Volunteer School AM: 331 VFP1 students of the 26th course "Giano II" swear

(To air Force)
21/11/22

Friday November 18 took place, at the Volunteer School of the Taranto Air Force (SVAM), the swearing-in ceremony of the Volunteers in One Year Fixed (VFP1) belonging to the 26th course Janus II (2nd incorporation 2022).

The ceremony which for the SVAM closes the 99th year of the Armed Forces and symbolically the ferry towards the Centenary, was presided over by the deputy commander of the Schools Command of the AM / 3rd air region, Brigadier General Romeo Paternò, in the presence of the institutions military, civil and religious of the territory, of the combatant and weapon associations and of the family members of the 331 students who came from all over Italy to share this important and evocative moment in the life of their boys as young airmen of the Air Force.

The commander of the SVAM, Colonel Claudio Castellano, in his speech wanted to underline the solemnity of the ceremony and, after having addressed a heartfelt thanks to all those present, he declared: "We find ourselves today in one of the original sites that the newly formed Regia Aeronautica inherited from the sister Armed Forces on the day of its constitution back on March 28, 1923 and since then, at the former Taranto seaplane base, heroes, brave aviators and thousands of conscript airmen and volunteers”; then, addressing the jurors, he underlined: "you are the volunteer course that enters the Air Force close to the Centenary of the Armed Forces and bear the name of a particularly significant Latin god", “Janus, god of beginnings, passages and transitions, the one who can glimpse the past and the future, your name and the Centenary we are about to celebrate ideally underline the importance and role of the volunteer staff and of this School for the Air Force".

Once the solemn and ritual formula of the oath was recited, which aroused a strong sense of belonging to the country in those present, General Paternò finally intervened who, after addressing a deferential greeting to the glorious Flag of the Institute, declared: "fidelity, honour, discipline and sacrifice are the words contained in the formula just pronounced, words that do not constitute a simple and empty ritual of the past, but represent in a clear and unequivocal way the values ​​to which each of us must inspire our own being and your daily actions (...) "always be proud of your choice", "the Italian Air Force needs to be able to count on serious, prepared and motivated men and women, we all rely heavily on your enthusiasm and your precious energies".