FRIDAY FOTO (January 30, 2015)

Molto Impressionante!

Defense Dept. photo by D. Myles Cullen

U.S. Army Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, walks with his Italian counterpart Admiral Luigi Binelli-Mantelli during a pass and review ceremony in Rome on January 19.

Make sure you click on the photo to enlarge the image and get a good look at the spectacular uniforms of this Italian honor guard: red and white ostrich feather plumes, Napoleonic hats, white gloves, sashes and gaiters, shakos, capes, boots and lances! The general and the admiral aren’t doing too badly themselves in the brass and gold braid department.

Dempsey stopped in Italy to meet with Binelli-Mantelli and Minister of Defense Roberta Pinotti on his way to NATO meetings in Brussels. Fighting terrorism and countering Russia’s aggressive behavior in Ukraine were key topics of discussion.

Italy has made major contributions to NATO and United Nations international missions, Dempsey said. Thousands of Italian troops are currently deployed in Iraq, Kosovo, the Horn of Africa, and with the United Nations mission in Lebanon. Italy and the United States are the top contributors of on-the-ground trainers and advisors with the Kurds and Iraqis in the fight against ISIS/ISIL/IS extremists, defense officials noted.

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