The battle staff training of Virtual Flag 2023 (VF BST23), the training activity aimed at acquiring the skills necessary to populate the crisis establishment of the ITA JFAC HQ (Italian Joint Force Air Component Headquarters), in anticipation of the next national and NATO certifications.
The exercise is part of a series of events that will allow COA personnel to be trained to fill key positions within the JFAC HQ, the staff body that ensures the necessary processes to support the decisions, tasks and responsibilities of the commander (COM JFAC). At the same time, the processes and products necessary to exercise the are also consolidated and updated command and control of the air component (AIR C2) in case of crisis.
The activity just concluded took place in two phases. In the first phase (Strategy Division), the strategic processes for conducting the operations were developed; the second phase was dedicated to the processes relating to the planning and execution of an air campaign in a joint context (Multi Service).
The JFAC is the air component command of the national, Alliance or coalition joint task force, called upon if necessary to manage a crisis with the use of military instruments.
In peacetime, the permanent structure is called the "JFAC core directorate" and operates as a JFAC staff nucleus for carrying out exercises and conducting national and/or multinational operations, in compliance with the readiness required by the Higher Authorities and NATO .
The JFAC core direction is part of the operations department (RO), a division which, as the operational staff of the COA commander in his function as commander of the air component (Air Component Commander), ensures the effective use of aerospace power, integrating into the planning operational logistics, financial and telecommunications skills, including cyber ones.
