The change of command ceremony took place between Colonel Massimo Cicerone, outgoing commander and Colonel Pietro Spagnoli, incoming commander, at the "Generale SA Giuseppe GAETA" airport in Villafranca di Verona on Thursday 15 September.
The event was chaired by the head of the logistic command support department, Achille Fornari division general, in the presence of the Verona prefect Salvatore Mulas, the mayor of Villafranca Mario Faccioli, the mayor of Verona Flavio Tosi and other numerous civil authorities and the military, in addition to the commanders of the other aeronautical bodies belonging to the garrison: the commander of the 1 department, Genio Colonel Pasquale Bizzarro and the commander of the northern area supply group of Sanguinetto Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Gasparini.
To confer greater luster and solemnity to the ceremony, the medal table of the Blue Ribbon and the banners of the combat and weapon associations, the gonfalons of the province of Verona, the city of Villafranca and the municipality of Sommacampagna, as well as the banner of the city of Verona decorated with the gold medal for military valor.
In his speech, Colonel Cicerone recalled the great professionalism confirmed during his mandate by the staff of the 3 ° Stormo: "... You are a pride for the Air Force, you are a pride for the veterans and for those who preceded you because you honor the Flag that is in front of us every day in Italy and abroad ... Mission after mission, you have earned the respect of all, you have done "tomorrow" the logistics of "tomorrow" and if I as a commander could have looked far is because I have been on the shoulders of giants, your".
Colonel Spagnoli, thanking the Air Force for the trust placed in the assignment and spending words of esteem and gratitude for his predecessor for what he did with great skill and priceless dedication, expressed the greatest pride and honor of being in charge of the civil and military personnel of the 3 ° Stormo: "The extraordinary results you have achieved in all these years allow me to place the utmost confidence in you, without any hesitation, and allow me to face the ambitious challenges that await us with great serenity.".
The ceremony ended with the intervention of General Fornari who praised the work of the department and all the staff, highlighting how "the assiduous work of the staff of the 3rd Wing is indispensable. It is used seamlessly in complex and burdensome operations, with the delicate task of expressing and projecting, often very quickly, the airport capabilities in all sectors of "logistical support" in order to ensure the full operation of the flight departments. and command and control systems, also developing cutting-edge capabilities which, as evidenced by the recent rescue operations following the earthquake in central Italy, are available to the entire country".
Colonel Massimo Cicerone, who had assumed command of the 3 ° Stormo on July 15, will cover the position of head of the 2014 office of the 4 ° "Logistics" department of the General Staff of the Air Force.
Colonel Pietro Spagnoli (Logistics Support - Personnel) was born in Latina, the 25 / 09 / 1966; having achieved the scientific maturity, in the 1985 he enlisted accessing the normal courses of the Aeronautical Academy, attended as an official student in the years 1985-1989 with the course "Eolo IV".
He graduated in Aeronautical Sciences at the University of Naples, in International and Diplomatic Sciences at the University of Trieste, he obtained a Master's Degree in Geopolitics, Economic, Globalization and International Institutions "at the University of Teramo and attended the advanced course in Geopolitics at the University of Cassino.
Coming from the Defense General Staff, where he held the position of head of the 1 ° department from 1 October 2013 to 29 August 2016, he took part in the work of the steering committee for the implementation of the New Defense Model descending from the "White Paper for International Security and Defense".
