On Friday 18 December, the 15th Stormtrooper Squadron from Pratica di Mare (Rome) concluded its exercise in Trapani. The planning of “Personnel Recovery” exercises aims to train crews to recover personnel in hostile and non-permissive environments. In this regard, conducting such missions is highly valuable for both the crews who must plan the mission itself and for those who, in this case, simulated the condition of scattered crews, technically known as “survivors,” in day and night land-based operations. The 82nd CSAR Center in Trapani, the 83rd CSAR Center in Rimini, the 84th CSAR Center in Brindisi, and the 85th CSAR Group in Pratica di Mare (Rome) were deployed in a simulated scenario of an international crisis to study the tactics and timing of intervention in order to rescue the team simulating the downed crew. Completing the package and adding complexity to the mission management were two teams from the X Group from Trapani and two teams from the 13th Group from Amendola tasked with escorting and ensuring the safety of the area of operation for the recovery of the survivors by helicopter. The adverse weather conditions that prevailed in western Sicily, the scene of the simulated air crisis during the exercise, also contributed to making the missions more challenging. A mission of such complexity required the use of two HH-3F helicopters and two NH-500 aircraft, two F-16 fighter interceptors and two AM-X reconnaissance bomber aircraft. ’The complex and detailed missions involving the use of several aircraft assets are technically defined as COMAO (Combined Air Operations – Joint Air Operations) and were planned along the lines of those that we annually carry out both in NATO and in Europe (EAG – European Air Group); despite the different performance of the aircraft used and the difficulties related to adverse weather conditions, we are pleased with what has been achieved, especially in the direction of integrating the different flight specialties aimed at ’Personnel Recovery’,“ explains Lieutenant David Jason Melchiorri, who was responsible for the organizational and intelligence aspects of the exercise. At the general de-briefing of the exercise, the commander of the 82nd CSAR Center, Major Giovanni Davide Guadalupi, expressed his satisfaction with the great return to training and the excellent work carried out by Captain Rosario Muragliae and Lieutenant Melchiorri, project officers of the event, in planning and synchronizing all the phases of this complex exercise, recognizing the high professional value of all the crews involved who worked in a climate of great collaboration. On Wednesday 16 December, the Commander of the Forces for Mobility and Support, Brigadier General Vincenzo Parma, and the Commander of the 15th CSAR Wing, Colonel Roberto Preo, visited the 82nd Center to greet the personnel in view of the holidays and were able to witness the planning phases of the scheduled mission, noting the intense preparatory work involving the crews preparing to fly a CSAR mission. The 15th Squadron ensures, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, the search and rescue of flight crews and maritime vessels in distress, as well as public utility activities such as the search for missing persons in the mountains or at sea, the transport of seriously injured people in emergency medical situations (from islands, boats, etc.), and the rescue of severely traumatized people. Since 2001, its crews have been called upon not only to provide air rescue and assistance to the civilian population in the event of natural disasters and to safeguard human life, but also to contribute to ensuring national security by using the HH-3F helicopter as a SMI (Slow Mover Interceptor – Low-speed Aircraft Interceptor) anti-terrorist aircraft. Drawing on the experience gained from the various international missions and operational theaters to which it has been called upon to operate, the 15th Air Wing has established itself as the national benchmark for “Personnel Recovery” operations.
