Paolo Ruggiero (born 26 September 1957) is a General in the Italian Army who served as Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation of NATO from 19 July 2019 to 7 July 2022 when he was replaced by General Chris Badia of the German Air Force.

Paolo Ruggiero
General Ruggiero, as Deputy Allied Commander Transformation
Born (1957-09-26) 26 September 1957 (age 67)
Naples, Italy
Allegiance Italy
Service / branch Italian Army
Years of service1979–2022
RankLieutenant General special duties
Unit
Commands
  • UNIFIL Task Force "Lebanon" – Sector West
  • Chief of Staff and Deputy Commander of Resolute Support Mission
  • Deputy Commander of the NATO Allied Land Command LANDCOM
  • Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation

Military career

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Ruggiero joined the military in the 1970's. He reached the rank of Brigadier General by 2005. He commanded the "Ariete" Armoured Brigade in Pordenone from 2006 to 2008. During this time, he was deployed with his Brigade to Southern Lebanon for Operation UNIFIL II, where as Commander of Sector West[1] he led a multinational unit composed of troops from Italy, France, Ghana, Slovenia, South Korea and Qatar.

In 2009 he was promoted to Major General and appointed as Artillery Commander and Inspector General in Bracciano, from 2010 to 2012[2]

Upon promotion to Lieutenant General in 2014, he was appointed Commander of the Army Command for Education, Training and School of Application Studies in Turin.[3]

In 2015 he was deployed to Afghanistan with the "Resolute Support" Mission where he served first as Chief of Staff[4] and then as Deputy Commander[5]

From January 2016 to February 2019, Ruggiero was appointed Deputy Commander of the NATO Allied Land Command (LANDCOM)[6][7] in İzmir, Turkey. On 19 July 2019, he was appointed Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation (DSACT)[8][9] in Norfolk, Virginia, U.S.

During his career, Ruggiero has held several positions in both the Italian Army General Staff (GS) and the Department of Defense. From 1997 to 2000, he was the Assistant Military Attaché at the Italian Embassy in Washington D.C..[10]

Awards and decorations

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Golden Cross of Merit of the Army - ribbon for ordinary uniform
Golden Cross of Merit of the Army
"Kabul (Afghanistan), February – September 2015."
— 13 October 2016[11]
 
Silver Cross of Merit of the Army - ribbon for ordinary uniform
Silver Cross of Merit of the Army
"Tibnin (Lebanon), October 2007 - May 2008."
— 28 July 2010[12]

Foreign decorations

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Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA) - ribbon for ordinary uniform
Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA)[13]

Other decorations

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UNIFIL Medal "In the Service of Peace" (U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon)[14] - ribbon for ordinary uniform
UNIFIL Medal "In the Service of Peace" (U.N. Interim Force in Lebanon)[14]

References

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  1. ^ "Gemellaggio tra la 6^ brigata dell'esercito libanese e la 132^ brigata Ariete". difesa.it.
  2. ^ "Future Artillery 2012 Conference | ASDEvents". asdevents.com.
  3. ^ "Il Generale Ruggiero al comando della Scuola di Applicazione di Torino". Stella d'Italia News. February 18, 2014.
  4. ^ "I Rappresentanti Permanenti di Germania, Italia, Turchia e Stati Uniti incontrano le autorità politiche e militari di Herat". difesa.it.
  5. ^ "Il Generale di Corpo d'Armata Paolo Ruggiero assume la carica di COS-RS e la qualifica di ITA-SNR". difesa.it.
  6. ^ "Generale Ruggiero primo Vice Comandante italiano del NATO Allied LANDCOM di Izmir". difesa.it.
  7. ^ "Allied Land Command transitions Deputy Commanders". DVIDS.
  8. ^ "NATO: avvicendamento del Deputy Commander al SACT". difesa.it.
  9. ^ "On July 19, #NATO ACT welcomed General Paolo Ruggiero as the new Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation". Joint Warfare Centre. 23 July 2019 – via facebook.com.
  10. ^ "Diplomatic List, Summer 1998 (I thru P)". 1997-2001.state.gov.
  11. ^ "Le onorificenze della Repubblica Italiana". quirinale.it.
  12. ^ "Atto Completo". gazzettaufficiale.it.
  13. ^ "Foreign Individual Awards - Headquarters Department of the Army" (PDF). Washington DC. 28 November 2018.
  14. ^ a b "UNIFIL Medal".
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