detached from instrumental protagonists or from sterile victimisms, often far from the muffled media lights of the limelight, projecting on the field - "beyond the obstacle" - the best energies - physical , moral and intellectual - as is the use and tradition of this organization which has always constituted a firm reference point both for citizens and for the authorities established in times of difficulty of the populations and of the Nation".
During his speech, Minister Pinotti said that the Army proved, once again, irreplaceable both at home and abroad. On the national territory, whether it was to support the police forces to guarantee security, or to help the population affected by large or small calamities, the Army has always been there, just as it has managed to take on new commitments abroad. , without leaving an effort unfinished that, in the past years, had seen us support so many sacrifices.
General Claudio Graziano, during his speech, said that in a period of great transformation for the Armed Forces, there is again the need of our military to increase the perception of security in the national territory. In the inter-force field, our first resource is precisely the Army, Armed Force that employs the greatest effort, with about 4000 women and men in the world, and above all we applaud them.
General Farina, from the NATO JFC (Joint Force Command) of Brunssum, of which he was the first Italian commander, after thanking General Errico "for his skilful work at the helm of the Army " and all the Commanders who preceded him at the helm of the Armed Force, addressed a thought to all the men and women of the Army declaring "It is undeniable that the merit is especially yours that you work every day with professionalism and self-denial at the service of the country. I will dedicate every minute of my term to be at your service. I will always be among you, ideally and on the field, in operations and training, in the Formation Institutes or in garrison. "
The Army now has about 4.000 military deployed in 15 different countries such as, Iraq, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Kosovo, Libya, Somalia and Mali with tasks ranging from cooperation to development and support to the stabilization and reconstruction processes, until the training of local security forces, ie that range of activities known as Security Force Assistance (SFA).
On the other hand, more than 7.000 soldiers are involved in Italy as part of the "Safe Roads" Operation, in competition with the Police for the defense of the territory and surveillance, also the operation assumes particular importance in Campania, acting in response to the “Terra dei fuochi” emergency and in central Italy in the areas hit by the 2016 earthquake where the specialized units of the Army are present, employed in numerous activities in support of the population and municipalities of the seismic craters.