At the end of his training at the Italian Military Academy in 1991, Major General BERTONCELLO was appointed as a parachutist officer and held various positions within Combat units, ranging from platoon commander to brigade commander.
During his career, he has served as Staff Officer and Battle Captain at the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy; Commander of the Parachute Battalion of the 187 Parachute Regiment; Head of the G35 Future Planning Section of the Operations Division at the Headquarters Allied Rapid Reaction Corps (ARRC) in the United Kingdom; Commander of the 187 Parachute Regiment of "Folgore" Brigade; Head of the International Organizations Office within the III Department - Military Plans and Policy at the Defense General Staff in Rome.
General Officer Commanding "Aosta" Brigade in 2020-23, he was deployed to Lebanon for Operation "Leonte XXXII" as Commander of the Italian Contingent and UNIFIL Sector West Commander.
Back to the Defence General Staff he served as Head of the Defense Innovation Department in Rome.
Since November 2024, he has been Chief of Staff at NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy.
General BERTONCELLO has extensive international experience, including a tour of duty in East Timor as part of Operation "Stabilise", International Force East Timor (INTERFET). Additional operational deployments in Afghanistan as part of NATO ISAF, in Kabul and in Farah, and was deployed to Kosovo (NATO KFOR) and Lebanon (UNIFIL).
As part at his continuous military education, he attended the General Staff Course in Italy, the Defence Staff Course at the Hungarian National Defense University in Budapest and the Advanced Joint Staff Course at the Italian Defence Staff College in Rome.
Furthermore, General BERTONCELLO holds a 5-year degree in Computer Science at the University of Turin, a Bachelor of Political Sciences at the University of Trieste and holds a Master Degrees in Strategic Sciences and a Master Degree in International Military Strategic Studies.
A passionate free fall paratrooper, General BERTONCELLO wears US, British and Belgian military parachuting wings.
During his 35-year military service, along with his wife and two children, he enjoyed serving in seven different cities, while moving home 13 times.