Dr. Gianluigi Magri, Undersecretary of State for Defense, visited the 17th Paratrooper Squadron of the Italian Air Force, accompanied by Dr. Andrea Margelletti, President of the International Studies Center. The Undersecretary was received by Air Force General Tiziano Tosi, Commander of the Air Force Squadron, General of Brigade Aerea Stefano Fort, Commander of the 1st Air Brigade O.S. (Special Operations), and Colonel Riccardo Rinaldi, Commander of the 17th Paratrooper Squadron. The introductory visit began with a briefing in the meeting room of the Department, during which Colonel Rinaldi outlined the capabilities and capabilities of the Squadron, explaining the numerous activities that characterize it. In particular, the training sector, which General Tosi described in detail, highlighting the importance of the results expressed in operational terms, aroused considerable interest and received the warm appreciation of the Undersecretary. Subsequently, the Authority visited the EOR/EOD (recognition and deactivation of explosive devices) component of the 17th Assault Wing, recognizing the sensitivity and danger of the training/operational activities that the sector’s experts are called upon to face daily and complimenting the high professionalism. Particularly significant was the greeting addressed by the Undersecretary to the men of the detachment that had recently returned from Afghanistan, the operational theater where the Air Force’s assault cell deployed with the mission of “military assistance” in favor of the contingent.
As part of the visit, a static exhibition of the equipment and materials provided to the Incursori was also set up, and a visit to the firing range was carried out. At the end of the meeting, Dr. Magri presented the Crest of the Ministry of Defense to General Tosi and Colonel Rinaldi, finally signing the Honor Roll of the Department. The Undersecretary, in his farewell remarks, expressed his satisfaction with the professionalism demonstrated by the personnel and the extreme expertise acquired in a short time by the entire aeronautical component in such a sensitive and crucial sector of the Defense for the security of the country.
