On February 18, the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Air Force General Luca Goretti, accompanied by the President of the Chief of Non-Commissioned Officers, Graduates and Soldiers for the AM, 1st Lieutenant Mario Bonaventura, visited the 3rd Wing of Villafranca.
The commander of the 3rd wing, Colonel Francesco Russo, welcomed him and gave a briefing on the main modules of logistics projection in readiness, on the logistics capabilities expressed by the wing in the various international scenarios, on the many training, educational and Air Terminal activities, as well as on the most important strengthening and innovation programs. This presentation was followed by a speech by the commanders of the other logistics entities based in Villafranca (the 1st engineer unit, the 4th technical control laboratory and the telecommunications squadron).
In his speech, General Goretti, starting from the concept of the need for effective planning of logistical and training activities, expressed his praise for the work carried out by the 3rd Wing, in support of the multi-domain operations conducted by the aerospace component, in all operational theaters in which the Air Force is called to operate.
After a visit to some systems and capacitive modules in service with the 3rd Wing and other co-located entities, the Chief of Staff met with the personnel in service in Villafranca, expressing his deep gratitude for the work carried out at national and international level, contributing significantly to making a qualitative leap towards an Air Force 5.0. “This entity contains within itself the component of projection force, the infrastructural component, the chemical control component and the telecommunications component, all essential elements at the basis of the operations of the Air Force” – one of the passages of the speech given by General Goretti, which made all the personnel present at the meeting proud and moved.
At the end of the visit, in the office of the commander of the 3rd wing, there was an emotional meeting between the head of the Air Force and General Basilio Cottone, Chief of Staff of the Air Force from 1983 to 1986.
The program concluded with the signing of the Roll of Honour of the 3rd Wing, to which the Chief of SMA entrusted his personal appreciation: “It is a flagship department of the Armed Forces that has been able, with a spirit of sacrifice, silent generosity and great passion, to elevate the Air Force to a world leader”.
