The Chief of Staff of the Army at the 235th “Piceno”: training the Soldiers of tomorrow

On January 26, 2026, the Chief of Staff of the Army, General of the Army Corps Carmine Masiello, visited the 235th Volunteer Training Regiment “Piceno”, one of the main initial training schools of the Italian Army, the core of the process that transforms young volunteers into aware and operational Soldiers. The visit included both the headquarters in Ascoli Piceno and the training battalion located at the “Pasquali–Campomizzi” Barracks in L’Aquila, a facility that also hosts the 9th Alpini Regiment.

Welcomed by the Regiment Commander, Colonel David Bastiani, the Armed Forces Leadership received military honors, saluted the War Flag, and participated in a briefing on the training and educational activities, which represent the structural foundation of the entire Army personnel preparation system. In this context, schools are not just places of instruction, but laboratories of military identity, where professionalism, mindset, and sense of duty are built.

The presence of the Chief of Staff emphasized how the quality of the military instrument directly depends on the solidity of the schools, which are called to ensure high standards, training uniformity, and consistent transmission of the founding values of the Armed Forces.

The message to the Volunteers: values above all

The meeting with the attendees of the basic training course of the 3rd block 2025, who arrived in Ascoli Piceno and L’Aquila on January 13, was the central moment of the visit. Addressing the Volunteers, General of the Army Corps Carmine Masiello emphasized how the school is the first real test for the Soldier, the place where one learns to know oneself even before the weapon or equipment.

Joining the “great family of the Army” means accepting a challenging path, made of discipline, sacrifices, and responsibilities, where initial training assumes a decisive value. It is in schools that the Soldier learns to put duties before rights, internalizing an ethical dimension that accompanies the entire career.

The school, highlighted the Chief of Staff, is the context in which the most precious weapon system of the Army is built: the man and woman in uniform. Here, physical preparation, strengthening of the spirit, training of the mind, and education of the heart become one, forming individuals capable of operating in complex environments and under pressure.

The role of the 235th “Piceno” in Army training

The 235th Volunteer Training Regiment “Piceno”, structured on two training battalions, operates together with the schools of Montorio Veronese and Capua to ensure a solid, homogeneous, and coherent initial training, a true pillar of the operational effectiveness of the Armed Forces. This school system ensures that every Soldier, regardless of the assigned location, shares the same standards, values, and professional references.

The schools represent the starting point of investment in young people, where human potential is recognized, directed, and valued through rigorous, modern training that meets contemporary operational needs. It is here that the sense of belonging is born, the esprit de corps is consolidated, and the ability to operate as a team is developed.

In this framework, the visit of the Chief of Staff assumes a strategic significance: strengthening the role of schools as the beating heart of the Army, guarantors of the continuity of values and the readiness of the military instrument. A clear and unequivocal message: without strong schools, there is no credible, modern Army ready to meet the needs of the Country.