The ceremony for the awarding of the "Military Flight Instructor" and "Onboard Technician" licenses to Austrian military personnel on the new UH helicopter took place today at the headquarters of the Army Aviation Flight School (AVES). -169 produced by the Leonardo Spa company
The activity of Advance Training carried out by the Armed Forces is part of the cooperation program that the Italian Army has with the main partner countries and allies. The course in favor of Austria began last April and developed in two phases: the first theoretical one lasting seven weeks and the second practical one lasting six weeks. The license was obtained by 10 Austrian pilots and 8 on-board technicians completing 560 hours of flight, of which 100 in the simulator Full Flight Simulator (FFS) and 460 on UH-169 aircraft.
Attending the ceremony were the Chief of Staff of the Army, Army Corps General Pietro Serino, the Chief of Staff of the Austrian Air Force, Brigadier General Gerfried Promberger, the Commander of the Land Operational Forces, Corps General of the Salvatore Camporeale army.
The Army Chief of Staff, in his greeting address to the personnel present, wanted to highlight that “This is an important moment and I am happy to be here to underline how much the 'starred' personnel have believed in European integration for a long time and will continue to pursue it”.
Subsequently, General Serino went to the Army Non-Commissioned Officers School, where, welcomed by the commander of the training, specialization and doctrine of the Army, General of the Army Carlo Lamanna and by the commander of the Training Institute, General of brigade Roberto Vergori, participated in the presentation of a briefing on the ongoing activities and plans for the adaptation and development of the Training Centre, visiting the main teaching and accommodation facilities of the “Soccorso Saloni” barracks.
At the end, General Serino met with the course attendees and the staff of the permanent cadre of the training institute, underlining that “Non-commissioned officers, in a professional Army, represent an important element because they guarantee competence and continuity. They have always done it and it will be like this in the future too. The Army Non-Commissioned Officers School, therefore, is one of the training institutes where the backbone of the Armed Force is built".
