Massimo Panizzi

Massimo Panizzi
General Massimo Panizzi, Commander of the Military Geographic Institute in Florence
Born	(1962-10-10) October 10, 1962 (age 62) Marina di Carrara, Italy
Allegiance	Italy
Service / branch	Italian Army
Years of service	1981–present
Rank	Lieutenant General
Commands	Alpini Battalion "Susa" 8th Alpini Regiment Alpine Brigade "Taurinense" Comando Regione Militare Nord
Battles / wars	NATO SFOR and IFOR – Bosnia and Herzegovina NATO KFOR – Kosovo Operation Ancient Babylon – Irak NATO Resolute Support Mission – Afghanistan

Massimo Panizzi (born October 10, 1962) is an Italian Army Lieutenant General who currently serves as the Commander of the Italian Army Territorial Command in Rome and Commander of the Military Geographic Institute in Florence. He previously served as the Italian Deputy Military Representative to the NATO Military Committee and Chief of the NATO Office of the Italian Military Delegation at NATO HQ, Brussels.^[1] He participated in numerous international military operations and he has served as the Deputy Chief of staff Support (DCOS SPT) for the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Kabul.^[2] He assumed the assignment of Deputy Commander of the Military Command of the Capital in Rome on September 19, 2022.^[3] Since August 2023 he assumed the command of the Capital (Territorial) Command within the Italian Army Operational Forces HQ (Rome) and of the Military Geographic Institute (Florence).^[4]

Early life and education

Massimo Panizzi was born in Marina di Carrara, in Tuscany, Italy on October 10, 1962. He attended the Military Academy of Modena, he graduated from the University of Turin and he was commissioned into the Italian Army in 1981, becoming an Alpini Officer. He attended the Defence Staff College in Rome, the Centre for High Military Studies and the Institute for High Studies of the National Defense in Paris, the Generals, Flag Officers and Ambassadors' Course (GFOAC). He holds University bachelor's degrees in Pedagogy, Strategic Sciences, International and Diplomatic Relations, and is journalist with expertise in Marketing & Communications.^[5] He has contributed to a number of publications and studies.^[6][7][8][9]

Military career

In a career spanning almost forty years, Massimo Panizzi has commanded Mountain Troops units at every rank from Lieutenant to Brigadier-General, including the “Susa” Battalion of Pinerolo^{[10][circular reference]} the 8th Alpini Regiment of Cividale del Friuli^[11] – the operational unit of the European Union Battle Group – and the Alpini Brigade Taurinense in Turin^[12] transforming it into a key European French-Italian Brigade HQ.^[13]

As a Senior Staff Officer, he led the Press Offices of the Italian Army General Staff and of the Italian Ministry of Defence, where he introduced the first Italian Ministerial Policy on Strategic Communication.^[14] He also served as Spokesperson and Strategic Communication Advisor to the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee and the NATO International Military Staff.^[15][16]

On 2004 he has published research on the relations between military and Non-Governmental Organizations in the Crisis Response Operations^[17] and, on 2010, he elaborated the NATO Military Public Affairs Policy.^[18] He also was deputy commander of the Training Command and Application School of the Army, situated in Turin, where he was responsible for the training, education and specialization of all Italian Army Officers.

General Panizzi has served in a number of overseas missions and operations, including Bosnia and Herzegovina with both NATO IFOR and SFOR, Kosovo with NATO KFOR,^[19] and Irak as part of Operation Ancient Babylon serving in the HQ of the US-led Multinational Corps Irak, and most recently in Afghanistan where he was Deputy Chief of Staff Support (DCOS SPT) for the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Kabul.^[20][21][22]

Panizzi is the recipient of a number of honours and awards, including Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, the French Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur^[23] and the US Legion of Merit. From Sept 2019 to Sept 2022 Major General Panizzi has served as the Italian Deputy Military Representative and Head of the NATO Office to the Italian Military Delegation at NATO HQ, Brussels. He assumed the assignment of Deputy Commander of the Military Command of the Capital in Rome on September 19, 2022. Since August 2023 he assumed the command of the Italian Operational Forces Capital (Territorial) Command in Rome and of the Military Geographic Institute in Florence.

