The ceremony was attended by the main civil, military and religious authorities of Viterbo, the army chief of staff, general Claudio Graziano, and the army corps general Roberto Bernardini, commander of the terrestrial operational forces.
During the ceremony, some honors were granted to personnel who particularly distinguished themselves in the operation. In particular, it was granted, the gold cross of merit of the army to Sergeant Sergio Agostinelli for the Isaf operation in Afghanistan of the 2009, the silver cross of merit of the army to Brigadier General Luigi Francavilla, as commander of the national contingent in Lebanon from November 2009 to May 2010, the silver cross of merit of the army to the major corporal chosen Ivan Costantini for the contribution given during the ISAF operation of the 2009 and finally the bronze cross of the army merit at the col. Luigi Adiletta for the operation in Lebanon from November 2009 to May 2010.
General Graziano, during his speech, commemorating the fallen 115 of the Army Aviation from the 1951 to today, recalled General Giangiacomo Calligaris and Captain Paolo Lozzi, who fell in service during a training flight last January. Army Chief of Staff then stressed "the importance of the dual-use function of Army Aviation in support of populations and on the occasion of public calamities".
"Therefore - continued the general - it is essential to always be ready to intervene and maintain these capabilities. A technological evolution is underway which must be accompanied by a process of adaptation of our crews to be increasingly adhering to missions and new international scenarios. The rationalization phase in progress must not compromise the safety and protection of personnel. "
Today's veterans of the "Helitaly" UNTAG mission - carried out in Namibia in the 1989 - also participated.
The Army Aviation, born 10 in May 1951, is the youngest specialty of the armed force and has quickly established itself to become, today, a decisive and irreplaceable component of the army. The blue Basques have always been engaged in all army missions abroad: from Lebanon to Namibia, from Somalia to Mozambique, from the Balkans to Iraq and Afghanistan.
In Afghanistan, Aves is heavily engaged with its helicopters for transport, reconnaissance and armed escort tasks to support troops deployed on the ground. From the 2006, year in which they were deployed in the Asian country, to date, the blue Basques of the army have reached the remarkable milestone of about 20.000 flight hours, 6.765 missions carried out, 4.211 tons of materials moved and about 69.000 people transported in the region west of the country.
Source: Army Majority Staff
