On Tuesday, 12 July, at the Sala della Madonna di Loreto in Palazzo Aeronautica, in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Enzo Vecciarelli, the team general, the handover ceremony was held between the aerial team general Ferdinando Giancotti , deputy chief of staff of the outgoing Air Force, and the aerial team general Settimo Caputo, successor.
Numerous authorities, guests and family members participated, as well as a large representation of the Air Force Staff.
In the farewell greeting, General Giancotti recalled how intense were the few months that saw him as a sub-chief of the Air Force staff and how productive this period was: "Well I learned that this staff is able to produce high quality results in a short time, despite the hundreds of problems it faces every day. In these months, far-sighted initiatives have been developed, which place us at the forefront among the air forces, approved and promoted by the Chief of Staff and declared in his recent hearing in Parliament as guidelines for his mandate ”. At the end of his speech, General Giancotti thanked General Vecciarelli for the prestigious position of commander of the Air Force / 3 schools in the air region which he will soon assume.
"I will work with great determination to promote the most important investment, the one on the future, building on existing excellence to develop further excellences" said General Giancotti. “The Royal Air Force, the one that produces our skills every day, made up of many excellences and of great motivation and professionalism, deserves a great team work of its management. A special wish goes to my successor, to whom I will not lack my support ”.
Taking the floor, General Caputo recalled that “today the horizon on which the Air Force operates is extremely vast. We must look farther, beyond tomorrow, be faster and ready for challenges ". "It is here, in the greatest state that passion becomes thought! It is here that the idea is transformed into projects and programs to then become that action on the ground that even in these hours our men and women lead everywhere, in the name of democratic freedoms ", added General Caputo, remembering the commitment of the Air Force in expressing an aerospace power that for its own purposes evolves in a joint context, and therefore the need to continue integration with the other armed forces. “I will devote my energies to enhancing the commitment of the staff with humility and determination, in achieving the objectives within the established times. I will do it through listening by paying great attention to internal communication, the starting point for sharing values, ideas and actions ", concluded General Caputo, placing a final emphasis on the need to safeguard serenity in the workplace, which is indispensable. to face the period of intense work on the horizon.
Speaking at the end of the ceremony, General Vecciarelli thanked General Giancotti for the work done with intellectual energy and unique analytical skills, underlining how these qualities, together with his humanity and the great ability to relate to the staff, will be fundamental in the future. command action. Addressing General Caputo, with whom he shared many years of operational life, the Chief of Staff highlighted how his previous experience will be fundamental for the armed force and for the support he will offer him in this new role.
"This ceremony underlines an important leadership transition, which joins other recent or upcoming changes at the top of the FA," said General Vecciarelli. “This new leadership structure will play an important role in driving the transformation process initiated by the Air Force. The goal is to have an Air Force increasingly integrated with the other armed forces, with the other institutions, with all those who work in the service of the country. An Air Force that, in the face of a threat very different from that of the past, wants to be increasingly ready to react to modern challenges. An armed force, therefore, more and more agile, more capable, more effective and efficient, more financially sustainable, but above all animated by personnel increasingly motivated, involved and determined in carrying out their task ".
