The Paratroops Brigade Receives the Chief of the Italian Army Staff

The Chief of the Italian Army Staff during his visit of the Paratroops Brigade (Photo: Paratroops Brigade)

The Chief of the Italian Army Staff during his visit of the Paratroops Brigade (Photo: Paratroops Brigade)

The Chief of the Italian Army Staff, Lieutenant General Claudio Graziano, carried out an institutional visit of the Paratroops Brigade on 4th October, after having held a meeting with the Spanish Chief of the Army Staff, Army General Jaime Domíngez Buj, at Army Headquarters.  On his arrival on Base ‘Príncipe’ in Paracuellos del Jarama, Gen. Claudio Graziano was received by the commander of the Paratroops Brigade, General Juan Gómez de Salazar. Following official honours and greeting the unit commanders, the Chief of the Italian Army Staff moved to Noble Hall, where the chief of the Brigade Staff, Lieutenant Colonel Luis Cortés, offered him a presentation on the unit’s history, organisation, operational capabilities, the materiel and equipment it fields, as well as its current deployment. 

After a working lunch, Lieutenant General Graziano observed four dynamic demonstrations:  hostage rescue in urban areas, instruction at the Basic Paratroops Instruction Centre, insertion of two forward reconnaissance patrols by means of a parachute jump from a HT-17 Chinook helicopter (from the 5th Transport Helicopter Battalion) and a paratroops assault exercise and seize of an aerodrome in the close quarter battle simulator.  To conclude, the Chief of the Italian Army Staff signed the Paratroops Brigade Guest Book. 

King Juan Carlos University

Two days earlier, the Brigade received a visit by a group of students from the Media Studies Faculty of King Juan Carlos University, within the framework of the Symposium on Defence Communication and Armed Conflicts.  This two-day symposium opened with the lecture Paratroops Brigade Communication in International Operations, offered by Lieutenant Colonel Cortés. Later the students toured the base installations, where they attended a demonstration on equipment prior to a jump in the loading area, a dynamic demonstration of an instruction session at the Basic Paratroops Instruction Centre and a display on materiel and weapons.  Lastly, the students visited the Paratroops Brigade Museum.