(by Mario Galati) In this month the DDL S n. 650. up "Reorganization of the heads of the Ministry of Defense and related structures. Delegations to the Government for the revision of the operational model of the Armed Forces, as regards personnel of the Armed Forces, as well as for the reorganization of the training system". This is a bill strongly desired and presented by the former defense minister, Roberta Pinotti back in 2018 which broadly follows the contents of the White Paper on International Security and Defense. The document is awaiting the next "scheduling" in the Senate for the start of the parliamentary discussion, after a further passage to the Defense Commission.
The most interesting news: the new figure of National Director of Armaments and Logistics -DNAL-, a new ordering system to encourage training at joint level, the maximum duration, set at three years, for the office of the leaders of the armed forces and the chief of the defense staff, the provision of a law for the multi-year defense spending and the reform of the advancement commissions for officers, there will be a joint superior advancement commission for the promotion of our generals, chaired by the chief of defense staff.
The Chief of SMD is no longer chosen from the Chiefs of Staff of FA and SGD / DNA
The Chief of Defense Staff, reads the DDL, is chosen from among the officers in permanent service of a rank not lower than that of general of the Italian Army corps, of squad admiral of the Navy and of squad general of the Air Force, and is appointed by decree of the President of the Republic, following a resolution of the Council of Ministers, on the proposal of the Minister of Defense.
The office of the Head of SMD and Heads of FA is three years without any extension or renewal
General officers or admirals appointed Chiefs of Defense or Armed Force, the General Commander of the Carabinieri and the National Director of Armaments and responsible for logistics remain in office. three years with no possibility of extension or renewal. At the end of the mandate, if the personnel referred to in the first period have not reached the age limits set for the grade, they can be arranged, upon request, to be placed on leave to be equated in all respects with that for reaching the age limits. , with recognition, in addition to any other institution due, of the pension and severance indemnity that would have been due in case of permanence in service up to the age limit, including any periodic increases and salary class changes.
The changes planned for the Dicastery were thus explained in 2018. This bill is intended to initiate the process of regulatory implementation of the structural and organizational reform project of the Ministry of Defense and, in particular, of the military instrument, by implementing some of the indications outlined by the White Paper on International Security and Defense, approved by the Supreme Defense Council on 21 April 2015 and presented to the joint and joint Foreign, Defense, Senate and Chamber Committees. As stated in the White Paper for international security and defense, the reform project is intended to outline, with a medium-term perspective, the military instrument that can best perform the tasks of international security and defense, while identifying the model governance and consequent organization that can guarantee compliance with modern criteria of effectiveness, efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
To this end, four areas of intervention are identified:
FIRST. The review of governance, with the aim of reducing the level of human and financial resources necessary for the management and support functions, with the same operational capabilities that can be expressed, allowing for more effective political direction and a harmonious and synergistic action of the various components of the military instrument, to be implemented according to the following principles:
- organization by strategic functions - political direction, strategic-military direction, generation and preparation of forces, use of forces and support for forces - eliminating any duplication and merging the units that perform the same functions;
- uniqueness of command, which is flanked by the principle of centralized management and decentralized execution, with the aim of achieving a more effective political-military and strategic-military direction of Defense and a unitary management of the processes of planning, acquisition and use of capabilities and integrated support;
- efficiency and cost-effectiveness of operation, which represent the main objectives of the reform action;
SECOND. the adaptation of the operating model, by:
- the transition from an inter-force vision of the Armed Forces to greater integration between the various components, in compliance with the specific domains of action;
- the elimination of organizational and functional duplications;
- the reduction of hierarchical levels and the simplification of procedures;
- the strengthening of the operational capabilities of the military instrument with those of the reference international organizations;
THIRD. Military personnel, in order to increase the efficiency and operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces by:
- the reshaping of the division of the workforce among the different categories of staff, to be achieved through an increase in the rate of fixed-term staff and a proportional decrease in that of staff in permanent service, in order to ensure the gradual decrease in the average age of military personnel in service, without prejudice to the total staffing resources set at 150.000 units;
- lowering the maximum age for the recruitment of volunteers in pre-established stops and the revision of the system of stops;
- the increase in measures to facilitate the relocation to the world of work of the personnel of the Armed Forces who have been discharged;
- the revision of the system for advancing officers to the rank of general;
- the revision of the legal framework for employment in the joint and international sectors and in other Departments;
- the revision of the system of operational employment allowances.
FOURTH. The scientific, industrial and technological innovation policy of Defense within the scope of the relative powers, with the introduction of organizational models that ensure wide-ranging collaboration between Defense, industry and the university and research world. Through the reform project, the military instrument will be more aligned with those of the other main European countries and this will favor greater collaboration in the field of European security and defense. The possibility of a comparison and collaboration on a more homogeneous basis is already in itself an added value because it will reduce the current distances, creating: operational structures, organizational structures, training procedures more similar to the major partners; common definition of requirements; collaborative research, development and production programs. The new defense must therefore be more European, while remaining profoundly Italian, in the awareness that greater efficiency of our military instrument also represents our contribution to building a more European security and defense.
OTHER NEWS
Multi-year expenditure law. Very interesting this absolute novelty that equates our Defense, as regards the "Procurement", to the Anglo-Saxon armed forces. Attribution to the Minister of Defense of the task of proposing, in agreement with the Minister of Economy and Finance and the Minister of Economic Development, a multi-year spending bill for the six-year financing of defense interest programs. In particular, the provision of a multi-year spending law for the six-year loan aims to ensure long-term planning, which can be reviewed every three years and included in the national financial planning, guaranteeing the stability of resources through the full involvement of Parliament. is, consequently, proper planning of spending programs. As a result of the creation of the figure of the National Director of Armaments and responsible for logistics (the new DNAL).
The generals will be appointed by the Joint Higher Advancement Commission. The intervention measures in the field of officers' advancement are summarized as follows:
- reduction in the number of top commissions - currently four, one for each Armed Force - through the unification in a single joint commission, characterized by the simultaneous presence of the heads of the joint area and the heads of the Armed Force to which the candidate belongs;
- extension of the competence of the single joint commission with extension to brigadier generals and corresponding grades - currently the competence of the top commissions is limited to the evaluation of divisional generals and corresponding grades;
- consequent modification of the competence of the higher advancement commissions (currently referring to the evaluation of officers with the rank of lieutenant colonel to brigadier general and corresponding degrees) with a limitation to the degrees of lieutenant colonel and colonel and corresponding degrees.
Compared to the current top commissions made up of officers of the Armed Force to which the evaluating belongs and chaired by the Chief of Defense, the composition of the new joint joint commission presents the strengthening of the joint top-level component balanced by the numerical prevalence of the top-level component of Armed Force.