Sustainable Training Area workshop in Italy targets environmental balance

By 7th Army Joint Multinational Training CommandJune 12, 2015

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1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army Brig. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, Commanding General of the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, speaks to U.S. and Italian military and governmental representatives during the Sustainable Training Area Management Conference in Udine, Ita... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
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2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Army Brig. Gen. Christopher Cavoli, Commanding General of the 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, speaks with Mariagrazia Santori, Region Friuli Venezia Giulia, during the Sustainable Training Area Management Conference in Udine, Italy, Ju... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

UDINE, Italy -- There is no conflict between respecting the environment and ensuring that the U.S. and Italian armies can continue to train in Italy. This was the conclusion of the Friuli Venezia Giulia officials and the U.S. and Italian military representatives who gathered in Udine, Italy for a two-day U.S. - Italy Sustainable Training Area Management Workshop, June 9-10.

"The biodiversity in Friuli is also thanks to the presence of the American military," said Friuli Venezia Giulia Minister for Infrastructure Mariagrazia Santoro. "Without the U.S. Army here, there would be shopping centers and industrial plants in these training areas." Santoro underscored the importance of continued environmental monitoring, but also noted that recent tests have indicated that there are no problems.

The relationship the U.S. Army wants and needs with Friuli is one of trust, transparency, and regular dialogue, Brig. Gen. Chris Cavoli, commander of the U.S. Army's 7th Army Joint Multinational Training Command, told the workshop participants. Cavoli outlined some of the environmental protection programs that the U.S. Army is conducting in Europe, and pledged an increased outreach in Friuli, which is fundamental for the training needs of the U.S. Army in Italy.

After outlining the types of US training in Friuli and the technical ways the U.S. mitigates environmental impact, training expert Perry Doerr said that leaving behind clean training areas is a matter of pride and professionalism.

"There is an etiquette that outdoorsmen have: 'leave no trace,' return the outdoors in the condition in which you found it. It is a matter of personal discipline for Soldiers not to leave a mess-also because in a war zone it can be an intelligence risk," said Doerr.

In addition to Friuli Region officials, the 70-person audience included representatives from the U.S. Embassy in Rome and senior Italian military officers from both Friuli and Rome.

The workshop participants spent one afternoon at the training site in Dandolo to gain a better understanding of the training the U.S. Army conducts in Friuli.

Later this month, the U.S. Army will host Friuli Region officials to observe training, including a parachute jump.

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