The reorganization ceremony of the 20st took place on Wednesday 1 January at the military airport of Furbara air brigade special operations (BAOS) which saw its relocation from Cervia to that of Furbara and its hierarchical change, which passed directly under the command of the air team. The alternation ceremony at the top of the 1st BAOS took place between the air division general Achille Cazzaniga and the brigadier general Riccardo Rinaldi.
The event, organized in compliance with the containment measures envisaged for the COVID-19 emergency, was chaired by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, air squad general Alberto Rosso. Also present at the ceremony was the commander of the air squad, gen. knows Gianni Candotti, the commander of joint command for special forces operations (COFS), gen. sa Nicola Lanza de Cristoforis, as well as the civil, military and religious authorities of Cerveteri, Ladispoli and Santa Marinella.
After the arrival at the site of the event of the highest authority and the War Flag of the 1st BAOS, coming from the Cervia base aboard an HH-101A, which was added to the War Flags of the dependent departments, 9th wing and 17th wing, the speeches of the outgoing and incoming commander followed one another, interspersed with the reading of the brigade reorganization act.
"Together with the BAOS staff deployed here, I have been the privileged and jealous guardian of this Flag and of what it represents", General Cazzaniga said. "The pride, determination and passion of the staff, engine of constant growth of the Special Operational capabilities of the Air Force, have allowed us to maintain a very high efficiency even in the recent and more complex occasions, during which our resilience is been put to the test ". The general from Achille Cazzaniga leaves, after just over a year, the command of the 1st BAOS and maintains the command of the command forces for mobility and support (CFMS), established following the reorganization of the command of the special support forces (CFSS ).
General Rinaldi, in thanking the chief of staff for the trust placed, highlighted the willingness to reciprocate, ensuring "unconditional loyalty and proud determination to achieve the assigned objectives, in line with the expectations of the Armed Force and with joint and international standards. - General Rinaldi added - it has always been the prerequisite for the success of an organization and an essential starting point on which to base the activities of the Special Operations sector ".
It was then the turn of the commander of the air team, gen. knows Gianni Candotti, who, in underlining the efforts made by the Armed Force in the complex process of developing capabilities related to the special operations sector, wanted to point out that "In just over ten years we have witnessed constant growth in this operational sector, evidenced by the fact that today, at NATO level, we have a doctrine and a headquarters dedicated to special forces, as well as specific development programs on which it also works Armed Force personnel This is not an easy process - continued Jan. Candotti - and there are many activities still in progress, both in terms of operational growth of the new machines assigned, and in terms of the development of basic and advanced personnel training. The armed forces have equipped themselves to better face the changes that global challenges place before us and we are proceeding, in this area, to achieve in the best way the objectives that have been clearly expressed to put the best technologies at the service of the country and capacity".
"Today is a fundamental step in the process of rationalization and efficiency of the Armed Force structure", declared the chief of staff of the Air Force, gen. knows Alberto Rosso in the speech that actually concluded the ceremony. "The sector of special operations and support to them was one of the sectors in which the innate vocation of the Aeronautics for innovation and organizational change was substantiated in a more significant form, in the continuous search for the most functional order configuration for development of distinctive and peculiar competences within the various domains of engagement, at national level and in operations beyond national borders. This revision aims to further enhance these peculiar abilities, focusing exclusively on special operations the competences of the 1st BAOS , which will thus be able to consolidate its role as a point of reference in the chain of command and control of the sector, as well as the sole and authoritative interlocutor of the Armed Force towards the COFS ".
Finally, addressing the staff of the brigade, General Rosso wanted to underline the fundamental contribution that "With your moral, ethical and professional energies, I am sure you will continue to provide to face the challenges and opportunities that the future holds for us with courage, dedication, humility and spirit of service, in a rapidly changing and complex geopolitical security context. To safeguard the country's people, values, culture and interests: how-when-where it is needed, we are there ".
