NAPLES, Italy - The Portuguese Armed Forces honored the commander of the Allied Joint Forces Command Naples, Admiral James G. Foggo III, with a Portuguese military decoration prior to his change of command and retirement, via a virtual presentation ceremony in both Lisbon, Portugal and Naples, Italy on July 15th.
“I am honored and humbled to receive this award,” said Foggo. “I ask that I can share this honor with all of those here in my command who stand in solidarity with your nation.”
The Chief of the Portuguese Armed Forces General Staff, Admiral António Silva Ribeiro, presented Foggo with the Saint George Cross medal.
The Medal of the Cross of São Jorge is a Portuguese military medal, created in 2000, intended to distinguish those men and women that, serving the armed forces as militaries, have shown, throughout their careers “exceptional personal and professional skills, living according to high principles of character, loyalty, selflessness, self-sacrifice, obedience and professional competence.”
The United States Ambassador to Portugal, George E. Glass, led the delegation from the United States, while Ribeiro led the delegation from Portugal.
The event was opened by a master of ceremony receiving authorization to start the occasion, then the citation for the award was read. After the reading, Ribeiro presented the decoration for Foggo to Glass. The Chief of Defence for Portugal concluded the event with brief remarks.
In Foggo’s capacity as JFC Naples Commander, he directs a combined NATO staff responsible for planning, preparing, and conducting military operations throughout the Supreme Allied Commander Europe’s area of responsibility.
The mission of JFC Naples is to prepare for, plan and conduct military operations to preserve the peace, security, and territorial integrity of Alliance member states throughout the Supreme Allied Commander's area of responsibility and beyond.