For the second time an Italian general is called to lead the NATO Joint Force Command (JFC) of Brunssum

(To Greater Defense)
21/02/18

This morning the exchange ceremony took place at the command of the NATO Joint Force Command (JFC) of Brunssum between the general Salvatore Farina, the transferor, and General Riccardo Marchiò, who took over.

In addition to General Claudio Graziano, Chief of Defense Staff, there were numerous military and civilian authorities of the Atlantic Alliance, including General Curtis Scaparotti, Supreme Commander of the NATO forces in Europe (SACEUR), and Admiral Rob Bauer, Chief of Staff of the Dutch Defense.

The words of General Graziano
On the sidelines of the ceremony, General Graziano wanted to emphasize that General Farina, at the helm of the JFC since March of the 2016 and destined to take over, in a few days, the post of Chief of Staff of the Army, was the first commander Italian of this important NATO command. The fact that he is succeeded by another Italian general is "testimony and recognition of the expressed professionalism and commitment in these years by our Armed Forces, in every operational theater in which NATO has been called to operate, as well as the undisputed prestige that our country enjoys within the Alliance".

The chief of staff then said that "in the face of current threats to international security, no country has the capacity and the means to be able to act effectively on its own and, therefore, the role of International Organizations, such as NATO and the European Union, assumes unprecedented relevance and is required to participate with a leading role".

General Graziano then concluded warmly thanking, also on behalf of the Armed Forces, General Farina for the important achievements in his period of command. In fact, he recalled that "Brunssum JFC was an important interpreter in the process of strengthening the Alliance's deterrence and collective defense measures, through the deployment of four multinational battlegroups - the enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) in the three Baltic States and Poland - the strengthening of airspace protection activities - Air Policing - as well as in the activities of support and support to the security forces of Afghanistan, an operational theater in which Brunssum is directly responsible". He then wished to give a special greeting to General Marchiò, of whom he recalled the wide international experience (he was in fact deputy commander of the British Rapid Reaction Corps and Commander of the Italian), for a profitable period under the JFC Brunssum command.

The NATO Joint Force Commmand of Brunsumm
Brunssum's NATO JFC is an operational level command of the military component of the Atlantic Alliance that has, among its main tasks, the command and control of the "Resolute Support" mission in Afghanistan, the operational command of the NATO Responce Force (in rotation with the "twin command" of Naples), as well as the management of the presence and deterrence activities on the east side of NATO.