88 Officer Cadets of the Italian Air Force's 23rd Regular Course 'Deimos II' become Warrant Officers

Thursday 10 November 2022, at the historic S100 hangar of the School of the Italian Air Force Marshals / Viterbo Airport Command, the ceremony was held presentation of rank of 3rd Class Marshal to the 88 attendees of the 23rd Deimos II regular course.

The ceremony, presided over by the Commander of the Marshal School of the Italian Air Force and Viterbo Airport, Colonel Sandro Cascino, also representing the Commander of the Schools and the Third Air Region, Air Squadron General Silvano Frigerio, took place in the presence of the civil and military authorities of Viterbo and the families of the newly promoted Marshalls. The ceremony was also attended by the President of the Chief Non-Commissioned Officers, Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Personnel, Senior Warrant Officer Giuseppe Giannetti, and the President of the Chief Non-Commissioned Officers, Senior Non-Commissioned Officers and Enlisted Personnel of the Command of the Schools and the Third Air Region, Senior Warrant Officer Luigi Fabbiani, demonstrating the attention paid by the Armed Force to this School and to all personnel of the Marshall rank.

As per tradition, bearing witness to the strong bond of closeness that has always characterised the relations between the citizens of Viterbo and the Air Force Marshal School, the Course Leader, the Deputy Course Leader and a number of cadets deemed particularly deserving, representing the entire course, received their rank insignia and saber directly from the hands of the authorities present; all the others received them directly from the hands of their loved ones.

The ceremony was characterised by the presentation of the sabre of honour to the top-ranking student by the President of the Sodalizio dei Facchini di Santa Rosa, Dr Massimo Mecarini. The presentation of the sabre of honour, upon which a rose—the symbol of the Fellowship—has been engraved, highlights once again the sharing of important values such as strength, courage, determination, commitment, and esprit de corps between two significant entities of the capital of the Tuscia region: the Marshal School of the Italian Air Force and the Fellowship of the Facchini di Santa Rosa.

For the Commandant of Courses, Col. Gianluca Spina “today's ceremony represents an event of enormous significance for our institute, but even more so for you students of the course Deimos II (...) the path that awaits you in the future will certainly not be plain sailing, but I assure you that it will be full of satisfaction and increasingly prestigious achievements. You have shown during these years of hard work that you have all the abilities and qualities to do well and, above all, to honour the oath of allegiance to the Homeland.

The Godfather of the 23rd Course Deimos II, Chief Master Sergeant Diego de Palma of the 36th Wing of Gioia del Colle (Bari), in conveying the greetings of his colleagues from the Deimos I course, who had enlisted twenty years earlier, and in thanking for the opportunity given, recalled how “Today you have reached the end of a stage in what will be a long journey, certainly not without obstacles and hard work, but which will prove to be full of satisfaction and will make you even more proud of the uniform you wear.

It is up to us older generations to show you the way, and up to you to walk it. Do not limit yourselves to being mere travellers, but take the wheel of your professional lives. Be active participants, be proactive and do not be afraid to be innovative. Be the architects of your own fortunes.”

In his speech the Commander, Colonel Cascino, after thanking the authorities present, recalled how the course Deimos II  this is no ordinary course: ”Fate has tried in every way over these past years to hinder their path, but they have overcome everything, always, with the motivation, identity, and sacrifice that distinguish and set them apart. Blocked by the pandemic for months without being able to leave the base, deprived of every kind of comfort—things that their peers now take for granted, as their due. They were here alone on the day of their attestation, due to the well-known restrictions.  what's more in the rain and inside this hangar as has never happened before in the history of the School. None of this phased them (...) The combination of individuals gave life to a united group, characterised by strong, real and sincere values, and an exceptional fortitude.