The leftist Italian Red Brigades Marxist terrorist group kidnapped General James L. Dozier in December 1981. Italian anti-terrorist forces rescued him after 42 days of captivity. General Dozier was the deputy Chief of Staff at NATO’s Southern European land forces headquarters at Verona, Italy. The Red Brigades, in a statement to the media, said that the reason behind the kidnapping of a U.S. general was that the Italian and U.S. governments had enjoyed excellent diplomatic relations and the fact that Dozier was an American soldier invited to work in Italy justified their abduction. General Dozier is the only American flag officer to have ever been captured by a terrorist group. Four men posing as plumbers kidnapped General Dozier from his apartment in Verona on December 17, 1981. It was later reported that as many as four additional terrorists provided support with multiple vehicles. On January 28, 1982, a special operations unit of the Italian police successfully carried out his rescue from an apartment in Padua without firing a single shot, while capturing the entire terrorist cell. After his return to the U.S. Army in Vicenza, President Ronald Reagan congratulated him via telephone on regaining his freedom. As a result of his kidnapping, all U.S. military personnel are required to study his case for annual anti-terrorism training. General James Dozier participated in the 1982 Achievement Summit in New Orleans, several months after his rescue, and spoke to the student delegates about terrorism in Europe and his kidnapping.