On Tuesday 14 February, at the Novo Selo Training Area (NSTA), the changeover ceremony took place Multinational Battle Group of NATO between Colonel Francesco Alaimo, yielding commander, and the peer Andrea Fraticelli.
La Transfer of Authority (ToA) ceremony was presided over by the operational commander of the joint forces (COVI), general of the army corps Francesco Paolo Figliuolo.
Numerous civil and military authorities were present, including the Italian ambassador in Bulgaria, Giuseppina Zarra, the commander of the Joint Force Command Bulgarian, Major General Valeri Konstantinov Tsolov and the commander of the Multinational Division South East, Major General Dorin Toma.
“Being here with you is a source of great satisfaction for me”, said General Figliuolo addressing the deployed Italian contingent, "even more because today you finish a mission of absolute importance, launched six months ago with the aim of contributing to the strengthening of NATO's defensive posture and deterrence on the eastern flank of the Alliance".
The COVI commander complimented the results achieved by the contingent in the area of operations. The Italian soldiers, mostly from the brigade Pinerolo of the Italian Army, took part in various multinational exercises: from Strike Back, which sanctioned the "full operational capacity" of the Battlegroup, To Iron Strike or to Freetown, training side by side with colleagues from Allied countries.
The symbolic passage of the squad between Colonel Alaimo, commander in Italy of the 82nd infantry regiment of Barletta, and the parigrad Andrea Fraticelli, at the helm of the 7th Bersaglieri regiment of Altamura, sanctioned the transfer of responsibility of the multinational unit which in Bulgaria operates under the enhanced Vigilance Activity (eVA).
