Brigadier General Rodolfo Sganga, commander of the paratroopers brigade thunderbolt, after six months of activity, he sold to Brigadier General Paolo Fabbri, commander of the Alpine Brigade Julia, the command of the Western Sector of the UNIFIL mission consisting of about 4.000 peacekeepers coming from 12 different nations.
In the six months of the mandate, the Italian paratroopers, following the operative line of the predecessors, in view of the objective and common effort of the Italian armed forces employed in the missions outside the area, operated in compliance with the UN's 1701 and 2373 resolutions, aimed at ensuring the cessation of hostilities in southern Lebanon, freedom of movement, support for the Lebanese armed forces and of course the security of the local population.
During this period the operational activities have increased significantly, passed in the last year from an average of 200 to over 240 per day and were more than 450 the men of the Lebanese security forces who have carried out training activities with the Italian military.
In addition, 1650 were the activities of Civil Military Cooperation (CIMIC) conducted to support the local population and about 260 were the activities carried out by Italian doctors, both at home in the 108 municipalities of the sector and at the bases of our contingent visiting over 2.200 people.
In his farewell speech, General Rodolfo Sganga thanked the many local civil and religious authorities present and met daily during these months. Extraordinary public authorities, so close to the needs of their people, and without the support of which work as UNIFIL could not have been so exceptionally adherent to the needs of the population.
The commander of the West Sector concluded his speech, thanking the men and women in uniform of the Lebanese security forces "true protagonists of the security of the Lebanese people" and all the international blue helmets who worked side by side with the Italian soldiers, demonstrating every day, even in the cultural and operational differences "an element of extraordinary strength".
The brigade thunderbolt it has operated successfully during its six-month term in an extremely fragile context that has been characterized by several notable destabilizing episodes at the regional level with political, social and economic repercussions in the delicate Middle Eastern chessboard.
The Alpine brigade "Julia" / Multinational Land Force (MLF), at the first participation in the UNIFIL mission in Lebanon, will deploy for the first time ever in DECI (Defense Cooperation Initiative) conformation which involves the use together with the Italian military in cells of the Command and in the maneuvering units of "Leonte XXIV" not only of personnel from Slovenia and Hungary, but also from Austria and Croatia, testifying to the desire to build even more solid capabilities to forge relations in the southern Adriatic area of Europe and make her an example to follow.
