It is the Galatina air base, home of the 61st flock, to frame the ceremony for the delivery of patents to student pilots in force at the Air Force flight school, which was held on the morning of Thursday 21 October 2021.
Twenty-seven new pilots have completed the long and demanding training course at the 61st wing of Galatina, the 72nd wing of Frosinone and the Crew Training Center MultiCrew of Pratica di Mare: 15 of the Italian Air Force, 3 of the Royal Saudi Air Force, the air force of Saudi Arabia, 5 of the Italian Army, 3 of the State Police and 1 of the Port Authority.
The students trained in Galatina, destined for aircraft fighter, will continue the training of the 61st wing with the T-346; those trained in the 72nd wing will be used on helicopters; pilots licensed by the Crew Training Center MultiCrew they will fly on the aircraft of the support lines multi-crew.
The event, chaired by the air squad general Aurelio Colagrande, commander of the Air Force Schools, on which the three flight departments depend, took place inside the central hangar of the "Fortunato Cesari" airport and saw the participation of the commander of the Command Forces for Mobility and Support, Air Division General Achille Cazzaniga, and some representatives of the Saudi air force.
The numbers testify to the incessant commitment of the Air Force flight schools which in just over forty days deliver 55 new patents: on 10 September, in fact, on the occasion of the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the Galatina school, they were graduated further 28 students including Austrian and Greek soldiers.
The commanders of the three flight schools, immediately after pinning the coveted "eagle" on the jacket of the newly patented, congratulated the young pilots for the prestigious goal achieved.
Colonel Filippo Nannelli, driving the "Sessantunesimo", addressing the new pilots, underlined: "From today you will represent your country in the various internal and international contexts in which you will find yourself operating. Always be proud and proud of the badge that has been pinned on your chest, and which will continue to require study, determination and sacrifice. the memory of the commitment and dedication that the men and women of the Air Force schools have dedicated to your professional and human growth ".
Colonel Marco Boveri, commander of the 72nd wing, commented on the sidelines of the delivery of the patents: "The military pilot and helicopter pilot license represent one of your goals, now begins the phase where you will put into practice what you have learned during the training and training phase. This means having to express professionalism, responsibility, sense of duty, courage and above all altruism in fulfilling one's mission, even the most difficult one. An arduous job but one that has the noblest of purposes: to serve the State and the community, also saving human lives when necessary. I therefore wish you to live fully and with always renewed enthusiasm every future task that will be assigned to you ".
Followed by Colonel Pietro Carlo Zuzzaro, commander of the CAE Multi Crew, he wished all the young drivers "to achieve all the objectives set without ever forgetting to be at the service of the state".
General Achille Cazzaniga, in the course of his speech, addressing the patents, underlined “This eagle will remind you of the reason for your choice, of the commitment you have made to serve what, far beyond each of us, represents a founding element of peace, security and prosperity, essential goods of which you must become jealous guardians and bearers. Wear it with pride, wear it with honor and honesty, recognize yourself in it when you are busy in everyday life and in emergencies ".
During his speech, General Colagrande pointed out that "The presence of foreign personnel and other Armed Forces and Armed Corps of the State testifies to the goodness of our training system, one of the most technological and modern in the world, which today involves three departments of the Air Force, the 61st and the 72 ° Stormo and the Multi Crew Crew Training Center. Three flight schools whose task is to train young flyers to become good pilots and aircraft commanders, professionally prepared to face the missions that their organization will entrust to them in the future. in our institutional tasks; and this is what our men pursue every day with passion and dedication ".
