The Joint Operations Headquarters (Italian: Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze, COVI) is the Italian joint operational command directly reporting to the Chief of the Defence Staff. This command exercises the planning, coordination and direction of the military operations of the Italian armed forces, and on joint and multinational exercises and all activities connected to them. Through the COVI, the Chief of the Defence Staff is able to exercise his functions as Operational Commander of the Armed Forces.[1]
. . . Joint Operations Command (Italy) . . .
The Joint Operations Headquarters was established in 1998 in order to provide the Chief of the Defence Staff of the means to direct the whole operational activity of the Italian Armed Forces.[2]
On 13 August 1997 the Activation Cell of the Command was established; on 18 March 1998 the Cell was upgraded to Initial Formation Team of the Joint Operations Command, and on 10 December 1998 the Command assumed operational duties. Eventually, on 1 November 1999 the Command reached the full operating capability. At first, headquarters were placed in the military citadel of the Cecchignola”. In 1998 the seat was moved to Centocelle Airport.[3]
The Joint Operations Headquarters (COI) has been the body employed by the Chief of the Defence Staff in charge of planning, coordinating and directing the military operations of the Italian Armed Forces and multinational exercises. The Command was also in charge of managing the requests and execution of the competition activities of the Italian Armed Forces on the occasion of natural disasters or extraordinary events.[4]
Over the years, a number of joint commands were set up that remained excluded from the jurisdiction of the COI. These commands direct the special forces, the cyber component and the space component.[4]
On 26 July 2021 the Command was upgraded and renamed from Joint Operations Command (Comando Operativo Interforze, COI) to Joint Summit Operations Command (Comando Operativo di Vertice Interforze, COVI) with its Commander being promoted from a “plain” Lieutenant General to a Lieutenant General of rank equal to Service Chiefs.[5]
The new version of the Command was introduced in order to facilitate the coordination of the joint operational components, which continue to remain directly under the Chief of the Defence Staff, in the five domains (land, sea, sky, space and cyber) maintaining the principle of uniqueness of command.[6]
The restructured Command also includes subordinate commands COFS, COR and COS in order to unify the command in the five domains and in such a way as to become the focal point of the operational components.[4]
. . . Joint Operations Command (Italy) . . .