In the presence of the commander of the Southern Operational Forces, general of the army corps Rosario Castellano, the transfer of responsibility of the Grouping command with competence over Lazio and Abruzzo took place, between the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade and the "Sassari" brigade, as part of the "Safe Roads" Operation. The commander of the “Granatieri di Sardegna” brigade, Brigadier General Diego Filippo Fulco, thanked all the employees, concluding with a greeting addressed to all the men and women of the Group, exalting their professionalism, competence and motivations that have distinguished them. "My sincere recognition goes to you for what you have done for the Army on all the occasions you have been engaged, making me feel proud to be your commander".
During the 19 months of activity on the territory, the "Granatieri di Sardegna" brigade has obtained remarkable results among which emerge: the seizure of about 40 kg of drugs, the execution of almost 600 still, the identification of more than 30.000 people, control over 1.000 vehicles, the seizure of 22 weapons and 14 vehicles. In addition to the aforementioned results, the troops of the Lazio Abruzzo Group have constantly contributed to becoming a reference point for Roman citizens and tourists, even for everyday problems such as illness, accidents or accidental accidents, until the suffocation saved by a newborn, for which the rescues were immediately alerted by carrying out disastrous maneuvers, thanks above all to the notions of first aid in the possession of the military.
The soldiers of the "Sassari" who will be under the guidance of Brigadier General Andrea Di Stasio, commander of the brigade, in recent months have carried out a specific training preparation for the activity. Staff training includes lessons on the military combat method (MCM), shooting lessons with individual armaments both night and day, foundations of first aid, legal notions and other activities aimed at the control of the territory and the prevention of crime and surveillance on sensitive sites and objectives.
The Lazio-Abruzzo Grouping will include about 2.000 Italian Army soldiers with the task of guaranteeing the safety of 180 sensitive sites, mostly present in the capital, embassies, places of worship, reception centers, railway and underground stations, tourist places and aggregation of the city of Rome. On the national territory, the Army military, together with the Police Forces, are engaged, since 4 in August 2008, in 53 city as part of the "Safe Roads" operation, for the patrolling of the main metropolitan areas and the surveillance of sensitive installations and objectives.
From the beginning of the operation to today, around 16.000 people have been arrested; over 12.500 individuals were stopped and about 19.000 were reported on the loose. There have also been checks at around 3 million and 300 thousand people and at 1 million and 400 thousand means seized over 13.000, 1150 weapons and 2.290 kilos of drugs.
