The commander's exchange ceremony took place in recent days Kurdistan Training Coordination Center (KTCC), training center for Kurdish security forces, to which the Italian armed forces contribute in the context of the US-led international mission to fight the so-called Islamic State called "Inherent Resolve".
After 6 months of intense activity, Army Colonel Stefano Di Sarra left the command to the German parigrade Georg Oel. The two nations, in fact, take turns every six months. The ceremony was attended by the highest Kurdish political and military authorities and senior representatives of the international community.
As a premise of the ritual passage of the KTCC flag that marks the conclusion of the Italian mandate, Colonel Di Sarra expressed his esteem and gratitude to the staff and trainers of the 8 nations that make up the KTCC: "I am proud to have been your commander and I am grateful to you for the commitment you have made in favor of the KTCC and the Kurdish security forces, which thanks to you have effective tools to be able to defeat Daesh ”.
A demanding semester, during which the KTCC has trained beyond 5000 peshmerga, giving a fundamental contribution to the Kurdish security forces engaged in the final stages of the battle against Daesh.
To date the Kurdish soldiers trained since January 2015 are well 15000, of which 6800 trained by the trainers Italian. The half-year just ended also saw the opening of a new training center in southern Kurdistan near the city of Sulemanya.
The KTCC was born in January 2015 and coordinates the activities of the trainers of the 8 nations that compose it, creating the best possible synergy to provide a complete training in favor of the "Courageous peshmerga".
In this synergy the Italian specialized structures are inserted with the training in the Counter-IED (recognition and disarming improvised explosive devices), in sniper sniping using precision shooters, in artillery as support for infantry company maneuvering in offensive operations and in fighting in built-up areas.
