Every year, on June 2, I pause.
It is not a matter of protocol; it is something more personal. I have spent decades in uniform, and I have seen what it means for a country to hold together its history and its future in a single national celebration.
That ability — rare and far from self-evident — belongs to Italy in a particularly distinctive way.
My role as Chair of the NATO Military Committee requires neutrality, a principle I respect and firmly believe in: thirty-two Allied nations, none to be favored, none to be overlooked.
And yet neutrality is not blindness.
From my vantage point, I see every day what individual Allies bring to the Alliance, not only in terms of troops and military capabilities, but also in terms of culture, professionalism, and presence. And I can say, without compromising any principle of neutrality, that Italy is highly regarded.
Deeply and broadly respected.
It is not only because of what it contributes: its contingents in the Balkans, its presence across the Mediterranean, its role on NATO’s eastern flank at a time when war has returned to European soil with a brutality none of us ever wished to witness again.
It is also the way in which it contributes.
There is a distinctly Italian ability to operate in the most challenging environments with both military rigor and human understanding — a quality that partners recognize and that I learned to appreciate firsthand long before assuming my current position.
June 2 is also an opportunity to reflect on why all of this is possible: because a strong bond exists between the Armed Forces and the Republic.
Democratic institutions — national and European alike, NATO no less than the European Union — give purpose to the mission; the Armed Forces, in turn, provide those institutions with the practical means to exist and operate in freedom.
When it truly works, this reciprocity is among the finest expressions a nation can offer.
Yet this bond must continue to expand.
Today, security — and this is something we understand well within NATO — depends on what is often called a “whole-of-society” approach. Security is not built solely in military bases and headquarters; it is built in the everyday life of a society that understands its risks, trusts its institutions, and knows how to respond when challenges arise.
Italy possesses everything it needs to become a model in this regard.
I say this with conviction, not out of courtesy.
As I am unable to be present today, I would like to express my gratitude to all the women and men in uniform who will take part in the celebrations, or who may instead find themselves serving far from home in places that few people could locate on a map. My thanks also go to those who, in defending the values we celebrate today, have endured hardship and, in some cases, made the ultimate sacrifice.
Thank you. It is not a formula. It is the truest thing I can write on this day.
Happy Republic Day.
