This morning in Taranto, 35 students of the 19th normal course marshals and 483 volunteers on a fixed annual basis - VFP 1 - belonging to the 2nd incorporation 2017, they swore allegiance to the Italian Republic in the Piazza d'Armi of the NCO School, in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Navy, team admiral Valter Girardelli, and of the civil, military and religious authorities .
The family members of the pupil marshals and volunteers, who arrived in large numbers from all over Italy, followed the ceremony with emotion, which culminated in the "I swear" ritual to seal the official entry of these young people. in the great seafaring family. From today, they too will share in an indelible experience and precious custodians of those values and ideals that have always been common to all the personnel of the Navy.
"Students, at the end of your training courses, demanding tasks await you. Today the defense of the country and the security of its citizens takes on a much broader meaning than in the past, affecting politics, diplomacy, law, education, economy, trade, humanitarian and health assistance and the 'information."
"To be part of the divisions of the Navy and the Port Authority - Coast Guard, which carry out these missions and tasks - Admiral Girardelli continued - it takes the necessary preparation; it is up to you to acquire this preparation; it is up to us to pass on to you the experience and values that have always characterized the personnel of the Navy and that have contributed to writing memorable pages of our history."These are the words that the Chief of Staff of the Navy spoke, during his speech, addressing the students.
The commander of the Institute, division admiral Salvatore Coppola, therefore wanted to highlight how waiting for the students, at the end of their training courses, there will be "challenging tasks to perform. It is therefore essential that in this period, in addition to acquiring the necessary professional skills, you equip yourself with a solid character structure, which allows you to always operate with a great sense of responsibility, an open mind and a generous heart, oriented towards the new and devoted to personal sacrifice. for the good of the community. The journey you have undertaken will be very demanding but not impossible to face, because for you too, as happened for every sailor, the sea will be your gym, a formidable gym of life."
The 19 ° normal course marshals is made up of 35 students: nurses, electronic and computer technicians, radar operators and ship pilots, whose training course, which began last year, will end in 2019 with the attainment of degrees in "Sciences and management of maritime activities", "Sciences nursing "and" Information technology and digital communications techniques ".
The students unanimously chose "Victoria", a Roman mythological figure, as the name of the course. The goddess, depicted as a winged young woman, personifies victory, triumph and honor, and in her the course identifies, making them their own, the values of "strength" and "unity" which they consider the keystone for their future successes.
The chosen motto "dominus terrae, maris arbiter" (who dominates the sea is master of the land) highlights, finally, the indissoluble link of the course with the professional career undertaken.
The 483 volunteers on a fixed-term contract of one year, belonging to the 2nd incorporation 2017 (383 men and 100 women), will instead follow different employment and training paths.
Of the 240 volunteers belonging to the category Nocchieri di Porto, 145 will leave immediately after the oath for the first service destination, while 33 will attend the specialization course in Installation Defense Service and 62 will attend the specialization course in Master of Cuisine and Mensa.
The 243 volunteers belonging to the "Sailors" category will continue to attend the respective course at the Institute.
"Metis" (the practical intelligence of ancient Greece) the name of the course chosen by the volunteers. There Metis of Ulysses, highlighted by Homer in various passages of the Odyssey, outlines the behavior of the latter characterized by multiform ingenuity in dealing with the different situations that arise during his journey. Ulysses imprints his action in the face of unexpected events on a complex of attitudes that combine intuition, cunning, sagacity, ability to get out of the way, vigilant attention. All qualities that VFP1 visitors hope to possess in order to better face the professional challenges that this new career path will present them.
The chosen motto "fortis fall, cede not potest" (the strong can fall, but cannot yield), has instead the purpose of attesting to the determination to progress on the path undertaken, without yielding in the face of adversity and obstacles that may meet during their professional life.
