At the heart of the visit was a meeting with the students of the 1st class of the Air Force Academy's regular courses and an inspection of the modernisation and energy efficiency works currently underway on the Pontine air base's infrastructure.
Thursday 22 September, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Force General Luca Goretti, has visited the 70th Wing from Latina.
To welcome him at the Pontine Department were the Commander of the 4th Telecommunications and Air Defence Systems and Flight Assistance Brigade and of the Air Force Garrison of Latina, Brigadier General Sandro Sanasi, the Commander of the 70th Wing, Colonel Giuseppe Bellomo, and the Commander of the 2nd Air Force Engineering Department, Colonel Aniello Corcione.
After a brief welcoming address, General Goretti wanted to meet, in the Stormo's Flag Square, the recruits of the 1st class of the regular courses of the Air Force Academy, Course Dragon VI, currently undertaking the selection and flight training stages of the competition for the Airplane Pilot's Licence (BPA). “If this is your dream,”, the Chief of Staff said to the young cadets, “If your highest aspiration is to fly and be part of the glorious Air Force to serve your Homeland, you must dedicate every thought, every action and effort with pride and passion to successfully overcome this first, very important stage of your training. You are the Centenary course, you will have the honour and burden of representing our Armed Force and being remembered as the course that will receive its baptism on 28th March 2023. Be proud of it!!”.
The visit then continued to the building known as “New student accommodation“which entered into use recently, and at the construction sites and airport infrastructure under construction, where General Goretti wanted to check the Status works are underway for the construction of the new building for the 207th Flight Group and for the infrastructural modernisation of the main canteen, planned and carried out with a view to optimising’energy efficiency of airport facilities.
“A flight school that aims to offer excellent quality standards must also be able to offer high quality standards in terms of the logistical infrastructure made available to attendees and personnel., General Goretti stated, addressing the personnel, his appreciation and satisfaction for the results achieved so far on the infrastructural modernisation front.. The interventions currently underway at the Wing are just the first step in a broader plan for the modernisation of information and infrastructure, which will allow, in the near future, for the use of much more functional facilities, built in accordance with the most modern standards of quality, ergonomics and eco-sustainability, not only at the 70th Wing, but also at all the Armed Force bodies included in the programme. Blue Airports“.
The Armed Force is, in fact, committed to making its activities and infrastructure less energy-intensive, on the one hand, by deploying all the best resources in terms of design and technical-logistical implementation of the Armed Force, in order implementing the latest generation of increasingly energy-efficient technologies and materials, whilst simultaneously working on a concept of “energy autonomy”.” of their bases, particularly with the design of photovoltaic parks capable of ensuring independence from external sources. To this end, the Air Force is operating in close synergy with the Task Force for the enhancement of properties, energy and the environment of the Ministry of Defence – within the framework of accessible resources of the PNRR (National Recovery and Resilience Plan) and the recent so-called “Bollette 2022” interministerial decree – for the launch of an energy production plan from renewable sources aimed at self-consumption, as well as contributing to national decarbonisation objectives and reducing dependence on imports.
“Blue Airports”, in particular, is one of the pillars – alongside Caserme Verdi (EI) and Basi Blu (MM) – of Major Defence Infrastructure Projects, an initiative that aims to implement – in the coming years – a vast plan to modernise and improve the efficiency of the Armed Forces' strategic infrastructure. The Air Force, in particular, is working on two main lines of action: being guided by the technological standards and related infrastructure requirements that new/future weapon systems demand, while also adapting to all those standard “environmental” issues stemming from both a revised regulatory framework and a new concept of energy resilience/independence from external sources.
The 70th Wing, under the authority of Air Force Schools Command and 3rd Air Region In Bari, it is based at the “Enrico Comani” Military Airport in Latina and for over sixty years has represented the first mandatory step in the professional training of the “military pilot”, as it fulfils the institutional tasks of selecting and training future military pilots of the Air Force, of the other Armed Forces and State Armed Corps, and cadets from other nations, through the issuance of the first pilot's licence. Pilot's aeroplane licence (BPA).
