General Carmine Masiello, a former commander of the Folgore and military adviser to the prime minister from 2016 to 2018, has been nominated by the Council of Ministers as the Army's new Chief of Staff, after the recommendation of Minister of Defense Guido Crosetto. He succeeds General Pietro Serino, whose term will end on February 26. Crosetto stated that the commander "has a top-level profile and will be called upon to manage the Army at a time of great complexity, deriving from the current geo-political context". Masiello, a military paratrooper, began his career in the 185th Parachute Field Artillery Group and served as commander of the Folgore Brigade from September 2010 to October 2011. He has participated in numerous international crisis theatres, including Northern Iraq (Airone), Somalia (Ibis), Bosnia and Herzegovina (IFOR), Lebanon (UNIFIL), and Afghanistan (as commander of the "Regional Command West" in 2011). The officer, who is 60 years old and married with two children, has held high-ranking positions in the Army, the General Staff of Defense, and the Council Presidency.
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