The Italian Armed Forces are taking part in the NATO military exercise “Trident Juncture 2018”, the largest training exercise of the Atlantic Alliance in the last twenty years, currently under way in Norway. The Italian Armed Forces are participating with qualified units from the main bodies of the Italian Army that contribute to the “Very High Readiness Joint Task Force” (VJTF), NATO’s spearhead force for short notice mobilization and deployment.
Italy’s contribution to this Task Force is the 132th “Ariete” armored brigade – whose commander Gen. Ristuccia leads the entire Italian contingent in Norway – assisted, among others, by the 187st paratroopers regiment, the first mountain artillery regiment and a military police company.
The Italian contingent has completed the initial phase of the exercise (“Brilliant Jump II”), having reached its area of deployment and completed the inspection of their armaments.
The Embassy in Oslo is closely collaborating with the Italian personnel involved in the exercise, about 1200 men, to create the conditions for a rapid and efficient deployment. The Italian Ambassador will visit the Italian contingent in the coming weeks.
