Office of the Defense and Defense Cooperation Attaché

The Office of the Defense and Defense Cooperation Attaché has the honour of hosting a formal dinner at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., dedicated to the men and women of the Italian, American and allied Armed Forces who have been wounded in the line of duty.

The evening brings together an Italian delegation — led by senior representatives of the Italian Ministry of Defence and of the Italian Armed Forces — and an American delegation composed of senior officers of the United States Armed Forces, veterans organisations and members of the diplomatic community accredited in Washington.

The dinner is conceived as a shared act of recognition: a simple and sober tribute to service members whose dedication has marked, and continues to mark, decades of close cooperation between Italy and the United States. A formal ceremony with military honours precedes the dinner, followed by addresses by senior Italian and American authorities and a musical tribute by The Greg Small Band Trio.

The event is organised in close coordination with the institutional partners of the Italian Armed Forces, whose support makes the initiative possible.

On the occasion of the National Day of the Italian Armed Forces, the Office of the Defense and Defense Cooperation Attaché organises a formal reception at the Embassy of Italy in Washington, D.C., open to the Italian and American military community and to the diplomatic corps accredited in the capital.

For the 2026 edition, the event features a dedicated exhibition hall arranged within the Embassy premises, in which the industrial partners of the Italian Armed Forces have the opportunity to present equipment, systems and technological capabilities supplied to the Italian Ministry of Defence. The exhibition is intended as an institutional showcase of Italian defence industry, illustrating the materiel in service with the Italian Armed Forces and the broader cooperation between Italy and its allies.

The programme includes a solemn ceremony and a reception in the Embassy gardens. Attendance is by invitation and governed by diplomatic and security protocols.