Awards and decorations

Commendatore Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, June 2, 2017

Ufficiale Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, December 27, 2012

Cavaliere Ordine al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, December 27, 2005

Army Silver Medal for the ITA Army Merit, October 28, 2005

Army Bronze Medal for the ITA Army Merit, March 8, 2000

Army Bronze Medal for the ITA Army Merit, February 28, 2020

Gold Medal for long assignments in Active Commanding positions

Gold Cross for duty seniority;

Maurician medal of Merit for long military duty service

Italian Red Cross Bronze Medal

Italian Medal for International Military Operations

Medal for International Military Operations in Afghanistan

Cross for International Military Operations

French Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur[24]

U.S. Legion of Merit[25]

French Bronze National Defence Medal

Einsatzmedaille der Bundeswehr in Bronze (Germany) for the NATO Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan[26]

U.S. Army Commendation Medal for the Operation in Irak

Peace Operations Medal of the Estonian Ministry of Defence

Non-Article 5 NATO Medal for the Operations in Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan

Medalha de D. Afonso Henriques – Mérito do Exército, 1^ Clase (Portugal)

National Defense Medal (Slovenia and Hungary)

References

1. "Il Generale Panizzi alla NATO".
2. "Missione in Afghanistan: Gen. Panizzi assume incarichi di D-COS SPT e di IT-SNR".
3. "L'Esercito ricorda i Caduti". www.esercito.difesa.it (in Italian). 2 November 2022.
4. "Il Comandante dell'Istituto Geografico Militare" (in Italian). 18 August 2023.
5. "Curriculum Vitae Dirigenti Militari" (PDF).
6. "Cooperation between Armed Forces and non-governmental organizations in Military Crisis Response Operations".
7. "Affari Esteri, rivista trimestrale, edition 1999".
8. "Affari Esteri, rivista trimestrale. Elenco dei collaboratori".
9. "Rivista Militare n.2/2002. Cooperation between civilians and military in crisis management, p. 58".
10. "3° Reggimento Alpini. Comandanti Battaglione "Susa" (1946-2001) con il grado di Tenente Colonnello".
11. "Nuovo comandante all'8° Alpini".
12. "La Brigata Alpina Taurinense ha un nuovo generale: Massimo Panizzi".
13. "La Brigata italo-francese, strumento ideale per la nuova Nato spearhead force: intervista al Gen. Panizzi, comandante della Taurinense".
14. "Direttiva sulla Comunicazione Strategica del Ministero della Difesa" (PDF).
15. "Guerra in Libia, l'Italia avrà il comando navale sull'embargo delle armi".
16. "Napoli snodo dell'operazione NATO in Libia".
17. "Cooperazioni tra Forze Armate e organizzazioni non governative nelle operazioni militari di risposta alle crisi".
18. "NATO Military Public Affairs Policy (MC 0457/2, February 2011)" (PDF).
19. "Pasqua, militari italiani Kosovo, messe e menù tutto italiano".
20. "Afghanistan, 17 anni di guerra e i talebani sono ancora padroni".
21. "Missione in Afghanistan: Gen. Panizzi assume incarichi di D-COS SPT e di IT-SNR".
22. "Reportage Afghanistan: Gen. Panizzi, "Addestrare le forze di sicurezza è una delle armi migliori per combattere il terrorismo"".
23. "Legione d'onore al Generale Massimo Panizzi".
24. "Legion d'Honneur al Generale Panizzi".
25. "Il Generale Panizzi decorato alla NATO con la Legione al Merito USA".
26. "Medaglia tedesca per l'operato del Gen. Panizzi in Afghanistan".