For the first time, therefore, a woman will lead a battalion of the Alpine troops, and comes from Vittorio Veneto, a symbolic place of the Great War.
He will be responsible for 450 men and women of a historic Regiment of the Alpini, the ninth L’Aquila, the heirs of the black feathers protagonists of the dramatic retreat from Russia. What awaits Army Lieutenant Colonel Monica Segat, 43, is no easy task. Among the women of the Army Monica is not the first and will not be the last: on 21 July Lieutenant Colonel Sara Scala took office at the head of the 232 / th Transmission Regiment of Avellino and last 2 September it was the turn of her colleague Michela De Santis, also a lieutenant colonel, assume command of one of the four tactical groups that make up the ‘Safe Roads’ operation in Rome.
By the end of the year there will be 7 at the helm of a battalion: they are the ones who entered the Academy in Modena in 2000, when for the first time military careers were opened to women. Segat swore allegiance on December 16, 2000 in front of the current head of state Sergio Mattarella, then Minister of Defense. In these 22 years there have been many assignments, 7 months in Afghanistan, the General Staff. And a husband, met at the course, and a son, who is now 10 years old.
«To my men and women – he tells Ansa – I will tell them that they must understand that I will demand the utmost commitment from them. But at the same time they need to know that I will be the first to question themselves. And my door will always be open ». Monica got there to be a soldier for several reasons. Vittorio Veneto certainly has something to do with it, «a land where the presence of the Alpine troops is very much felt». But above all “the curiosity and the desire to find, at the age of 20, something that allows you to expand your expectations and desires”.
It wasn’t easy. «Especially at the beginning, it takes conviction, tenacity and a spirit of sacrifice. It was difficult «. But, she is keen to clarify, not as a woman. «Difficult for everyone, men and women. And I’ve never felt any difference in treatment. ‘ And the fact that there are no differences is a concept she insists on. There are none in the choice, which requires “maximum availability, desire to put oneself at the service of others and a spirit of sacrifice”; and there are no attitudes to take: “it is not a normal job, it takes conviction and passion”. Whether you are a man or whether you are a woman.
Now the responsibility of 450 people awaits him. «A burden – admits Segat – but also a reason for pride. Because I got the greatest satisfactions from whoever I commanded ». And then there is the son, the family. Her husband is also an officer of the Alpini and is about to leave a battalion command. “So far we have always organized ourselves and we will continue to do so. This year I took care of our son, who is a child who adapts easily and knows who mom and dad are. Now it will be my husband’s turn to do what I did. ‘