Two Italian Air Force crews qualified as Mission Commanders On Friday 1st March, at the Tactical Leadership Programme (TLP) in Albacete (Spain), Flying Course 19-01 came to an end, with the participation of personnel and assets from seven different nations – Italy, Spain, Belgium, Greece, France, the United States and Germany – for a total of 42 aircraft. During the three weeks of the course, air and support crews were engaged in the planning, conduct and execution of “Composite Air Operations” (COMAO) missions, based on scenarios specially designed by the TLP staff in order to train participants in the best use of their tactics.
For the Italian Air Force, two Eurofighters from the 36th Wing based in Gioia del Colle took part in the flight course, primarily deployed in the OCA (Offensive Counter Air) and DCA (Defensive Counter Air) roles, alongside support assets such as a CAEW (Conformal Airborne Early Warning) aircraft from the 14th Wing based in Pratica di Mare, a C27J from the 46th Air Brigade based in Pisa and a Joint Terminal Attack Controller (JTAC) from the 16th Wing based in Martina Franca.
Flying Course 19-01, known as 2.0, introduced a new flight course syllabus this year: with an expected duration of three weeks in fact, it has gone from the previous 15 missions to the current 12, 3 of which are carried out using flight simulators. This new structuring of the course has allowed the TLP staff to propose advanced and highly complex scenarios right from the very first flying missions.
Furthermore, at the end of the course, an Italian participant was awarded the title of Course Warrior, a special recognition given by the attendees themselves to those who particularly stood out for their professional and personal skills.
The TLP, which has been based at the Albacete air base since July 2009, is an organisation created on the basis of a Memorandum of Understanding (M.O.U.) signed by 10 signatory nations: Italy, Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Germany and Denmark. Its mission is to improve the effectiveness of air operations conducted by Allied Forces, by promoting the development of both assertive leadership skills and the analysis, planning and execution capabilities specific to a Mission Commander. Furthermore, the TLP actively collaborates with NATO on the basis of a Letter of Agreement signed by the two organisations. Italy, which joined the programme as a signatory nation in January 1996, currently represents the leading nation in terms of economic investment and holds the position of Head of the Flying Branch with one of its own officers.
