The army corps general Paolo Ruggiero, taking over from Lieutenant General (GBR), Ed Davis, is the first Italian officer called to hold this important international position in the Izmir headquarters, in the context of the rotations in the top positions envisaged by the structure of command of the Atlantic Alliance between member countries.
In his speech, General Nicholson, after thanking General Davis for the precious contribution provided during his mandate, warmly welcomed General Ruggiero, underlining his qualified professional background and the many experiences in an operational and international environment made in the course of his career.
The army corps general Paolo Ruggiero, an artillery officer from the 157 ° course of the Military Academy, has held numerous positions in the Army and Defense General Staff. He was added to the Army at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, commanded the 132 ^ armored brigade Ram with which he was employed in the UNIFIL operation in Lebanon as commander of the Joint Task Force - Sector West from October 2007 to May 2008.
He also held the positions of commander of the artillery command in Bracciano, of chief of staff of the Logistic Logic of the Army in Rome and, until December 2015, as commander of the Training Command and Application School in Turin. Finally, from February to September 2015, he was engaged in Afghanistan as part of the NATO "Resolute Support" operation where he first held the position of Chief of Staff and subsequently that of Deputy Commander for the transition.
LANDCOM, formed in 2012, is the command responsible for the ground component under the NATO Force Structure (NFS). It is devoted to providing support in training, operational readiness, interoperability and standardization of ground forces, including their assessment and validation. Furthermore, it contributes to the operational planning of the higher headquarters. Where employed directly under SACEUR, LANDCOM forms the core of the command component responsible for conducting ground operations and for synchronizing the commands and ground forces employed, according to the level of ambition of the Alliance.
