Colonel Maineri handed over command of the Joint Air Task Force to Colonel Agresti. On Tuesday 29th October, at the Herat military airport, Colonel Luca Maineri handed over command of the Joint Air Task Force (J.A.T.F.), which oversees the Italian Air Force aircraft deployed in Afghanistan, to Colonel Saverio Agresti.
The handover ceremony took place in the presence of Brigadier General Michele Pellegrino, Commander of Regional Command West (RC-W), the Italian-led multinational command based on the “Aosta” Mechanised Brigade.
Colonel Maineri is relinquishing command after a six-month commitment during which the units under his command performed approximately 3,400 flight hours, of which 600 hours were by C-130J aircraft, 500 hours by C-27J aircraft, 900 hours by AMX aircraft and finally 1,400 hours by Predator remotely piloted aircraft. In his farewell speech, Colonel Maineri thanked the JATF personnel, emphasising “the uncommon ability of personnel coming from different backgrounds to pull together to form an entity that daily delivers the highest quality for the safety of ground operations and all employed personnel“Indeed, the numerous operations carried out have guaranteed the possibility of reaching vast areas of the country that would otherwise be inaccessible, of neutralising opposing communication capabilities and contributing to countering the threat posed by improvised explosive devices (C-IED), of carrying out tactical reconnaissance and close air support missions for ground forces, as well as ISR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance) operations, acting as a true “eye in the sky” for the coalition.
General Pellegrino, in congratulating the outgoing Commander on the commendable work done and welcoming Colonel Agresti, emphasised how the synergy between the air component and ground troops is a decisive factor for the success of the multinational contingent's operations, especially during this phase of transition of responsibilities to the Afghan security forces.
The Joint Air Task Force (JATF), made up of around 200 Air Force personnel, was created to manage the employment of the fixed-wing flight assets deployed at the Herat base. The JATF comprises the following units: the “Black Cats” Task Group, which has AMX fighter-bomber reconnaissance aircraft from the 32nd Wing of Amendola and the 51st Wing of Istrana; the “Albatros” Task Group, with C-130J and YEC-27J JEDI transport aircraft from the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa; and the “Astore” Task Group, which operates with “Predator” MQ-1C remotely piloted aircraft from the 32nd Wing of Amendola.
