The Cadets of the ‘G. Douhet’ Air Force Military School have returned from their educational trip and Mountain Survival Techniques Familiarisation Course. The 1st Course and the Dardo Course, however, returned on Sunday 6th February from the AM Centre on Mount Terminillo, where they attended the mountain survival techniques familiarisation course. Both initiatives are part of the training activities carried out by the School to bring the cadets closer to the operational reality of the Armed Force, both in terms of peculiar aspects related to flight and those relating to direct knowledge of the Units and Bodies that comprise it.
In this context, the Cadets of the Crono Course, received by Colonel Luca Tonello and his staff, visited the 41st A.S. Wing ‘Athos Ammannato’ in Sigonella (Syracuse), where they were able to deepen their knowledge of the Unit's institutional tasks, with particular reference to anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol techniques – conducted with the Breguet 1150 – Atlantic aircraft. The cadets also had the opportunity to undertake cultural visits to the Archaeological Museum of Syracuse, the Etna Volcanological Museum, on the picturesque island of Ortigia, and in the cities of Taormina and Noto.
The mountain survival familiarisation course, however, is carried out within the first two years of the cadets‘ stay at the school. It is a compendium of theoretical and practical experiences covering first aid techniques, food procurement, navigation, and the construction of various types of shelters, conducted in adverse environmental and weather conditions. This is facilitated by the training provided for aircrew and permanent flight crews, carried out annually by qualified instructors at the namesake mountain detachments of the Air Force. On the last day of their stay at Terminillo, the cadets undertook an introductory visit to the ’Ettore Muzi' Central Gliding Flying Club in Rieti.
