Today at the base of Camp Arena, in Herat, took place the change to the leadership of the Train Advise Assist Command West (TAAC W), the multinational NATO Command and Italian-led interforces operating in the West region of Afghanistan as part of the mission Resolute Support (RS): the “Julia” Alpine Brigade, after six months of training, consulting and assistance to the operational top management of the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF), is alternated by the “Aosta” Brigade. At the ceremony, in which Brigadier General Michele Risi handed over command to parigrade Mauro D'Ubaldi, the commander of the Joint Forces Operational Command (COI), General Marco Bertolini, the commander of RS General (USA) John F. Campbell were present , the Italian ambassador in Kabul Luciano Pezzotti and the highest Afghan civil and military authorities in the province of Herat.
In his farewell speech, General Risi highlighted "the great results obtained on the basis of the three main components of our mission in Afghanistan: the first consisting of training, consulting and assistance, the second by the work of reducing and refolding part of our forces, and finally the protection of Camp Arena and the forces located there, which allowed the JULIA Brigade to cooperate in an exemplary way with the Afghan counterparts ".
General Bertolini thanked the soldiers deployed in his speech: "you have carried out the assigned task, knowing that you have brought the honor of our country to your shoulders in this Afghan land", and gave its best wishes to General D'Ubaldi and to the his Brigade for the difficult and delicate task that awaits them.
The training activity carried out by the TAAC W advisors in favor of the ANDSF had a twofold objective: to make the local Autonomous Security Forces in the management of the professional development of its staff, with the formation of new trainers ("Train the Trainers") ; train and train "specialists" in matters of intelligence, to combat improvised devices, to use mortars and artillery, to control airspace and more, with targeted courses, seminars and symposia.
The consulting activities (Advising) were focused on the organizational development and the functionality of the forces, to achieve an adequate level of sustainability of the same.
At the end of the ceremony, Ambassador Pezzotti recalled that "together with the governor of the province of Herat dott. Rahimi was started on provincial development plan, with the launch of over 20 projects in different sectors, from agriculture to the construction of schools and clinics, including the reconstruction of the important road artery from Herat to Chest-i-Sharif and the adaptation to international standards of Herat Airport ".
