12/02/2015 - Admiral Binelli Mantelli, who will leave the post of Chief of Defense Staff at the end of his term at the end of this month, has begun a tour of the main national contingents deployed abroad.

On the occasion of his first stop in Lebanon, the head of SMD met his Lebanese counterpart, General Kawaghi, to whom he confirmed the will of our country to consolidate the already excellent friendships and to continue to provide its support to the Country of the cedars is through the significant participation in the UNIFIL mission, of which Italy has long held the leadership, both through bilateral cooperation, aimed at encouraging the capacitive growth of the Lebanese armed forces. General Jean Kawaghi underlined the decisive and far-sighted action carried out by the Italian military personnel, starting from force commander of UNIFIL, the gen. d. Luciano Portolano, who also contributed to the rapid and peaceful resolution of the same situation during the recent severe tension along the Israeli-Lebanese border, avoiding a dangerous escalation of tension.

Addressing the Italian military personnel involved in the aforementioned mission, the head of SMD highlighted "how the operational units engaged outside the national territory represent the best of the nation and that the dedication, professionalism and sense of responsibility of men and women with the stars they have concretely contributed to the success of the mission, guaranteeing the current conditions of stability and security in Lebanon and, consequently, in the whole Region ".

After leaving Lebanon, the admiral went to Iraq, where he visited the Contingent deployed in Erbil.

Precisely in Erbil, in recent weeks, our soldiers are carrying out specific training activities (training on weapon systems against tanks and neutralization of improvised devices) and are developing national participation in the Operation Inherent Resolve in the context of the military effort that the International Coalition is making to support the Iraqi government and the Kurdish Peshmerga against ISIL.

In fact, in addition to being among the very first countries to initiate bilateral activities to support the Kurdish Government, through the sending of humanitarian and armament material and the carrying out of training courses in Italy and Iraq, it has already started the deployment of a Training Center aimed at coordinating, harmonizing and conducting training activities in favor of the Peshmerga units.

Speaking to our soldiers already engaged on the ground, the head of SMD wanted to emphasize the importance of this Mission and the value of their daily commitment, encouraging them to put their professionalism and experience at the service of the Kurdish military and the Coalition.

Words of great appreciation were addressed to Admiral Binelli Mantelli by the Minister of Peshmerga, Mustafa Sayid QADIR, who recognized the active and leading role of Italy and the commendable momentum with which the Italian armed forces intervened alongside them, guaranteeing support that immediately proved to be decisive for ensuring better conditions of stability and security in the entire Erbil area, while at the same time creating the conditions for the development of further initiatives to combat ISIL. In this regard, the head of SMD confirmed the support of the Armed Forces in terms of supplies of armament and ammunition materials and training activities.

A few hours ago the visit to Herat, in the West Region of Afghanistan, was concluded, where the 1 Resolute Support Mission, the new NATO operation that, after the conclusion of ISAF, pledged to support the training of the Afghan forces through a mission do not fight.

To the staff of all the armed forces and the Carabinieri present in Herat, the Head of SMD recalled the extraordinary results achieved by the Italian contingents in all these years and stressed the importance and complexity of the current transition and contextual phase. redeployment which will mark the definitive transfer of responsibility to the local security authorities of the entire country.

"The" Garibaldi "- said Admiral Binelli Mantelli addressing all the staff of the Contingent - has shown once again, in a land sacred to Italy because it is bathed in the blood of our 54 fallen, great professionalism and commendable concreteness creating the best conditions under the organizational and operational aspect for the continuation of the mission ".

Source: SMD