To achieve the coveted milestone the FARP/ALARP and CALMA operator staff The ceremony for the award of military parachutist wings took place on Thursday, 4th July, at the 3rd Wing in Villafranca (VR), with Colonel Francesco De Simone, Wing Commander, pinning the symbolic wings onto the chests of the newly qualified paratroopers. Two officers, three marshals, three sergeants, and three soldiers have reached the important milestone at the Parachuting Training Centre in Pisa, a department of the Italian Army that awards the military parachutist qualification to all Armed Forces at the end of the “Fune di Vincolo” (tethering rope) Course, which is the qualification for jumping with the parachute automatically opening, tethered to the aircraft. Lasting three weeks, under the expert guidance of lecturers and instructors from the Folgore Parachutist Brigade, the tough and selective journey tested not only the physical strength and endurance but also the tenacity and courage of each of them through multiple trials, including jumps from the practice tower and those from a height of five metres onto a mattress. The final stage concluded with five jumps from the aircraft which marked the attainment of the coveted milestone.
The personnel who achieved this result operate within the FARP/ALARP (Forward Arming Refuelling Point / Air Landed Aircraft Refuelling Point) capability, which enables hot refuelling operations, meaning the refuelling of helicopters with the engine running and rotor “engaged”, even in hostile territory.
The ability to air-drop, in addition to assets, their operators as well, combined with the recent CALMA (Capability of Aeronautical Material Logistic Air Supply), meaning the dropping of material directly from an aircraft for ground troops, allows the Armed Force to express aerospace power more effectively and with a further increase in its range of penetration into difficult territories.
The 3rd Wing, under the Logistics Command's Air Force Support Service, ensures the projection of airport, autonomous, integrated, and scalable logistical capabilities, both within national territory and abroad, for military operations and exercises, within the framework of the Armed Force, in joint and inter-agency contexts.
