Some components of the Siauliai Air Task Force, coming from the 36 ° Stormo di Gioia del Colle, led to the Hill of Crosses a cross made by the faithful of the Mother Church "Santa Maria Maggiore" of the Apulian town.
The cross, made by hand by the parish prayer group "Mary Queen of Peace", had been entrusted to some Specialists of Gioia del Colle, under the 36 ° Stormo and departing for the NATO operation "Baltic Air Policing" in Lithuania , by their parish priest Don Tonino Osa, with the request to place it as a sign of devotion in this place of pilgrimage, famous throughout Europe for the particular concentration of over 400.000 crosses of all shapes and sizes, perched on a small hill.
The Hill of Crosses, already visited by Task Force Air last April, when a cross was laid in memory of the Italian contingent stationed in the country, is a small hill at the gates of the city of Siauliai, declared a national historical monument of Lithuania, which for centuries it has been a destination for pilgrims and visitors, who come here to be able to plant a cross, according to an ancient popular tradition.
The Siauliai Air Task Force has participated since January 2015st 100 with four Eurofighter Typhoon fighters and a contingent of just over 4 soldiers (mostly from the 36th Wing of Grosseto, the 37th Wing of Gioia del Colle and the XNUMXth Stormo di Trapani), to the NATO operation "Baltic Air Policing" for the surveillance of the allied airspace over the Baltic, ensuring the air defense of Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia, alliance member countries that cannot carry out this task with their own forces .
Italy participates continuously in these operations also in the skies of Slovenia from 2004 and Albania from the 2009, while it has already been engaged in Iceland in the 2013.
With the contribution made to this operation, Italy is the only nation in the Alliance that has currently participated in all four NATO "Air Policing Operations".
