Yesterday afternoon, in the military base of "Camp RS", the army corps general Salvatore Camporeale assumed the role of deputy commander of the NATO mission Resolute Support (RS) in Afghanistan, at the end of the alternation ceremony with the outgoing Deputy Commander, Lieutenant General Richard John Cripwell, of the British Army.
The ceremony took place in the presence of the commander of the RS mission, US Army General Austin Scott Miller, of the senior civilian representative of NATO, Ambassador Cornelius Zimmermann, of the Italian Ambassador to Afghanistan, his Excellency Roberto Cantone and other civil and military authorities.
General Camporeale arrives in Afghanistan at a sensitive time for the country: last month, local institutions, military and police forces were involved in ensuring security during the recent parliamentary elections, which called more than 4 million people to vote . And we are already preparing for the 20 April 2019 election, when the population will be called again to vote to elect the president of Afghanistan.
General Miller, during his speech, welcomed General Camporeale and thanked Italy for the role of absolute importance in the RS mission in recent years. "When I think of the Italian contingent - He said - I think of the great professionalism of these soldiers and the contribution they give to the fulfillment of the mission's task".
In his farewell address, General Cripwell thanked all the men and women of the Coalition for their excellent work, saying they were honored to have been their deputy commander.
In his speech, General Camporeale stressed that "one of the most important lessons we have learned is that lasting peace can not be imposed. But on the contrary, it must be a shared political, economic and diplomatic process that aims to conquer the souls and hearts of the people."
He finally thanked the men and women of the 41 allied countries and Coalition partners who are courageously working for the success of the mission, and recalled the sacrifice of those who were killed or wounded to ensure that RS reached its goals, preventing that Afghanistan once again became a safe haven for terrorism.
Born on August 20, 1962 and raised in Margherita di Savoia (BT), General Camporeale attended the 162nd “Honor” course at the Military Academy of Modena. During his career he has carried out various command positions, in tank units, and as staff at the top organs of the Army and Defense. Among these: commander of the 235th Volunteer Training Regiment of Ascoli Piceno, military assistant and aide-de-camp to the President of the Italian Republic, commander of the "Ariete" armored brigade, deputy head of the V General Affairs Department at the Army General Staff and commander of the Military Academy of Modena. Back in Afghanistan after a first experience gained in Kabul in the 2009 as part of the ISAF mission.
Resolute Support is a NATO-led mission launched on 1 January 2015 at the end of the ISAF operation. Its purpose is to contribute to the training, assistance and advice in favor of the local Institutions and Security Forces, in order to achieve the creation of a rule of law, credible and transparent institutions and, above all, of autonomous and well-established Security Forces. equipped, capable of autonomously taking on the task of guaranteeing the security of the country.
