Crosetto: stop the military in 'Strade sicure', 30,000 extra defence personnel are needed
National Unity and Armed Forces Day. General Luciano Portolano, Chief of Defence Staff: "Military ambassadors of peace but ready to defend"
by Andrea Carli
Key points
- Crosetto: 'Defence is needed to avoid war scenarios here'
- "Now the war is also invisible"
- "Armed Forces reform needed, more personnel"
- "Military deployed in Safe Streets should be returned to their original jobs"
- "We are not sending military personnel to Gaza at the moment, it is not safe."
- Portolano: "Military ambassadors of peace but ready to defend"
What is needed is a European Defence, a bulwark against the proliferation of new crisis areas. "Today, new conflicts have appeared in Europe and the Mediterranean, challenging the security framework built in the post-war period and the institutions set up to protect it. The danger of a widening of the bloody conflict triggered by the aggression against Ukraine by the Russian Federation requires great attention and a demanding effort to adapt the military instrument, for the creation of a common European defence force that, in close cooperation with the Atlantic Alliance, will be an instrument of security for Italy and Europe". This is what the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, wrote in a message to the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, on the occasion of 4 November, National Unity and Armed Forces Day. It is the day of soldiers, sailors, airmen, carabinieri and civil defence personnel, and at the same time of all Italians. "A moving thought," said the Head of State, "goes to those who have fallen, sacrificing their lives for Italy. It is a sentiment that appeals above all to the younger generations, so that they are aware of the need for commitment in defence of the values of our Constitution'.
The day opened with the President of the Republic reaching the Altare della Patria for the celebrations. The Head of State, accompanied by Crosetto, received military honours. Then, accompanied by high officials, Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and the Presidents of the Senate and Chamber of Deputies Ignazio La Russa and Lorenzo Fontana, he climbed the steps of the Altare della Patria for the homage to the Unknown Soldier. Late in the morning, the Head of State reached Ancona to attend the ceremony on the occasion of National Unity Day and Armed Forces Day, which was held at the ancient port of the Doric capital. At the end of the ceremony, there was a flyover and exhibition by the Frecce Tricolori.
Crosetto: "Defence is needed to avoid war scenarios here"
On this occasion the Defence Minister emphasised the strategic value of defence. "Calculate that between yesterday and today 1,500 Ukrainians and Russians have died in a front that we no longer talk about because we are tired of talking about it," he recalled on the sidelines of the Ancona initiative. "This gives an idea of what can happen in a war scenario. The armed forces and defence are there to ensure that what happens in these scenarios does not happen. We do everything we can so that the truce is consolidated and becomes peace in the Middle East and so that a truce is established in Ukraine. The Russians bombed aqueducts, power plants and nuclear power plant cooling stations tonight. Every day where there are wars, things happen that hurt civilian populations. We as defence are equipping ourselves to prevent it from happening here again'.
"Now the war is also invisible"
In his message on the occasion of National Unity and Armed Forces Day, the Defence Minister emphasised that today's security threats are invisible. "We live, today, complex times, in which peace is no longer taken for granted. The wars of the 21st century are not only fought on the ground. They are fought in space, in cyberspace, in the cognitive dimension, through a hybrid and invisible war that is played out on data, information, perceptions. This year's theme, 'Defence, the force that unites', is not a slogan,' Crosetto continued. It is a concrete principle, a message that runs through every action of the Armed Forces. Defence binds territories and generations, connects cities and villages, shortens the distance between the periphery and the heart of the State. It unites because it builds trust: between institutions and citizens, between citizens themselves, between those who work in the departments and those who receive the protection of the State. Trust that comes from a sense of responsibility, from consistency between words and actions, from the ability to protect without compromising ethics, respect and dignity. To be the force that unites means to protect in all senses of the term: to be there where there is need, to support communities, to provide security and relief with competence and dedication. It means preserving the memory of our fallen. Remembering them not as a symbolic act, but as the foundation of the identity of Defence and the Republic".
"We need a reform of the Armed Forces, more personnel"
In the late afternoon, after liaising with the various theatres of operation, Crosetto spoke at the Covi, the Inter-Forces Operational Area Command, which acts as the staff body of the Defence Chief of Staff for the planning, coordination and direction of military operations and exercises at national and international level conducted in the five domains: land, sea, sky, space and cyber. On that occasion, Crosetto addressed the need to strengthen the Armed Forces. "Thelaw 244," the one that sets the limit on Defence personnel at 170,000, "we must throw it out," he clarified, "The spirit with which it was born is dead. Personnel must be increased and guarantees are needed to protect them. While we talk about shield and hybrid warfare, we must also talk about housing. We must start talking about requirements, the armed forces must be efficient. We need a reform of the armed forces, I don't see it as the reform of the Minister of Defence: the armed forces will speak in Parliament and not an undersecretary or minister'.
