Brig. Gen. David S. Elmo will become deputy commander of the Southern European Task Force/U.S. Army Africa, in Vicenza, Italy. (Photo Courtesy of U.S. Army)

Soldiers at Caserma Ederle will soon have a second general officer serving alongside them.

Brig. Gen. David S. Elmo, currently serving in the U.S. Army Reserve with the 1st Army Support Command in Fort Buchanan, Puerto Rico, will become deputy commander of the Southern European Task Force/U.S. Army Africa, according to a Department of Defense news release.

Elmo is also slated to serve as Army Reserve component integration adviser.

He’ll join Maj. Gen. William Garrett III, the SETAF commander, as the only general officers assigned to Vicenza. A second general officer assigned to Caserma Ederle is a rarity, although Brig. Gens. James Champion and John Sterling were assigned to SETAF in 2004 as it prepared to head operations in Afghanistan in 2005-06.

“As U.S. Army Africa grows to support new missions on the African continent, our headquarters must adapt,” Garrett said in a news release issued by the command. “Brig. Gen. Elmo brings a tremendous amount of leadership experience that will help the command move forward.”

Elmo has served in Vicenza in the past.

In April 2001, he took command of the SETAF Augmentation Unit, a U.S. Army Reserve unit based at Longare, near Vicenza. He also served as SETAF’s deputy chief of staff. In his civilian capacity, Elmo is a U.S. State Department foreign service officer and speaks Italian, German and Spanish, according to the release.