The four training events involving all the departments of the 1st Air Brigade Special Operations have been successfully completed. The training event called “Tende Scaglia 2018”, organised by the 1st Air Brigade Special Operations (B.A.O.S.), commanded by Air Division General Gianpaolo Miniscalco, recently concluded at the Furbara Military Airport. The objective of the event was to consolidate the integration capability of the Air Force's Special Operations assets, belonging to the 1st B.A.O.S., together with the training in “Combat Service Support” (operational projection logistics) of personnel from the 3rd Wing of Villafranca, in order to implement the armed forces“ intervention potential, both nationally and within OFCN operations. Broken down into four events, the SOF (Special Operations Forces) Integration Weeks, the training involved, on a rotating basis, the Military Airports of the 9th Wing of Grazzanise and the 17th Wing of Furbara as ”Host Bases", which, in addition to offering their training areas, provided constant and fundamental technical-logistical support.
The exercise provided a unique opportunity to integrate various operational capabilities, both day and night, simulating the deployment of all systems required to establish a base under conditions similar to a “real” redeployment of a Special Operations Task Group (SOTG) in the theatre of operations, with the deployment of fixed-wing (C27J) and rotary-wing (HH101 and AB212) assets in support of Special Operations. The training scenario for the 2018 edition involved: Special Forces and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel from the 17th Incursori Wing, Tactical Support for Special Operations (STOS) personnel from the 16th and 9th Wings and the 1st BAOS, Air Riflemen from the 9th and 16th Wings, operators from the Grosseto Dog Handling Centre, support units and operators from the Forward Arming and Refuelling Point (FARP) of the 3rd Wing, a C-27J aircraft from the 46th Air Brigade, two HH-212 helicopters from the 9th Wing and an HH-101 helicopter from the 15th Wing. During the exercises, two VTT Days (“Visit to Trainee”) were held, during which senior leaders of the Armed Forces and the joint Special Operations sector were able to assess the level of “synergistic integration” achieved by the various specialist roles and aviation capabilities involved. The 1st Special Operations Air Brigade reports to the Air Group Command via the Support and Special Forces Command and is tasked with ensuring the qualification and training, both basic and advanced, of the ground and air forces under its command, with a view to integrating the components of the Armed Forces dedicated to Special Operations and to preparing and deploying capability packages to be made available to the Air Force and the nation, with comprehensive capabilities for the planning and execution of special and conventional operations, both nationally and internationally, which can be seamlessly integrated with the capabilities of the other Armed Forces of the State and of NATO.
