Italian Government
The Commandant
Brigadier General (OF-6) Francesco Donato Rizzo
Brigadier General Francesco Donato Rizzo was born in Surano (Lecce) on October 28, 1967.
He enlisted in 1986 as part of the Falco 4th Course and attended the Air Force Academy until January 1990. As a Second Lieutenant, he was assigned to the highest Training Institute in Pozzuoli, where he served as an Officer in charge of Regular Courses, AUPC, Gari Applications, Section Chief for Plans and Programs, Sports Director, Section Chief for Student Personnel, Discipline, Registration, and Flight Logs. In January 1995, he was assigned to the 30th Wing in Elmas (Cagliari) as Chief of Military Personnel and Mobilization Section.
From November 1996 to June 2002, he was first assigned to AFSOUTH and then to the RHQ South in Naples at the Plans and Policy Division and Division J5-9 as the NATO Infrastructure Section Officer and Military Cooperation Branch (PfP and Mediterranean Dialogue). He participated in all operations from 1996 to 1999, with a particular focus on the operations in Kosovo, where he served as a CIMIC Desk Officer at the JOC of AFSOUTH.
In 2002, he was assigned as the RAMI Liaison Officer at SHEPPARD AFB in Wichita Falls, Texas (USA) as part of the ENJJPTP Program.
From August 2005 to August 2008, he held the position of J1 Office Chief at the Joint Special Operations Forces Command (COFS) in Rome.
From September 2008 to June 2012, he served in the Directorate for the Employment of Air Force Military Personnel (DIPMA), holding positions as Chief of the 4th and 2nd Sections (Employment of Officer Career Arms) and Vice Chief of the 2nd Office (Employment of Officer Managers).
From 2012 to 2016, he served as Chief of Staff for the General of Career Arms and from December 2015 to December 2016, he also served as Chief of the 1st Office at DIPMA (Employment of Officer Managers).
From 2017 to July 2020, he was assigned to the 1st Department of the Defense Staff, serving as the Office Chief of Employment and later as Deputy Department Head.
From August 2020 to June 2021, he served as Chief of the 1st Office of the General Staff and Coordination of the Office of the Chief of Air Force Staff.
From July 8, 2021, to October 5, 2023, he commanded the Headquarters of the Joint Interforce Command (COVI).
In 2007/08, he attended the 10th Interforce Staff College Course (ISSMI). During the same period, he obtained a Master's degree in Strategic-Military International Studies, jointly awarded by the Center for Advanced Studies in Defense and the Universities of Milan and Luiss "Guido Carli" in Rome.
He attended the 71st and 72nd IASD Sessions at the Center for Advanced Studies in Defense (CASD), earning a 2nd-level Master's degree in Global Strategy and Security from the University of Turin.
He completed the Defense Resources Management Course at DRMI in Monterey, California (USA).
Brigadier General Rizzo holds a degree in Aeronautical Sciences from the University of Naples Federico II and a degree in Political Sciences from the University of Trieste.
Since September 19, 2023, he has been the commander of the Joint Air Operations School in Guidonia.
He was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General effective January 2023.
In 2008, he was awarded the Knight of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic, and in 2022, he received the Maurizian Medal for Ten Lustres of Military Career Merit. In 2021, he was authorized to wear the honorific of Knight Officer of Merit of the Sacred Military Constantinian Order of Saint George of Naples.
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