The commander change ceremony between Corps General Marco Bertolini and the incoming commander, team admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, took place at the military airport of Centocelle, headquarters of the Interforces Operational Command (COI). The ceremony was presided over by the Defense Chief of Staff, General Claudio Graziano, with the highest civil and military positions present.
General Marco Bertolini, who came to the helm of the COI in February 2012, co-ordinated and directed a series of challenging events related to the major international crises, the same, saw the use of thousands of Army men and women, navy, aeronautics and carabinieri engaged in national and international UN / EU / NATO missions in many operating theaters in many parts of the world.
In his remarks, General Bertolini mentioned his experience in the inter-force, as the first commander of the inter-commanding command for the operations of the Special Forces, but especially his 4 years at the COI, underlining: "we have radically transformed this Command to adapt it to the new operational and urgent rhythm and we are confident that this transformation will deliver to Defense and Italy an effective inter-command and control tool. "He concluded," I have always been more than satisfied with the my choice of life. I am in debt with the Armed Forces and with my Armed Forces the Army, able to fill my life as no other institution could have done".
"With its effective action against our contingent operations - General Graziano stressed in his speech - the COI confirms a reality from which to draw inspiration from the inter-armed evolution of the Armed Forces as indicated in the new White Paper on International Security and Defense, strongly wanted by the government"In greeting the two protagonists of the day, the Defense Chief of Staff thanked General Bertolini for all he did and for his ability to combine operations and innovation, becoming unquestionably part of the history of the Italian Army and Italy. last 40 years.
"In his brilliant career - added the head of SMD - has always been a great and brave commander able to always face openly the risks of both physical and intellectual nature".
The team admirer Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, who was succeeding and already commander of the Inter-Force Command for Special Forces Operations (COFS) since November 2014, the Chief of Defense Staff has highlighted the "prestigious curriculum, a guarantee of success, which unintentionally sees him as the first commander of the COI not coming from the ranks of the Army."
The Interforze Operational Command, held by an army corps / Admiral general of the air squad / general, was established in the 1997 and is the structure of which the Chief of Defense Staff, responsible for the use of the FA as a whole to plan, coordinate and direct operations as well as joint and multinational exercises.
At the moment there are about 13.000 men engaged in national and international missions in which the Armed Forces participate.
