"The greatness of a leadership is based on something very primitive: the ability to leverage emotions" (Daniel Goleman). In fact, so great is the emotion that invests each of the 13 vessel officers who have just concluded the prestigious training process of the Naval Command School, now in its 297th session.
Proud of the goal achieved, the young officers from different professional backgrounds and specializations are preparing to be awarded the prestigious position of commander on naval units of the Navy where, in a few months, they will be called to exercise "the art of command" combined with the seafaring ability of a sea professional.
This is precisely the purpose of the Naval Command School, an institution that has qualified future commanders since 1926 and which constitutes a unique training moment, as well as a unique institution of its kind, present only in the Italian Navy.
The session, which began last January 17, saw the young visitors engaged in the execution of mooring, unmooring and anchoring maneuvers in the waters of the Augusta roadstead, who put their individual seamanship skills to the test on the different classes of ships even in not always favorable weather conditions, typical of the winter climate.
During this first stage, the School Command received a visit from the commander in chief of the naval squadron (CINCNAV), Admiral Aurelio De Carolis, who expressed his appreciation for the activity carried out and congratulated the new commanders for the ability shown in carrying out the maneuvers aboard ship Salina of the Ship Favignana.
The second phase took place in the following two weeks, during which the visitors took to the sea along the Sicilian coasts, on board the patrol vessels Sirio e Orione, to sharpen one's sensitivity and acquire mastery of the medium through close kinematic maneuvers. The circumnavigation of Sicily offered the School Command the opportunity to make a stop in the city of Trapani, where visitors were welcomed by the mayor and the two patrol vessels were visited on board by the population.
The graduation ceremony, presided over by the commander of the fourth naval division - patrol forces command (COMDINAV4 - COMFORPAT), Rear Admiral Luca Pasquale Esposito, took place on board Sirio in the presence of the evaluating officers and the family members of the visitors, who were also excited about the goal achieved by the new commanders.