Arrivederci and Willkommen - Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation passes responsibility to his successor.
Allied Command Transformation welcomes German General Chris Badia as the new Deputy Supreme Allied Commander Transformation. On July 7th, 2022, General Badia assumed responsibility at a ceremony held at Allied Command Transformation in Norfolk, Virginia, NATO’s home in North America. He succeeds Italian General Paolo Ruggiero. The ceremony was hosted by General Philippe Lavigne, Supreme Allied Commander Transformation; the attendees included Ms Elaine Luria, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives; Mr Kenneth Cooper Alexander, the Mayor of the City of Norfolk, and Vice Admiral Dwyer, Commander US Second Fleet and Joint Force Command Norfolk.
In his speech, General Lavigne said a fond farewell to General Ruggiero and welcomed General Badia to the Headquarters. “It is with mixed feelings that we have arrived at one of the major milestones of our Command this year, with the handover of the Deputy Supreme Allied Commander’s position between two particularly distinguished officers from Germany and Italy.”
In highlighting NATO’s recognition of Allied Command Transformation as a leading agent and a force for progress in the area of capability development, General Lavigne emphasised the importance of the role that the Deputy Commander plays in the headquarters. Thanking General Ruggiero for his support, General Lavigne highlighted the pivotal role his deputy played in managing relations with NATO's Centres of Excellence, with NATO Partners - particularly developing stronger ties to partner nations working with the Headquarters - and in the Lessons Learned area, where General Ruggiero has been instrumental following NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan.
General Ruggiero also nurtured the relationship at the Deputy level with NATO International Military Staff in Brussels as well as NATO’s other Strategic Command, Allied Command Operations in Mons, Belgium. Over General Ruggiero's three-year tenure, Allied Command Transformation developed and delivered NATO's Warfighting Capstone Concept and its implementation plan, the Warfare Development Agenda. The NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept, or NWCC, is an ambitious “North Star” vision detailing how NATO Allies must develop their militaries to maintain advantage for the next twenty years. As an innovative concept to develop the Allied military instrument of power, the NWCC embodies Allied Command Transformation’s core tasks as NATO’s Warfare Development command.
General Badia joins Allied Command Transformation following a tour as the Director General for Planning at the Federal Ministry of Defence in Bonn and Berlin. His biography is available here.
