Colonel Luca Piperni approaches his parigrade Giuliano Innecco at the helm of the Task Force on a mission to Lebanon.
Last Tuesday, at the UNIFIL (United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) mission headquarters in Lebanon, Colonel Giuliano Innecco handed over the command of the Task Force to Colonel Luca Piperni Italair and the Italian contingent of Naqoura.The ceremony took place in the presence of General Michael Beary, Head of Mission e Force Commander of UNIFIL, of Dr. Simona De Martino, first counselor of the Italian embassy in Lebanon, and of numerous civil and military authorities.
Thanks to the UNIFIL commander
"Thank you for your excellent work"With these words, in Italian, General Beary praised the staff of the Task Force Italair for the valuable and significant contribution provided by the Italian flight arrangements in the context of the UN Security Council's 1701 Resolution.
Thanksgiving by the Colonel Innecco
Colonel Innecco, after addressing a greeting address to the authorities present, recalled all the blue helmets who fell in the fulfillment of their duty in Lebanon and expressed words of deep gratitude to the employees, thanking them for the professionalism shown and for the high standards of efficiency, flexibility and safety guaranteed in every operational situation.
900 flight hours in a year
During his 12 months of command, three different ones took turns Task Group who guaranteed helicopter support to UNIFIL, carrying out over 900 flight hours, mainly intended for emergency medical evacuation missions, transport and reconnaissance of the Operation Area and Blue Line (demarcation line between Lebanon and Israel).
Italian crews and helicopters operate non-stop in Lebanon since July 1979, making Italair the longest-running unit within the UNIFIL mission. Currently, the Task Force, based on the 2nd "Sirio" Army Aviation Regiment, stationed in Lamezia Terme, employs six AB-212 helicopters and personnel from the Army, the Navy and the Air Force, constituting the only interforce flight department deployed by Italy on an international mission.
Reporting directly to the commander of the Task Force e italian national contingent commander of Naqoura, in addition to Task Group and to the staff of Italair, there are the National Support Elements (NSE), la Flight Information Unit (FIU), la Joint Multimodal Operations Unit (JMOU) and the Italian soldiers of the Military Community Outreach Unit (MCOU) and the CIMIC Unit.
