Gianluca CARAI attended the Nunziatella Military School in Naples and the Military Academy in Modena. Assigned to a Parachute Infantry Battalion of the 'Folgore' Airborne Brigade, in Tuscany, He served as Rifle Platoon leader and Company Commander in the 10th and 6th Rifle Company, then Commanding 151st Infantry Battalion in Cagliari, 152nd Infantry Regiment in Sassari and the “Sassari” Infantry Brigade as 43rd Commander, in Sassari.
A graduate of the “Escuela Superior de las Fuerzas Armadas” in Madrid and of the “Centre des Hautes Etudes Militaires” in Paris, he served as Staff Officer, Chief of Section, Chief of Branch, Deputy Division Chief and Division Chief for Capability Development and Finance at the Army General Staff and as Chief of Branch for Capability Development at the Defence General Staff.
He deployed as a unit commander in the United Nations Operation in Somalia I and II, as platoon leader, in Bosnia as operation Officer and again as LNO embedded in a US Division, in Albania as Company commander, in Lebanon as J2 analyst, in Afghanistan, in the District of Farah, as Task Force Commander and again in Afghanistan as TAAC - West Commander in Herat.
From 2022 to 2025 he has been assigned to ARRC (UK) as Deputy Commander.
Since 12 September he is the Nato Rapid Deployable Corps Italy Commander.