The greeting that Pope Francis gave to the delegation of the Navy was welcomed by the military there with a warm, heartfelt and heartfelt applause, followed by a riot of waving berets, a special thought was also reserved "to the families of the military engaged in missions abroad ".
On the occasion of a brief but intense handshake between the holy father and the commander of the 30 Naval Group, divisional admiral Paolo Treu, who bore the greetings of all his men and women, the pontiff wished to express his appreciation for the work of the Navy soldiers.
"I never imagined living this great emotion in such a unique setting" - the testimony of a young sailor - "My personal realization as a person and as a woman is represented by the uniform I wear, it is the emblem of my work, of my future and my family stability. Wearing it in the presence of the holy father in representation, not only of the 30 ° Naval Group but of all the armed force, makes me proud of the choice of life that I made, of the sacrifices I had to face and the goals I managed to achieve. I hope, tomorrow, that my children can be proud and proud of their mother ”.
Between the 10 and the April 11 the Units of the 30 Naval Group, Cavour aircraft carrier, Etna team supply company and Bergamini frigate, after about 5 months from the 13 November 2013 departure date, have returned to their respective headquarters of Taranto and La Spezia.
Over the 147 days of navigation, more than 21 thousand miles were traveled and 21 made stops in 20 different countries of the Middle East and the African continent. The three Units have carried out humanitarian assistance activities, in collaboration with the Onlus Operation Smile and the Francesca Rava NPH Foundation and the support of the Military Corps and Voluntary Nurses of the Italian Red Cross, completing altogether: 114 maxillofacial interventions, 47 treatments orthodontics and 2513 eye exams with the donation of 605 graded glasses. During the African stops, the military organized in work teams carried out maintenance, restoration and restructuring works, in favor of 19 childcare sites, while, at the same time, a health team carried out, in total, 480 mainly pediatric medical visits, but also veterinary and disinfestation operations.
"We are not what we hold egoistically for ourselves, but we are what we leave to others, with our acting, with the warmth of our heart, the ingenuity of our mind and the strength of our arms" was the greeting that Admiral Treu, in a long and passionate speech, addressed the crews of the 30 Naval Group which made the success of the campaign "the country system in motion" possible.
Source: Military Navy
