General Riccardo Marchio'
Italian Army
General
Riccardo Marchiò attended the Military Academy in
Modena in 1974. After graduating he was
assigned to the 6th Bersaglieri (Light Infantry) Battalion in Turin. In 1982, as a junior officer, he served
as a rifle company commander on peacekeeping operations in the Lebanon.
After
completing the Italian General Staff Course he was posted to the 3rd Army
Corps Headquarters in Milan, serving in the operations division. In 1993 he participated in Operation Restore
Hope in Mogadishu, Somalia, before returning to the Bersaglieri as the 2ndBattalion Commander. Following this he returned to the 3rdArmy Corps Headquarters, as Chief of Staff of the 3rd ITA Division, where
he also deployed, on this occasion as part of the Multinational Protection
Force to Albania, in 1997.
On
promotion to Colonel he took command of the 18th Bersaglieri
Regiment and deployed with his unit to both FYROM and Kosovo. A course at the US Army War College, and
subsequent graduation in the ‘class of 2000’, immediately followed. Returning to Italy, General Marchiò
became the Chief of Training at the Operational Land Forces Command, in Verona,
before leading the Italian International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) Contingent
in Kabul, Afghanistan.
In
2003, he was appointed Deputy Commander (DCOM) of the Aosta Mechanized Brigade
and subsequently, in 2004, DCOM of Multinational Division South-East in Basrah,
Iraq, before returning home to Italy to command the Aosta Brigade.
From
2005 to 2008 General Marchiò held several appointments at the Army General
Staff, before assuming the position of DCOM Allied Rapid Reaction Corps HQ and enjoying
another tour of Afghanistan, this time as the DCOM ISAF Joint Command.
In
June 2012 he assumed the post of Head of the Intelligence Department of the
Italian Prime Minister’s Office, before taking command of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps –
Italy, in 2016. Later in the year, General Marchiò assumed command of the Italian Army
Operational Land Forces Command, a position he held for the two years prior to his
arrival in the Netherlands to take command of Allied Joint Force Command Brunssum,
in February 2018.
General
Marchiò’s awards and decorations include the Silver Cross for Army Meritorious
Service, "Mauriziana” Medal, "Loya Jirga” Afghan Medal, Knight of the
Military Order of Italy, Officer of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic,
Commander of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic and the US Bronze Star.
General
Marchiò has a Batchelor’s degree in Strategic Sciences and a Masters in
Strategic Studies from the US Army War College. He is married to
Laura, with whom he has two sons and four grandchildren. His interests include reading, skiing and
flying ultra-light aircraft.
Current as of 17 December 2018