As part of bilateral cooperation activities with the British Army took place in Florence, from 17 to 19 May, the Army Staff Talks (AST) with the United Kingdom. During the talks, organized and conducted by the Army Staff and chaired by Brigadier General Adriano Russo and Brigadier General Christoper Davies (head of Army International, Communications and Engagement), the parties have identified the sectors on which to give further impetus to cooperation, developing a joint work plan, at the "Army to Army" level, within the broader framework of the "defense roadmap" agreed by the respective defense staffs.
The meeting, in addition to having represented an important moment of exchange of information and sharing of ideas, concepts and experiences on topics such as the respective processes of reorganization / modernization, Multi Domain Operations and the activity of Security Force Assistance, also provided an opportunity to present the progress of the project relating to the transformation of the division Vittorio Veneto in Multinational Division South (MND-S).
The British delegation was therefore able to visit the “Vittorio Veneto” division. The meeting, led by the commander, general of division Angelo Michele Ristuccia and his staff, opened with the briefing presentation of the MND-S project, calibrated and conceived based on the activities carried out in recent months and on the applied working methodology that allowed the unit to reach the IOC (Initial Operational Capability), in the month of March.
The activities in which the setting up MND-S HQ is involved have aroused the interest of British officers: among these the participation in international exercises such as "Steadfast Jackal Exercise 2022" "Citadel Bonus Exercise 2023" and "Loyal Leda Exercise 2024" ".
General Ristuccia, at the end of his speech, underlined that: "There has been a great commitment and a huge investment by the Nation and the Army to ensure that the division is ready in terms of manning, equipment, infrastructure, training and training to welcome personnel from alliance countries and ensure NATO that it can count on a modern and flexible tool, fully deployable, capable of taking part in the activities, operations and missions of the Alliance, as part of its three core tasks ".
