During the ceremony marking the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto, the Italian Air Force was honoured for its ongoing maritime patrol and rescue operations. On the occasion of the Feast of Our Lady of Loreto, patron saint of the Italian Air Force and of all aviators, at the hangar at Sigonella Airport, UNICEF presented the Italian Air Force with an award, citing the following reasons: “To the Italian Air Force for its outstanding professionalism and profound sense of human solidarity in locating and rescuing migrants in distress, thereby reducing the risks that sometimes lead to tragic incidents, especially for the youngest and most defenceless.” The award, consisting of a block of lava stone from Mount Etna, finely glazed by master craftsman Barbaro Messina, and bearing a plaque at its base with the citation, was presented to Pilot Colonel Francesco Frare, Commander of the 41st Wing, in the presence of military and civil authorities from Catania and Syracuse, as well as personnel and aeronautical bodies from Eastern Sicily, by Prof. Vincenzo Lorefice, President of the Catania Provincial Committee for UNICEF. Prof. Lorefice, in expressing, on behalf of UNICEF and its staff, his deep gratitude to all personnel who, like those of the 41st Wing, often work on the front line to safeguard the lives of children and citizens across borders, wished to emphasise in his impassioned speech that “those children have left their homes, fleeing persecution, armed conflict, exploitation, disease, poverty and hunger: they are children on the run; they are children in danger”. “We at UNICEF are there at the start, during and at the end of their difficult journey. In their countries of origin, we work to strengthen child protection systems and to tackle the root causes of migration; whilst they are on the move, we offer them all kinds of aid and protection, especially when they have no family to provide it; and in their countries of arrival, where we promote the implementation of the general principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, calling on institutions to safeguard the best interests of the child and to guarantee the same protection to all children, regardless of their nationality, that of their parents or their migrant status.” In his address, Commander Frare emphasised that “search and rescue at sea is one of the tasks of the Air Force, carried out by various units, including the 41st Wing. Key to the mission’s success is the great dedication and commitment that the men and women of the Armed Forces bring to their work”. Air rescue operations for the civilian population are one of the dual-use capabilities that the Italian Air Force, in collaboration with the other Armed Forces, makes available to the public on a daily basis in cases of public utility or during disasters, always operating in close synergy with and in support of the various state agencies and bodies involved in rescue operations on the ground and in the air. The most recent operations took place during the flooding of the River Enza in Emilia-Romagna, where 52 people were rescued within the first 24 hours using HH139 and HH101 helicopters. In addition, a South Korean passenger suffering from a stroke was rescued from a cruise ship off the coast of Sardinia.
