In front of the departments lined up in the forecourt of the Salsa-D'Angelo barracks, Mega retraced the activities that engaged the regiment during its command, from 21 September 2012: the numerous training activities typical of the specialty, in Italy and abroad; the ISAF operation in Afghanistan, from March to September 2013; rescue to the populations of Cadore during the snow emergency last winter; the Strade Sicure operation, in Campania in 2013 and in Piedmont today; sports results in the Ca.STA (Alpine Troops Ski Championships).
Important results, addressed with "professionalism and contagious desire to do well", as commented by General Michele Risi, in command of the Julia Alpine Brigade since September 19,
During the farewell address, he greeted and thanked all the military and civilian personnel of the regiment, local institutions, weapon and combat associations, Ana and the whole Belluno community, and their family.
“The closeness of the authorities and the community, their collaboration and loyalty, are the memory with which I will leave Belluno today”, commented Colonel Mega, who will hold a new post at the Army General Staff in Rome. “I bring with myself a mission accomplished, an experience that will not be replicable and that has given me the opportunity to get to know a land I did not know. I understood how much the Alpini are loved and considered here, in Belluno and in Veneto ”.
Contact with the Belluno community is one of Colonel Zamboni's goals. "We will continue to strive to try not to be a closed entity, an entity detached from the environment in which we operate, and to foster relationships with associations and those who think we can interact, through the exchange of opinions and activities for greater integration on the territory ".
After the engagement in Val di Susa, where the soldiers of the Seventh will be engaged until the beginning of January, they will also resume the specialty training activities. "Since the regiment has been engaged in external activities, we will return to mountain activities, in winter and in summer", confirms Zamboni, who is preparing to command the regiment with the awareness of the responsibility required by the assignment and the enthusiasm for the new experience. "For me it is all new and I will face it with a great desire to do and to understand how it can be improved and what the new challenges will be".
Before taking command of the Seventh, Colonel Diego Zamboni was employed in Afghanistan as director of the Fusion center and held the role of head of the analysis and operations support assessment office at the Joint Intelligence Center in Rome, from 2011 to 2014.
The importance of the link with the territory was also highlighted by General Risi, who awarded Colonel Mega the Bronze Cross of Merit of the army for his outstanding professional skills, generosity and spirit of sacrifice. "It is essential to find the possibility of synergies between us and civil protection, to be ready for what represents the fourth mission of the armed forces: the assistance to the population, which will be one of the main activities for the future".
The ceremony, accompanied by the fanfare of the Julia Alpine Brigade, was an opportunity to remember and express gratitude and gratitude to the fallen and wounded of the Seventh and the Italian Army.
Also in the 7 ° Alpine Regiment, Monday 20 October was succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Mario Di Sipio, commander of the Alpine Battalion "Feltre", Lieutenant Colonel Gianmarco Di Leo.
Elisa Di Benedetto
