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On July 2nd, 2015, in the garden of the Officer’s Club in Ugo Mara Barracks, a combined celebration took place to mark Independence Day for the United States of America and National Day for Slovenia. In attendance on behalf of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps Italy (NRDC-ITA) Commander, Lt General Riccardo Marchiò, was the NRDC-ITA Chief of Staff, Major General Maurizio Boni.Ambassador Philip Reeker, from the U.S. Consul General in Milan was the guest of honour at the event, and a large number of personnel and family members form the 10 other NATO nations that contribute to NRDC-ITA were present to celebrate with the Slovenian and US contingents.The ceremony began with the national anthems of Italy, Slovenia and the USA. This was followed by a brief history explanation from Col Brian Foster, the U.S. Senior National Representative, highlighting the significance of the historical events of July 2nd (today) and the July 4th 1776 (The official US Independence Day). Ambassador Reeker paid tribute to the serving members of NRDC-ITA and their families and highlighted the importance of the contribution of all NATO Nations. Major Anton Frumen, the Senior National Representative of Slovenia provided an interesting summary of the history of the origins of Slovenia and also gave an introduction and explanation about the huge variety of cultures in the country. Major General Boni concluded by reiterating the importance of the contribution of all NATO Nations and emphasized the on-going efforts that NRDC-ITA is making to counter security threats that face the Alliance. He highlighted that NRDC-ITA is officially, as of 01 July 2015, standing by to deploy as a Joint Task Force Headquarters if it is called upon to do so during the next year. All those at today’s event enjoyed the camaraderie, reaffirming their community ties and celebrating two important national occasions.