The changeover ceremony for the leadership of the Regional Command West (RC-W) took place this morning, which saw Colonel Natale Gatti hand over Gianluca Figus the command of the multinational unit composed of soldiers of the Italian Armed Forces - as well as and by contingents from Austria, Moldova, Slovenia, Turkey, Poland and Switzerland - operating in the western sector of Kosovo.
The soldiers of the 5th "Superga" land artillery regiment of the Army stationed in Portogruaro (Venice) will now take over from the men and women of the 17 "Sforzesca" anti-aircraft artillery regiment based in Sabaudia (Latina), who have completed the own mandate in Kosovo.
In the period between December and July, the artillerymen of the 17th helped to ensure security, stability and freedom of movement in their sector of operation, according to the mandate of the 1244 United Nations Resolution 1999, favoring the process of dialogue between Serbia and Kosovo promoted by the European Union.
“The activities of the Regional Command West continued even during the COVID19 emergency that affected the Balkan region, without affecting the operational capacity of the KFOR mission. The Italian military and the other six nations have taken all the preventive measures recommended by the World Health Organization in conducting the operations, among which the protection of the Serbian-Orthodox Monastery of Visoki-Decane - the only site guarded by the NATO mission - and patrolling the area of responsibility through hundreds of motorized and foot patrols, also conducted in collaboration with the Kosovo police ", underlined Colonel Gatti in thanking his soldiers for the commitment shown during the mandate of the 17th regiment.
Considerable support was provided impartially by the Italian contingent to local institutions and communities through 18 donations of personal computers, school furnishings and teaching materials. The contribution made by the RC-W to the local response to COVID-19 was also important, with the distribution to the health and police authorities of Kosovo of medical equipment and personal protective equipment.
"The 5th artillerymen return to the Balkans after about 7 years and are ready to contribute, in collaboration with the institutions of Kosovo, to the security of the western region, in a delicate phase such as the one in progress, characterized by the emergency COVID-19 which will not compromise the ability of the KFOR mission to conduct operations ", said Colonel Gianluca Figus, after taking over the leadership of the RC-W.
The handover took place in the presence of the Ambassador of Italy in Kosovo, Nicola Orlando and the Commander of KFOR, Major General Michele Risi. In his speech, General Risi expressed his appreciation for the work of the military of the Regional Command.
