Afghanistan: the "Garibaldi" Brigade surrenders command to "Julia"

Brigadier General Maurizio Angelo Scardino has surrendered the command to the parish Michael Risi in the presence of the Head of General Staff of Defense, General Claudio Graziano, the commander of the NATO Forces in Afghanistan, the US general John F. Campbell, the Italian ambassador to Kabul Luciano Pezzotti and the highest Afghan civil and military authorities in the province of Herat.

"The last few years have been central to this country - underlined General Graziano in his speech - with important improvements in all sectors, political, economic and social". The head of the SMD also added that "the fact that the new mission Resolute Support is defined as non-combat does not mean that there are no more risks, especially given the fact that the threat of terrorism and extremism has grown globally" .

During the course of its mandate, the "Garibaldi" was engaged in the delicate task of transiting from the ISAF (International Security Assistance Force) mission, which ended 31 December 2014, to the Resolute Support mission. From 1 Jan. 2015 the new NATO engagement in Afghanistan, in fact, is no longer connected to direct tasks of participation in operations but is expressed through training, consultancy and assistance activities conducted by teams of specialists in favor of Afghan National operational leaders Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF). In this context, the military contingent has greatly reduced depending on the new tasks assigned by NATO and the leadership in the control of the territory by the Afghan security forces. "The transition is not accomplished with a single event but it is an evolutionary process that takes place in successive steps", said General Scardino, addressing his fellow Afghans, "the ANDSF have assumed responsibility for security and we are here, all together, to implement a shared strategy that leads to a stable and sovereign Afghanistan, which is a sign of success ".

The TAAC-W advisors have conducted training activities (Training) in favor of the ANDSF pursuing a dual objective: to make the Afghan Security Forces autonomous in the management of the professional development of their staff, with the training of new instructors (process called "Train") the Trainers "); to train and train "specialists" in the field of intelligence, countering improvised devices, using mortars and artillery, controlling airspace and more, with targeted courses, seminars and symposia. The completed courses were 85 for a total of approximately 1500 certified instructors and specialists.

Consultancy activities (advising), focused on functionality, systems, internal processes and organizational development of the forces and aimed at achieving an adequate level of sustainability of the same, were over 7000 for a total of about 22.000 hours.

Simultaneously with the reconfiguration of the Contingent for the fulfillment of the tasks of the Mission Resolute Support, the men and women employed by General Scardino continued the plan to return home means and materials, called Itaca 2, which represented a logistic effort without precedents since the end of the Second World War.

The "Garibaldi" has also made a considerable effort in civil and military cooperation activities with the construction of 17 infrastructure works and 47 projects in the social, health, education and local institutions, which have further supported the process of reconstruction of the country continuing in the furrow already traced in this field for years by Italy.

Before any other memorial act, General Graziano, accompanied by General Campbell and General Scardino, deposed a crown in homage to the fallen Italian 54 and to those, Afghans and members of the coalition forces, who made the extreme sacrifice for the cause of freedom and prosperity of Afghanistan.

Source: Mission Resolute Support