The common denominator in all the military operations of the last ten years has been the multinational character of the Command and Units. The fragmented situation of the new millennium would make it impossible the solitary action of any Nation. The NATO Rapid Deployable Corps – Italy (NRDC-ITA) is a NATO Command at the dependencies of the High Command of Allied Forces in Europe (SACEUR), at SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers in Europe) in Belgium. It has been formed to face, in case of necessity, the deployment of a multinational force in a crisis area. It has to be ready to carry out defensive, offensive and peacekeeping operations inside and outside the area of responsibility established by the Atlantic Treaty, according to what the NATO Mission Commander has decided.
In peacetime the Command has no assigned permanent forces but it has got "affiliated" units to which the NRDC-ITA Commanders issues directives with reference to the training. That authority is guaranteed by the "Memorandum of Understanding" (MoU) signed by Italy with the other Nations that contribute to the establishment of the Command. At the time the NRDC-ITA Command has got two affiliated Divisions: an Italian Division and a British one.
The key factor of the HQ NRDC-ITA is its multinational character, starting from the use of English as first language in the Command; it represents a capacity of cohesion and collective response by the participating Nations.