The General Preziosa addressing directly to the personnel deployed underlined: "you have exported knowledge and applied in the field the concept of the Comprehensive Approach. [...] You have taught us that a course is not enough to transfer knowledge to a foreign country but it is necessary to live and share values with those citizens, those soldiers, starting from respect for others ". Finally, the head of SMA highlighted the great success of the Italian mission recognized by the United States.
The military aeronautics training mission, officially concluded on October 3 2014, lasted four years and represented the only Italian training initiative in favor of the Afghan air forces in the west of the country.
Started in November 2010, the mission of the Italian advisors allowed to train the staff of the newly formed Afghan air force to support the establishment of a professional armed force, autonomous and sustainable over time.
The military aeronautical advisors, in particular, together with the American and Hungarian partners present at Shindand, had the task of developing and consolidating the local Afghan leadership to manage the Shindand Air Wing autonomously, or rather the unit of the Afghan air force designated as a leading training center for the entire Afghan Air Force.
The Italian personnel, coming from different departments of the military aviation, carried out advising activities aimed at developing autonomous management skills and technical-professional skills in all the typical sectors of a flight flock or training unit: air operations, logistics, administrative and financial management, infrastructure management, telecommunications and IT, weather forecasting, firefighting, force protection, maintenance, food service, billeting, medical clinic.
The most significant numbers relating to the mission: eight different teams of instructors, each consisting of about thirty between officers, non-commissioned officers and graduates, 68 pilots and instructors trained on the helicopter MI 17, 59 crewchief and 38 qualified flight engineers, 37 indoctrinated personnel management, 150 soldiers enabled to military driving license, about 1000 computerized people, military 50 enabled for rescue and transportation of injured personnel, about 200 soldiers trained in protection and management of airport security.
On the sidelines of the ceremony, General Preziosa gave the team chief Maurizio Lodovisi, commander of the air team, a solemn praise for the wise and careful management of all the phases that followed the tragic accident that occurred on August 19 with two Tornados in training mission took the life of four young colleagues.
Source: AM Public Information Office - chap. Marco Bevilacqua
