On 2 September, the ceremony for the change of command at the Airport Detachment took place at Luni Sarzana Airport. The event was presided over by Air Brigadier General Luca Mazzini, Commander of the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, marked the handover between the Colonel Marco Sergo, outgoing, and the Colonel Luca Urso, incoming. A number of civil and military authorities, family members of the personnel, and representatives of the Air Force Associations of the provinces of La Spezia and Massa Carrara attended the ceremony.
In his farewell speech, the Colonel Sergo defined the command experience as a “daily challenge”, which he will retain as a fundamental part of his professional and human journey, highlighting the operational complexity of the airport and the essential role of the staff, whom he defined as “the true driver of all success”.
It Colonel Urso, In his first address as Detachment Commander, he thanked everyone present and the Superior Authorities for the trust placed in him, pledging his utmost commitment to ensuring the continuity of operational excellence. He also stressed the strategic value of the Detachment, defining it as “an indispensable cog in national Defence”and has expressed the intention to continue the collaboration with the other operational components of the territory, including the Navy and the Coastguard.
In his closing speech, the General Mazzini offered heartfelt thanks to Colonel Sergo for his leadership“lucid, sober and concrete”He then reiterated the strategic role of Sarzana airport, described as “an area where sea, air, and land meet in perfect synergy”praising the fruitful collaboration with local entities such as the Aeroclub and the 118 air ambulance service.
The Sarzana-Luni Airport Detachment has deep roots dating back to 1918, the year in which the eponymous military airport, now named after Sergeant Pilot Bartolomeo Arrigoni, a World War I hero, began its operations.
Throughout its history, the airport has hosted various Italian Air Force units, including:
In 1960, the airport was chosen for the construction of the Luni Naval Air Base, today the “Admiral Fiorini” Naval Military Helicopter Station.
The current Detachment was established on 31 March 1973 following the dissolution of the previous Airport Command and located within the M.M. Helicopter Station of Luni. Initially subordinate to the 46th Air Brigade of Pisa, it underwent several reorganisations over the years, passing under the control of other entities of the Italian Air Force, until it was incorporated, currently, into the organisational structure of the Air Squadron/1st Air Region of Milan as a subordinate body, hierarchically and logistically, to the Command of the 46th.a Air Brigade of Pisa and the Command of Mobility and Support Forces of Milan.
