During a solemn ceremony at the Quirinal Palace, the President of the Republic Sergio Mattarella conferred on the Brigadier General Diodato Abagnara the honor of Knight of the Military Order of Italy with the following motivation: "Commander of the Joint Task Force Lebanon - Sector West, he led the complex and articulated multinational contingent with value, expertise and determination, in a context characterized by strong inter-ethnic tensions and regional instability. In particular, during the events related to the conduct of Operation Northern Shield, he was the protagonist in planning, coordinating and leading personally, through a synergistic integration of the military and civilian, national and international components placed at his command, a series of activities aimed at avoiding and containing any escalation of the conflict. General Officer who has received unanimous and unconditional approval and the full admiration of the highest authorities of the United Nations, helping to increase the prestige and prestige of the country and its Armed Forces in the international arena".
General Abagnara currently holds the position of Chief of the XNUMXst Department of the Defense Staff and Personal Advisor to the Chief of the Defense Staff. During his career he has held delicate and important operational and General Staff positions, as well as being Commander of the Joint Task Force Lebanon-Sector West within the Unifil mission in Lebanon and a member of the Royal College of Defense Studies in London.
The prestigious decoration comes directly from the ancient Military Order of Savoy, founded in 1815 and reorganized with Legislative Decree 15 March 2010, n. 66. It is meant to reward "The distinct actions carried out in war by units of the national Armed Forces or by individual soldiers belonging to them, which have given certain proofs of expertise, sense of responsibility and value"And can also be conferred on the occasion of military operations carried out in peacetime, or" to memory "and" to the Flag ". Head of the Order is the President of the Republic and Chancellor and Treasurer is the Minister of Defense.