A few days before the handover ceremony of the command of the Officers' School of the Navy of Taranto, on Thursday 29 September the Institute welcomed the family members of the Volunteers in One Year Fixed (VFP1) at the end of their short, but intense, basic training period. Arriving from all over Italy, they silently and excitedly witnessed the entry of 142 volunteers into the great family of the Navy, culminating in the solemn commitment of loyalty to the Italian Republic shouted in the presence of the Flag of the Institute and of Rear Admiral Francesco Milazzo, commander of Mariscuola Taranto.
Admiral Milazzo, addressing the young jurands, stressed to them how "... undoubtedly, this first period of employment in the field will allow you to really understand if this profession at the service of our country and its citizens can really be part of your future ... a profession certainly hard, which requires passion and sacrifice but which - I am sure - will be able to give you great satisfaction! "
"I am very excited and at the same time proud of the training course completed today ... in Mariscuola I found an environment that allowed me, among other things, to forge important emotional bonds with some classmates, who have become a point of reference for me ..." said, at the end of the ceremony, the municipality of 2ª cl. Gabriele Ruggieri, who added: "The sea is an element that has always been present in my life, both for my Gaeta origins and for the course of study carried out at the Nautical Institute: I hope that this moment today constitutes a starting point for me to continue cultivating my passion for the sea at the service of the country ".
For the VFP1, a phase of specialized training is now opening aimed at the acquisition of specific skills, which will allow them to achieve one of the following qualifications in the coming weeks, "Service Defense Installations", "Master of Kitchen and Canteen", "Signaler", "Electronic Technician", "Fitter", "Nocchiere", "Engine Technician", "Amphibian", "Palombaro" and "Incursore". Subsequently they will be projected into the various sectors of use as specialized sailors, completing the crews of the naval team units and expanding the organic consistency of the specialized components and special forces.
