The assets of the 4 ° Stormo patrolled the skies of the capital throughout the period of the proclamation ceremony of the two Holy Popes, also using the Boeing KC767A supply tanker of the 14 ° Stormo of Pratica di Mare to increase flight autonomy .
At the same time, other Eurofighter aircraft "in alarm" were ready to take off from the Grosseto base.
Furthermore, from the 25 to the 28 in April the "GB Pastine" airport of Rome, home of the 31 ° Stormo of Ciampino, was affected by an intense traffic of arrivals and departures of foreign delegations arrived in Rome on the occasion of the solemn ceremony.
A total of twenty-seven official delegations - among which eleven saw the presence of as many heads of state - coming from more than fifteen countries were accepted at the Protocol Activity Office of the 31 ° Stormo which, in this circumstance, operated synergistically with the Operations Office of Stormo affected by an unusual volume of air traffic.
All the branches of the 31 ° Stormo - in collaboration with ENAC, Aeroporti di Roma and Police Forces - have actively contributed to support the necessary effort, with the support of the specialized teams of the Air Force (AM) such as the IEDD Team ( Improvised Explosive Device Disposal) of the 16 ° Stormo, of the 17 ° Stormo and of the headquarters of the Rome Air Force Command (COMAER), the K9 Team made up of the team of the AM Dog Center of Grosseto, the CBRN platoon (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) of the 3rd Wing SO of Villafranca, the Elite Shooting Team of the 16th Wing, the qualified personnel "CTA Activities", Counter-terrorism and anti-sabotage and qualified personnel "Public Order" from the Bodies of the Rome area.
All the personnel employed constituted a fundamental part of a mechanism that, with fluidity, allowed a harmonious management of the delegations in arrival / departure who took part in the historic ceremony in complete safety.
Source: Air Squad Command - cap. Debora Corbi - chap. Donatella Caforio - first m.llo Eduardo De Rosa
