On January 16th, 2022 was carried out a change of command ceremony at the military base Camp Village Italia, in the location Belo-Polje, near the town Peja. The Regional Command West (RC-W9), the Italian-led multinational unit is in charge for the western sector of Kosovo.
The Italian departing contingent, 185° Folgore Parachute Artillery Regiment was replaced by Field Artillery Regiment “a Cavallo” (horse artillery) from Friuli Brigade Pozzuolo.
The ceremony marks the hand over between Col. Andrea Bertazzo, who after six months mandate entrusted the command to Col. Marco Javarone, taking over the leadership of the RC-W of the NATO mission named Joint Enterprise.
The Italian Ambassador in Kosovo, Antonello De Riu, showed his utmost appreciation for the exceptional results achieved by the soldiers RC-W in full compliance with the international mandate, emphasizing the subtlety of the work carried out by the parachute Army members of the Folgore Brigade, commended by the local institutions and by the people of Kosovo.
Brigade General Luca Piperni, Vice Commander of KFOR, underlined how “KFOR is a NATO mission that represents the most success for the Alliance, considering the current security climate in which various communities in Kosovo can live, pointing out how teamwork and cohesion, are necessary features for best compliance with the received mandate. A quality that the Diavoli Gialli of the departing contingent were able to express in the strictest possible sense of the motto Duty Reliability Commitment, coined on KFOR XXVI”.
KFOR is the most consistent NATO mission for the number of soldiers with its 3.700 men and women deployed, of which about 628 are Italian members of the Army, Navy, Air Force and Carabinieri, that contribute on daily basis to a safe environment and to the freedom of movement for all the communities that live in Kosovo, in compliance with the UN resolution n.1244 of 1999.
