This morning at the airport of Herat, there was the ceremony of changing the leadership of the Train Advise Assist Command West (TAAC W), the multi-national NATO command and Italian-led interforces operating in the West region of Afghanistan as part of the mission Resolute Support (RS). The Bersaglieri brigade "Garibaldi", after six months of training, consulting and assistance to the top management of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), was alternated by the Alpine "Taurinense" brigade.
The mission commander attended the ceremony Resolute Support General Nicholson, the Italian ambassador in Kabul Roberto Cantone, the commander of the Interactive Operations Command Admiral Cavo Dragone - who previously visited the Italian contingent in Kabul - and General Rosario Castellano, deputy commander of the NATO forces in Afghanistan. The governor of the Province of Herat, Mr. Asif Rahimi, was also present, together with the highest Afghan civil and military authorities of the province.
General Nicholson in his speech thanked the commanding general cedant Claudio Minghetti and the military deployed, underlining the excellent results achieved, recalling that the TAAC W was the first to carry out training, advise and assist at home through the expression of an expeditionay advisory package (EAP) in Farah, and wished general Biagini and the Alpine troops of the “Taurinense” for the difficult and delicate task that awaits them.
The training activities (Train) of consultancy (Advise and Assist), which are currently carried out by the advisors of TAAC West in favor of the ANDSF, have the dual objective of making the local Security Forces autonomous in the management of the professional development of their personnel, and to train new instructors ("train the trainers"), as well as train "specialists" in the field of intelligence, fighting improvised devices, use of mortars and artillery, airspace control and more, through targeted courses, seminars and symposia.
All efforts are focused on the organizational development and functionality of the Afghan security forces, to achieve an adequate level of sustainability of the same.
For the command of the "Taurinense" alpine brigade this is now the fifth mandate to Afghan land, the third to Herat. At the same time as the “Taurinense” command at the helm of the TAAC West assumed responsibility, the 2nd Alpine regiment based in Cuneo assumed command of the Task Force Arena, a unit responsible for the defense and support of the contingent's activities.
