Thursday 18 November, at the Air Force Academy, a ceremony was held in the presence of the Chief of the Defence Staff, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, and the Commander of Air Force Schools/3rd Air Region. The introductory report was given by Air Squad General Pasquale Preziosa, Commander of Air Force Schools/3rd Air Region in Bari, who, after a welcome address to political, military, religious, and civilian authorities, representatives of the press, and all guests, outlined the task of the Schools Command, emphasizing the importance of values such as ethics, competence, and leadership as pillars of the training for all personnel.
The traditional opening lecture was delivered by Eng. Orazio Svelto, full professor of quantum physics at the Politecnico di Milano, on the topic ”The laser, a wonderful light”. During his speech, he traced a historical path, starting from the birth of the laser in 1960 up to the present day. Furthermore, the pervasive nature of the laser was highlighted; in fact, there is no field of science and technology that has not been influenced, sometimes even in a revolutionary way, by this invention, considered one of the most important of the last century and destined to play an even more important role in this century.
The Chief of Staff of the Air Force highlighted the protagonists of the day: the cadets, and in particular those of the ‘Nibbio V’ course, who today received their ‘aeroplane pilot badge’. He also underlined the importance of the professionalism of all Air Force personnel, who must increasingly know how to operate in multinational contexts (for the full speech of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force,
Click here).
Finally, the Chief of the Defence Staff, after thanking Professor Svelto for his brilliant lecture and for the enthusiasm shown during his work, emphasised the importance of new technologies that all the Armed Forces must know thoroughly. Furthermore, he wished to highlight how knowledge and values, such as military ethics and commitment to serving the Fatherland, are a fundamental binomial for the training of the Air Force and all the Armed Forces, because there is no one without the others (for the complete speech of the Chief of the Defence Staff,
Click hereDuring the ceremony, several awards were presented to attendees who distinguished themselves during their various instructional paths. In particular, the ‘Annual Award for Military Aptitude in Academies’, established by the Military Order of Italy in 1996 and intended for Cadets from all Military Academies who distinguished themselves in military aptitude at the end of their 2nd year of study, was awarded to Aspirant of the Aeronautical Engineering Corps, Simone Caretta. Furthermore, the ‘Sword of Honour’ was presented to Pilot Aspirant Simone Martucci, belonging to the Navigators Role, who consistently ranked first in his role during the first three years of study. Finally, the ’Douhet/Mitchell Award‘ was presented to Lieutenant Colonel Sergio Cannas, who produced the best thesis for the Command Course at the Institute of Military Aeronautical Sciences (ISMA) in Florence, and the ’Dagger of Honour‘ was presented to the 1st ranked student at the end of the 2nd year at the NCO School in Viterbo, Marshal of 3rd Class Alessandro Mari.
