The change in command of the 61st flock, between Colonel Alberto Surace and Colonel Filippo Nannelli, took place this morning at the "Fortunato Cesari" military airport in Galatina (LE). The event, chaired by the air squad general Aurelio Colagrande, commander of the Schools AM / 3a Aerea Region of Bari on which the Salento department depends, took place in strict compliance with the precautionary measures imposed by the health emergency linked to Covid-19.
Colonel Surace, who leaves the post after more than two years of intense work, in his farewell speech, expressed words of sincere gratitude to the men and women of the flock "for the commitment, effort and enthusiasm put into the field every day". After retracing the most significant moments of his mandate, he then underlined how, in recent months, despite the emergency in progress, the flock has managed to keep the pace of work practically unchanged, completing, in the best possible way, all the tasks entrusted by the Armed Force. Finally, he turned to his successor, with whom he had already taken turns driving the "8 °", one of the three Flight Groups of the flock, wishing him a period of command full of satisfaction.
Colonel Filippo Nannelli, the new commander, was born in Rome in 1974. In his introductory greeting, he said he was honored and enthusiastic to have been called to head a department which "thanks to the consolidated experience gained over decades of activity, today represents the 'excellence at all levels in the field of education and training on the fly ", noting how precisely this privileged position represents an incentive" to work intensively to consolidate and possibly improve the ongoing enlargement process of this reality addestrativa and operational ".
General Colagrande first of all thanked Colonel Surace for the quantity and depth of the results achieved. He then wished Colonel Nannelli "good work", confirming his full confidence in the new delicate assignment. "I'm sure - he highlighted - that passion, competence, unconditional dedication to work and above all the example will constitute the fundamental trait of your command action and I am sure that you, staff of the 61st wing, will be able to respond with traditional dedication and professionalism ".
The 61st Wing is a "flight school". In particular, it has the task of providing flight training on jets:
- Phase II - common to all military pilots students, is aimed at identifying the line on which they are deployed according to their attitudes and potential (fighter, remote piloting RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft), conventional aircraft (transport) and helicopters .
- phase III - aimed exclusively at student pilots selected for combat aircraft and for the "RPA" line, ends with the achievement of the Military Pilot's License (BPM).
- phase IV - preparatory to the subsequent use on fighter aircraft, provides new military pilots with the foundations of the operational activity of military pilots to be qualified as Flight Instructors on jets (Pilot Instructor Training - PIT).
The training activity of the 61st wing is addressed to the student pilots of the Italian Air Force, of the other Armed Forces and of the allied / partner countries, in all flight phases according to the requests of each country.
