The ceremony of the last ammaina flag of Nave took place at sunset, as tradition dictates, at the Scali / Molo Balilla dock inside the naval base of La Spezia Sirocco. The anti-submarine frigate, fourth unit of the class Mistral, or "twenty", has completed its operational life, demonstrating in its approximately 37 years of activity its great flexibility: from NATO missions in the Mediterranean Sea, to operations in defense of freedom of navigation in the Persian Gulf, crossing the Indian Ocean and the Horn of Africa for activities to combat piracy, Somali waters for peace support missions and the Adriatic Sea for surveillance and counteracting illegal immigration activities. With a total of 737.898 nautical miles traveled and approximately 70 hours of navigation, in recent years Ship Sirocco it was one of the main units heavily involved in rescuing migrants from the North African coasts, within the better known “Mare Nostrum” device, rescuing thousands of castaways from certain death.
To ferry ship Sirocco towards his final goal, thus entrusting the combat flag in the hands of the chief of staff, was the frigate captain Gianluigi Baroncelli. "When it was launched back in 1982 - said the commander Baroncelli during the ceremony - Nave Scirocco represented the pride of the Italian military shipbuilding industry. This made it possible to have a ship perfectly equipped to operate in any context, constituting the forerunner of the modern frigates the Navy has equipped itself, in a symbolic handover between several generations ". And it is precisely by addressing the officers and sailors who have taken turns on board over the years, that the last commander of Nave Sirocco concluded his speech by pointing out how this moment "It must not be lived with sadness or melancholy, but with immense pride for what the Scirocco ship has represented and for what has been done by its crews, for the Navy and for our nation".
To preside over the exciting ceremony was the chief of staff, team admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, who during his speech said: “The flag drop ceremony represents a special moment for us sailors, especially when we go to sea, as we renew the oath taken every day. Nave Scirocco represented the backbone of the Navy thanks to the many missions carried out, becoming an ambassador in the world of Italian technological excellence and playing a fundamental role in naval diplomacy. A special thought goes to my classmate, Commander Pino Porcelli, who passed away during his period of command on the Scirocco ship while together with the crew he was carrying out a NATO exercise east of Gibraltar ".
With the cancellation from the role of ship Sirocco, therefore, the process of downsizing the Navy fleet continues.
With the delivery to the chief of staff of the Navy, the combat flag of Nave Sirocco it will now be moved to Rome to be kept in the Shrine of the flags of the Armed Forces, inside the Altare della Patria.
