The Undersecretary of State for Defense Angelo Tofalo today visited the "operational arm" of the Information and Security Department: the Intelligence Center, commanded by the Brigadier Giorgio Cipolloni.
Arriving at the Ponte Galeria headquarters, Tofalo was received by the department head, division admiral Fabrizio Simoncini, in the presence of the Deputy Chief of Defense Staff, air squad general Roberto Nordio.
"What you do every day is the basis of the safety of your colleagues engaged in operations that are often risky and of high strategic importance", Said Undersecretary Tofalo who during the visit had the opportunity to meet the staff of all the Armed Forces employed in the Joint Intelligence Center and then adds,"One cannot think of planning, conducting and carrying out military action without the support of the information that you seek, analyze, evaluate and disseminate. I thank you for the high professionalism you show in your daily work, almost always, for reasons of confidentiality, which cannot be shared with the public.".
The Information and Security Department is the interforce organization that provides the necessary technical-military information support to the Ministry of Defense, employing and coordinating information research structures in all operational dimensions and disseminating analytical products developed by highly specialized personnel, able to acquire and enhance data and news in the various operational domains.
The continuous effort of the information sector is aimed at ensuring that decision-makers at all levels have, promptly, the information necessary to make the appropriate decisions both for the planning of the military instrument and for the conduct of operations and missions.
The complexity and dynamism of today's operating environments requires skills in terms of human resources, with high-level skills, and highly technological information collection and analysis systems, for which continuous modernization is essential, also through significant investments in research and development, supported by the national industry. In the specific cyber domain, information activities are a determining and enabling factor for the Armed Forces and other Joint Commands and Bodies involved in this activity, so it is even more necessary to exploit possible synergies and play as a team.
In this context, collaboration with the Information and Security System agencies for the Republic and international cooperation with the Allied countries is also essential.
"It was a moment of constructive confrontation aimed at the strategic goal of building a true Country System", Commented Tofalo at the end of the visit,"I am particularly proud to represent as undersecretary of defense all the women and men belonging to this body whose, for obvious reasons, little is spoken about and that represents an excellence of the Defense".
The Joint Forces Intelligence Center was born on January 1, 1998, within the Information and Security Department of the Defense Staff, following the reform law of the military leaders, through the suppression and simultaneous merger of the SIOS (Operational and Situation Information Service) of Forza Armata and their respective Operations Centers, until then appointed to carry out the military intelligence activities institutionally.
In this way, the establishment of a single institution of the General Staff of Defense, appointed to carry out military technical tasks, achieved the objective of rationalizing the resources to better adapt them to the changed international needs and the defense sector.
