There are 13 new athletes who swore loyalty to their homeland this afternoon, Thursday 7 September, in the evocative setting of the renovated Historical Museum of the Air Force (MUSAM) in Vigna di Valle.
At the end of an intense week dedicated to incorporation and indoctrination, the young athletes received a "welcome to the great family of the Air Force" by the chief of staff, Air Squadron general Luca Goretti, in a meeting held in the historic rooms of Palazzo Aeronautica in Rome.
In particular, General Goretti, referring to the new athletes, highlighted: “with your results you have shown that you are sporting promises in your disciplines. I am sure that you will continue to bring our country to the top in the most important international competitions. You will do this by proudly carrying the colors of the Armed Forces animated by passion in what you do just as all the Air Force personnel have done for a hundred years". General Goretti finally concluded by saying: “in close synergy with your respective Federations and in accordance with what is promoted by the Ministry of Defense for the valorization of sport, we will give you all the support necessary to allow you to give your best and obtain very important results”.
This afternoon, the young recruits, visibly excited, shouted their "I swear!" in front of their families, their godmother, the 1st airman Valentina Palumbo, gold medal at the last fencing world championships, and the commander of the CSSAM (AM Historiographic and Sports Centre), Colonel Luigi Barbagallo who in his welcome speech required to underline: “[...] it is useless to hide it, from the responsibility that comes from being athletes who proudly wear the national tricolor, from today also that which comes from being military, full representatives of the defense sector of our country and in particular of the Air Force Military. In shouting your 'I swear' today, you too place your daily work, as athletes, at the service of the country and the institution you represent even before your personal objectives. Be proud of it".
The new athletes who will carry the colors of the Italian flag and those of the Air Force are:
av. sc. Giulia Segatori and av. sc.Sofia Maffeis – Rhythmic Gymnastics
av. sc. Giammarco Tuzi – Skeet Shooting;
av. sc. Nicole Arlia – Table Tennis;
av. sc. Andrea Calabro – Horse riding;
av. sc. Sara Del Gratta and av. sc. Riccardo Baldan – Canoe;
av. sc. Aurora Grandis – Fencing;
av. sc. Alice Muraro, av. sc. Stefano Grendene, av. sc. Marta Morara, av. Maria Roberta Gherca and av. Enrico Saccomano – Athletics.
The Air Force Sports Center contributes to the protection of the national sporting heritage through careful research of the best talents of national and international interest. Thanks to a staff of the highest level, it ensures athletes adequate support during all phases of competitive preparation and contributing to their technical development on both a practical and theoretical level.
