17/06/2015 - (Šiauliai) Yesterday US Air Force General Philip M. Breedlove, Supreme Allied Commander in Europe he met the Italian soldiers engaged in the NATO Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission in Siauliai (Lithuania), during a visit to the air base.

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 assets Alpha Scramble as well as guaranteeing constant aerial patrol 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 concluded:" The perfect synergy with the Command of the Lithuanian air forces and effective coordination with the Norwegian component guarantee an inter-force and international result that represents the best expression of NATO's ability to operate in any context ".

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 the activities of Interim Air Policing in all 4 areas of the Alliance that have requested it (Slovenia, Albania, Iceland and the Baltic Republics). The Italian Typhoon pilots located at the Šiauliai base were the first and for now the only ones to obtain the maximum efficiency result ("excellent") at the conclusion of an inspection visit aimed at evaluating the efficiency of the forces deployed in the scope of the mission Baltic Air Policing. This is the first time since the mission carried out within the area of ​​responsibility of the NATO Allied Operational Command in Brussels (Allied Command Operation, or the NATO Command to which the Military Commitee, the highest organism NATO military, assigns the task of directing and conducting all military operations).

Source: Šiauliai TFA, Lithuania - cap. Andrea Lanzilli