From Tuesday 6th to Sunday 11th April, six Officers visited the Commands of ISAF, NTM-A and IJC's top structure. Hailing from the II Department of the Air Force Staff, the Joint Interoperability Operational Command (COI), the Air Force Operational Command (COFA) in Poggio Renatico (Ferrara), and the Air Force Schools Command/3rd Air Region in Bari, the six Officers arrived in Afghanistan to finalise certain details concerning the future of the air component of the Joint Air Task Force (JATF), which is under the Regional Command West (RC-W) in Herat. They were also there to explore the feasibility of certain significant future ISAF/NTM-A projects, for which support has been directly requested from Italy by SHAPE (Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe). Regarding this last initiative, which is directly part of the ANAAC reconstruction process, Italy is currently analysing the technical possibility of supporting and mentoring the training facilities for Afghan pilots, both for aircraft and helicopters. The Italian contribution, as outlined by the NTM-A and ISAF representatives during the various meetings, aims to ensure, through the teaching and supervision phase, the best alignment with current excellence standards in areas such as aviation culture, flight safety, and the procedures upon which a military flight school is based today.
At the margins of the aforementioned project, the delegation also met with General Scrollo, G3 of IJC, General Mora, Deputy Chief of Staff Stability and Italian National Senior Representative, and General Burgio, CTAG-P of NTMA, for the planned exchange of information on their respective areas of competence. The aforementioned visit will be followed by a subsequent technical and operational survey, led by COFA.
