Commander Stefano OLIVA was born in Taranto on 13th October 1982.

After completing his secondary education at the Military Naval School “Francesco Morosini” in Venice, obtaining a scientific diploma, he attended the Naval Academy from 2002 to 2007 achieving a University degree in “Maritime and Naval Science”.

His academic curriculum includes courses at the Maritime and Military Studies Institute in Venice (2018) and at the Joint Services Staff College in Rome (2021-2022), achieving a post-graduate Master in “International Strategic and Military Studies”.

After attending the Naval Academy, he qualified as submariner and then held various positions on board, progressively up to Commanding Officer firstly, of the Sauro III-class submarine “Giuliano PRINI” (2018-2019) in the rank of Lieutenant, overseeing the final phase of the scheduled maintenance period and conducting sea trial activities. Then, in the rank of Lieutenant Commander, he commanded the U212A 2nd batch-class submarine “Pietro VENUTI” (2019-2021) collecting almost 8000 hours in submerged operations.

From 2015 to 2016, he commanded the Minesweeper “GAETA”, a mine countermeasure Unit upgraded with new sonar and hyperbaric systems. The Unit, integrated into the NATO SNMCMG2 (Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group 2), participated in multinational exercises in Italy, France, and Turkey.

After his duty on board, since 2022 he has been assigned to the Italian Navy General Staff as Head of Combat System Section at the R&D Office of the Submarine Division.

He is cohabitant and has one son.