This morning, at the Ciampino Military Airport, home of the 31 ° flock, the rotation ceremony was held in the position of Chief of General Staff of Defense between General Claudio Graziano and General Enzo Vecciarelli.
The passage of the witness to the summit of the Armed Forces took place in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, of the Vice-President of the Chamber, Mara Carfagna and the Minister of Defense, Elisabetta Trenta and was greeted by the participation of many civil, military and religious.
"In recent years we have seen the Armed Forces play an increasingly important role in the life of the country"- said the Minister of Defense during the change ceremony of the Chief of Defense Staff -"they have built up a legacy of credibility, experience and ability, both in the face of national and international public opinion, which we must preserve in every way and today"- continued the minister -"they are increasingly committed to overseeing the internal and external security of the country, for the benefit of citizens".
Faced with the deployment of units of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Carabinieri and the Guardia di Finanza, General Graziano, at the conclusion of about 44 months of responsibility at the helm of the military instrument, wanted take leave of the men and women of the Armed Forces emphasizing that "Italy is a country of reference for NATO and an active member for the United Nations and this role enables us to participate as protagonists in all the mechanisms and projects of interest that are developed in the international arena."- he added -"my experience as Chief of Defense Staff leaves me, first of all, with a firm awareness: that of having had the privilege of leading the best soldiers in the world in the field. For this I am grateful to the institutions that have allowed me to live this intense and exciting journey, studded with professional and moral satisfactions, but also with moments of concern, in which I have been called to make demanding choices, which could have jeopardized the safety or the very life of my soldiers. I have always done this by looking at the good of the homeland - in line with the missions assigned and with the directives of the Political Authority - and with the conscious certainty of being able to count on the best capital available, human capital, the center of gravity of the Armed Forces. To it must be dedicated all our efforts and all our attention, without demagogy, without ulterior motives, knowing that even at this moment, somewhere on earth, a man or a woman with the tricolor sewn on the uniform and on the skin is operating in weapons, to protect the weak and to protect national interests. In the last thirty years Italy has gained prestige and credibility precisely from the effectiveness of the use of its Armed Forces".
General Graziano ends his term of office as Defense Chief of Staff and will take on the prestigious position of President of the Military Committee of the European Union starting tomorrow in Brussels. As the highest military authority of the European Union, General Graziano is awaited by multiple challenges aimed at strengthening the defense and security dimension of the continent, in the context of PESCO (Structured and Permanent Cooperation in the field of Defense) and also with the objective to improve and strengthen NATO - EU cooperation, a fundamental tool for providing an effective and collective response to current security threats, first of all international terrorism.
After the formal passage of the signs, General Vecciarelli spoke and thanked General Graziano for what he did during a period characterized by exceptional security challenges and profound changes, he said: "I intend to continue to invest in the human element, relying primarily on the power of ideas, driven by innovation that comes from below. We must be able to grasp the new without fear, have the courage to stigmatize old ideological preconceptions but also remove obsolete habits and sclerotic status quo"And he concluded"placing myself ideally in front of each of my men and women and in front of every Italian citizen, I commit myself to profiting all my physical, moral and intellectual resources to fulfill the constitutional duties".
General Vecciarelli, the new Chief of Defense Staff, as head of the technical-operational area of Defense and the use of the national military instrument, will be at the helm of about 180.000 men and women of the Armed Forces, employed daily in operations, in Italy and abroad, which today see our country deploy its military in 40 missions, conducted in 24 countries / geographical areas. This commitment is aimed at facing the security challenges arising from two arcs of crisis and instability: one in the south, which from the Middle East affects the North African and sub-Saharan banks and one in the east, which embraces the Black Sea from the Baltic and the Eastern Mediterranean.
