The meeting was born from the desire of SACEUR to express its act of merit addressed to all Italian personnel who, employed since 1 January 2015 in the Task Force Air (TFA), are distinguished by the constant commitment to surveillance of the Baltic airspace and for the exceptional results achieved by the Italian TFA in guaranteeing the safety of the skies of the three Baltic republics.
"The Air Task Force has 35 Alpha Scramble assets under its belt as well as guaranteeing constant aerial patrolling of the relevant areas. This service is carried out thanks to the marked professionalism of all the soldiers employed in the operation who, without interruption, operate guaranteeing exceptional results "said Colonel Vito Cracas, commander of the TFA who subsequently concludes:" The perfect synergy with the Lithuanian Air Force Command and the effective coordination with the Norwegian component guarantee a joint and international result that represents the best expression of capability NATO to operate in every context ".
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General Philip M. Breedlove, after wearing the TFA patch, reviewed the personnel deployed personally thanking the men and women in blue. During his speech, in addressing the Italian military, he congratulated Colonel Cracas to whom he expressed his deep appreciation for the commitment and high professionalism that all the staff of the TFA demonstrates daily, for the conduct of the operations of Air Policing: "Thank you very much". At the end of the visit Colonel Cracas illustrated to General Breedlove the cockpit of the Eurofighter Typhoon, who exclaimed "now my heart is beating faster".
To date, Italy is the only NATO nation that has ensured Interim Air Policing activities in all 4 areas of the Alliance that have requested it (Slovenia, Albania, Iceland and the Baltic Republics). The pilots of the Italian Typhoons located at the Šiauliai base were the first and for now the only ones to obtain the maximum efficiency result (so-called "excellent") at the end of an inspection visit aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the forces deployed in the scope of the Baltic Air Policing mission. This is the first time since the mission carried out in the area of responsibility of the NATO Allied Operational Command in Brussels was established (Allied Command Operation, that is the NATO Command to which the Military Committee, the highest organism NATO military, assigns the task of directing and conducting all military operations).
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Source: Šiauliai TFA, Lithuania - chap. Andrea Lanzilli
