Yesterday morning, at Singara camp, a ceremony was held to switch between Brigadier generals Nicola Terzano and Paolo Attilio Fortezza in command of the Italian contingent in the mission to Iraq and to the post of director of the Anti-DEASH Coalition Training.
The Italian ambassador to Iraq took part in the event, if Bruno Antonio Pasquino and the commander of the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, army corps general Paul Joseph LaCamera, who congratulated the Italian commander for the excellent work done and thanked the Italian military for the professionalism demonstrated and the results achieved. Also present were the highest civil and military authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Coalition who wanted to show their closeness to the Contingent.
During his speech, the transferor commander wanted to remember how many soldiers, civilians, the Coalition or not, sacrificed their lives in the fight against Daesh, which is still present as an insurgent force and destructive ideology. He then went on to thank the authorities present and the numerous defendants, as well as the Iraqi partners from the autonomous Kurdistan region and the Coalition colleagues for their daily commitment to training security forces in order to be more effective in contrasting Daesh.
Special thanks were given to men and women in uniform who work daily with professionalism, commitment and determination, achieving extraordinary results whose importance is unanimously recognized by the local authorities and colleagues of the Coalition. Special thanks were addressed to the families who, the General pointed out, constitute the other part of the Contingent, whose daily support allows Italian soldiers to work serenely and effectively in the fulfillment of the mission.
Proud of the work of the military of the Contingent and of the achievements achieved together, honored to have served the Homeland abroad, at the end of the intervention, General Terzano sent his colleague the best wishes of every fortune. The Italian components framed in the transaction First Parthica, are included in the Combined Joint Task Force - Operation Inherent Resolve, Multinational Coalition against Daesh which currently includes 76 Countries and 4 International organizations. The Contingent, composed of about 500 soldiers belonging to all the Armed Forces, works mainly to train Iraqi Ministries of Defense and Interior and the autonomous Kurdistan region.
Italian trainers are placed in multinational units within the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center, currently under the command of a colonel of the Italian Army, and of the Police Task Force - Iraq, the Arma dei Carabinieri-led unit. The Griffon Air Task Group, made up of pilots, specialists and military of the Italian Army Aviation, contributes to the workforce, which contributes to the helicopter transport to the Coalition personnel throughout Iraq and the National Support Command which guarantees logistic support for the Contingent deployed in the area of operations. Italian Defense Officers and NCOs operate in various sectors within the Coalition's command staff.
