The two officers on board the aircraft, which took off from Viterbo, were found dead by the rescuers. The deceased soldiers are the General of Division Giangiacomo Calligaris, Commander of the Army Aviation and instructor pilot, and Lieutenant Paolo Lozzi, pilot in training. The relatives of the two officers were informed. Upon hearing of the incident, the Chief of Staff of the Army expressed on behalf of the Army and his personal deep condolences and affectionate closeness to the families of the two officers who disappeared in the fulfillment of duty. Division General Giangiacomo CALLIGARIS, 57, originally from Naples, attended the 156th Course of the Military Academy of Modena in the two-year period 1974-76 and the Application School of Turin, where he was appointed Lieutenant of the Bersaglieri in 1978. After having carried out the period of Platoon and Company Commander at the 2nd Bersaglieri Battalion "Governolo" of Legnano, he attended the 16th Helicopter Pilot Course at the Army Aviation Center in Viterbo. Expert pilot with 2000 flight hours at active, esteemed and appreciated for his value and professional skills, during his career General Calligaris has held numerous command and staff positions in the Armed Forces and in the inter-force field, including the position of Head of the Operations Department at the Command Operative of the Rome Interforze Summit, a staff body that coordinates all operations on the national and foreign territory that employ Italian soldiers. In this capacity he coordinated operations in Afghanistan, Chad and Haiti and the “Odyssey Down” and “Unified Protector” Operations in Libya. He also coordinated for the Armed Forces, the evacuation activities of compatriots from Tunisia, Egypt and Libya during the "Arab Spring" of 2011. From 1 March 2013 he was Commander of the Army Aviation in Viterbo During his career he was decorated with the US honors "The Meritorius Service Medal" and the Russian Federation "Military Cooperation Consolidation Medal". Lieutenant Paolo Lozzi, 26, originally from Montefiascone (VT), attended the 189th course of the 'Military Academy and obtained his license as a military helicopter pilot in July 2013. He was a course attendant at the Army Aviation Training Center since August 2012.
Source: Army Majority Staff
