Aug 1 2003

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly visits the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps

SOLBIATE OLONA (VA) 01 AUGUST 2003. About 60 members of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (NATO PA) led by its President, the Hon. Doug BEREUTER (United States of America) have visited the NRDC-IT headquarters in Solbiate Olona. The Commander, Lt Gen Fabrizio Castagnetti briefed them on the activities of the Corps and the latest development about the NATO Response Force (NRF).

One of the presentations given to the delegation dealt with NRF because NRDC-IT will play a fundamental role in its development. NATO Response Force will be a joint, high-readiness force that is sustainable in the field. It is scheduled to reach its initial operating capability in 2004 with Italian Forces under evaluation and be fully operational in 2006. NRDC-IT will train the Italian Brigade-size force as Land Component Command and will certify its capabilities.

The visit is part of the NATO PA annual tour that will give the Delegation the opportunity to meet several Italian governmental officials and representatives of the economic arena and of the defense industry. In particular the NATO Assembly delegation met Italian President Carlo Azeglio Ciampi and officials from the Ministry of Interiors, Ministry of Defense, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Banca d’Italia and the most important Italian defense industries.

The delegation was grateful for the high quality of the briefings it received from NRDC-IT officials. The visit to NRDC-IT headquarters provided valuable information to all the members about High Readiness Forces headquarters. In particular, the delegation developed an appreciation for NRDC-IT’s views of the NRF concept and its training programme. A press conference attended by national and local media completed the visit.