On June 21, the Camp Adazi military base hosted a ceremony of handover of powers to the command of the Task Group “Baltic” for Italian personnel stationed within the NATO mission “Latvia” with an enhanced forward presence. The Bersaglieri of the “Garibaldi” brigade, led by Lt. Col. Massimiliano Erra, handed over the supplies to their colleagues from the “Ariete” armored brigade and to the new commander, Lt. Col. Gerardo Secco.
The rotation ceremony was led by Joint Forces Summit Operations Commander, Army Corps General Francesco Paolo Figliuolo, who brought the Italian soldiers stationed in the Baltics greetings from Defense Minister Guido Crosetto and Chief of Defense Staff for the country, Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone.
Present were a delegation from the Italian Embassy in Riga, led by Ambassador Alessandro Monti, a large representation of soldiers from allied and friendly countries, and numerous civil and military authorities from NATO and the host country.
“The task entrusted to you in this part of Europe is very important,” said the COVI commander. “The presence of Italian troops at Camp Adazi represents a clear military signal to our allies and friends, but not only.” It also serves to send a clear message to all who would rather destabilize this region as they do others Parts of the world do or try.
NATO is a cornerstone of justice and respect for international law in these areas. The stability of this region is vital to us, it is part of Europe, it is the land and sky of the Atlantic Alliance and a deterioration in security here would have consequences for the entire continent.”
“I would like to thank the men and women of the “Baltic” working group for their sacrifices,” said Ambassador Monti, and I would like to underline the importance of their daily work, not only from an operational point of view, but also from a symbolic and political point of view, especially towards the country that houses us. We are proud of you!”.
In the last six months, the Italian units of the so-called XII. Rotation of the eFP mission conducted around 130 training activities between Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, including over 100 fire drills with single and unit weapons, another 20 with combat platforms and heavy armament, 8 joint drills with fixed and rotary wing aircraft, 4 continuous drills on divisional and Battle group level, alongside Canadian, Latvian and other national soldiers.
Among the most important exercises was the 2023 spring storm, during which the Italian military operated alongside the other Allied units (about 14,000 men and women) in forested and urban terrain in very harsh weather conditions. Dozens of combat and logistics vehicles were used.
The personnel, part of the Italian contingent of the XIII. rotation will be coming from Brigade Command “Ariete”, from 11th Bersaglieri Regiment, from 132nd Land Artillery Regiment “Ariete”, from Novara Lancers Regiment (5th), from “Ariete”, from 132nd Armored Regiment, from 7th Command and Tactical Support Division, from the 10th Engineer Engineer Regiment of Cremona, from the 17th Anti-Aircraft Artillery Regiment “Sforzesca”, from the 121st Anti-Aircraft Artillery “Ravenna”. Regiment, from the 7th CBRN Defense Regiment “Cremona”, from the 7th Alpine Regiment, from the 7th and 46th Transmission Regiments, from the Center for Management Responsibility of the General Staff of Defense.
The activities of the Italian contingent stationed in Latvia as part of the NATO eFP initiative are directed and coordinated by the Operational Command of Vertice Interforze, the high command of defense whose main task is to manage all joint and multinational operations and exercises conducted in Latvia to plan and direct five domains: earth, sea, sky, space and cyber.
The eFP Mission in Latvia
Based on the decision of the Alliance leaders during the Warsaw Summit in July 2016, Italy joins the NATO arrangement with the “Baltic” Task Group of 4 multinational battle groups, each led by a framework nation (Canada to Latvia , Germany to Lithuania, UK to Estonia and USA to Poland).
Given the deteriorated security perception and at the specific request of the Baltic States and Poland, NATO has deemed it appropriate to increase its presence on the eastern flank of the Euro-Atlantic area and to launch an Enhanced Forward Presence (eFP) based on the deployment of respectively four battle groups in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, fed by the Framework Nations and supported by the other Allies.
The eFP is a defensive measure, proportionate and fully consistent with NATO’s international commitment to strengthen the Alliance’s deterrence principle. In particular, the strengthening of the presence on the Eastern flank of the Alliance is a clear example of the determination to fulfill the main task of collective security of Euro-Atlantic territorial integrity against any possible aggression and threat and to affirm cohesion and solidarity among member countries.
Currently, the maximum annual size of the national contingent deployed in the mission, authorized by Italy, is 250 soldiers and 139 land vehicles.
Source: Difesa.it