The event that marks the 100 days of the "stelletta" and therefore the promotion to the rank of second lieutenant for the 186 students of the army and the carabinieri. In his speech, General Graziano, after thanking the intervening authorities, wanted to pay homage to the fallen of all wars and to the over 100 fallen in missions abroad.The general also addressed a special greeting to the families of the fallen soldiers, today represented by General Alberto Ficuciello, father of Captain Massimo Ficuciello who died in Nassiria in 2003. Addressing the students, the General recalled that courage, moral and physical, is the essential element for commanders. Allows you to face the risks of the profession you have chosen. The general then pointed out to the young students the figure of Major Giuseppe La Rosa who fell in Afghanistan, an officer of the Bersaglieri and gold medal for military valor, who had attended the Academy 12 years earlier.
You - continued the army chief of staff - are the result of a selection of 12-13000 young people who aspired to join the army and the carabinieri and a career made of commitment, constant preparation and responsibility awaits you. towards your men and towards the state.
We face a process of globalization where even in the lowest grades you will face complex situations by relating to the political, diplomatic, military, media and socio-cultural contexts different from ours. Above all, you, army officers, called to put your boots on the ground in missions abroad and risking firsthand, as shown by the number of the fallen of the armed force. Strict physical and cultural preparation, moral and ethical tension and attention to the human element. You will experience the transformation we are designing as protagonists. We send a message of optimism and strength to the country because you represent the lifeblood and faith in the values of the state. We have started a process of savings and rationalization - continued the chief of staff - to do better with the available resources, maintaining the operational capacity we have had in recent years provided that, obviously, what is necessary is ensured to preserve the training levels and We must face the risk - concluded the general - but not when due to lack of materials, equipment and training.
The celebration of “Mak P 100” is a tradition that dates back to 1840.
With the passage of the "Stecca Accademica" the older students, having now reached the end of the two-year course of study, give the younger students the "Stecca", a large-scale reproduction of a small wooden tool, with a central groove, which was once used by students to polish the metal buttons of the jacket without dirtying the fabric.
The academy also hosts 27 foreigners from Afghanistan, Albania, Jordan, Armenia, Niger, Thailand and Libya.
The Military Academy, currently commanded by General Giuseppenicola Tota, was established on January 1678, XNUMX with the name of the Royal Academy and is the oldest Military Training Institute in the world, preceding the Russian Academy of St. Petersburg, the Royal Military Academy, the Ecole Royale Militaire and West Point.
Source: General Office of the Army Chief of Staff - Public Information and Communication Office - Sz. PI
