The 10 June 1918, in the undertaking of Premuda, the Navy irreversibly marked the fate of the war on the sea. Today, like 98 years ago, it continues without ceasing to be engaged in the sea but, as admiral Giuseppe De Giorgi stated, csm MM, "no longer in a war between peoples, but in a war against death and merchants of human beings, managing to save thousands of dispossessed, fleeing persecution, war, hunger and despair". The numbers speak for themselves: 360.619 rescued migrants, 390 boats destroyed and 400 smugglers arrested. "A rewarding activity - continued the admiral - unfortunately too often painful and tiring for vehicles and personnel, made ever more complex by the need to combine the duty of rescuing life at sea with the need to simultaneously ensure the protection of rescuers and the defense of national security".
Cultural, strategic and vision skills have always characterized the Navy, but they are not sufficient if not supported by adequate material and financial resources, as stated by De Giorgi himself "in the last decade, the funds for the operation of the naval component have decreased by 65%. This constant under financing has eroded over time the efficiency and training patrimony on which our readiness and operational capabilities are based. Faced with an exponentially growing commitment from the Navy, the size of the fleet is getting thinner and thinner. In the 2013 we presented an overall plan of 10 billion, to develop in 10 / 15 years a balanced, harmonious fleet, smaller than the current one, but with all the fundamental components. We had 5.4 billion thanks to the financial 2015, but completion is required. For this reason, the inventiveness and determination of the sailors must be joined by the political support of the government and parliament, so that the national maritime capacity flourishes and consolidates".
Results achieved and overcome: the praise of Minister Pinotti
The Minister of Defense, Roberta Pinotti, was also present at the ceremony, expressing her greatest satisfaction to the Armed Forces: "in these years I have had the opportunity to realize, on many occasions, your professionalism, your spirit of solidarity and your dedication to service, demonstrated daily both in training and in operational activities, in Italy and abroad, both in traditional offshore military activities that in new complex delicate operating scenarios. In all circumstances the Navy has done honor to the Italian flag, proving itself capable of integrating effectively in inter-departmental, inter-ministerial and international devices, often also taking the leadership, thanks to tried and tested success factors such as the versatility of naval units, the aerial potential, the capabilities amphibias, the consolidated planning, command and control structures".
The "human factor" and honors
On the Day of the Navy, the two marines, Massimiliano Latorre and Salvatore Girone, both in Italy, of whom the same minister said: "cThey have shown their character, their fortitude, their attachment to the institution, their military style or everything that the Navy has been able to infuse and grow in them. As we well know, beyond all the necessary technological and material innovations, it is precisely the human factor - that capital consisting of professionalism, the spirit of service and solidarity, the maturity and the moral and character qualities of our women and men in uniform - the real guarantee of security, defense and stability for our whole country".
The Navy staff is today, as in the past, the decisive weapon: indomitable, resilient, formed by the sea, tempered by its hardness and inspired by its greatness, as recalled by Admiral De Giorgi, who addressed a thought to all those who, together with sailors, face the sea at the service of the nation every day, including the naval and naval component of the Guardia di Finanza, the Red Cross nurses, the staff of the Ministry of Health, CISOM and Onlus.
At the end of the ceremony, the delivery by the President of the Republic of five silver medals to Valor di Marina and the Gold Medal for Merit of Public Health to the Flag of the Navy and Naval Forces. Among the honors, the one at the head of the 2 class Giuseppe Edoardo Porzi, with the following motivation "Shipwrecked rescue operator was called upon to operate following a distress call from Italian ship Norman Atlantic, involved in a violent fire on board and adrift. Animated by admirable courage, he did not hesitate to be lowered into the water to try to free two passengers trapped inside the ship. With his intervention, he freed one of the two unfortunates and at the end of his strength he facilitated their recovery, before being in turn seized by illness. Hospitalized, but promptly recovered, the next day he was available for further sea operations”(Canale d'Otranto 29 / 12 / 2014).
