On Tuesday 31 May, at the Ghedi Wing, ‘limited combat ready’ certificates were awarded to the eight participants on Course 03 CCO A200A. The ceremony was presided over by Air Brigadier Enzo Vecciarelli, Commander of the Combat Forces in Milan, and was attended by Colonel Francesco Vestito, Commander of the 6th Wing, Colonel Enrico Maria Degni, Commander of the 50th Wing in Piacenza, as well as the Group Commanders/Service Chiefs and the families of the newly qualified flight crews. The ceremony opened with a speech by Major Massimiliano Pasqua, Commander of the 102nd Flight Group, who highlighted the great commitment and dedication of the trainees and the entire Group, particularly the training staff, who over the last 20 months have ‘produced’ 28 trainees. An extremely demanding course, comprising a ‘ground school’ phase (approximately 2 months of intensive study at the ground school) and a ‘flying phase’ (approximately four months), which resulted in the training of qualified pilots and navigators deemed ‘limited combat ready’ following a programme comprising around 160 simulator sessions, 1,000 hours of flight time and more than 110 hours of classroom instruction and ‘self-study’. In his address, Colonel Vestito highlighted the outstanding and professional work carried out by Major Pasqua and the 102nd Flight Group as a whole, stressing that the training and instruction of crews represent a ‘task’ of strategic importance for the Italian Air Force. For the first time, the overall duration of the course has been reduced to 6 months, compared with the 8–10 months of the past, without, however, compromising the quality of training; furthermore, the training was carried out in parallel with both live and simulated operations, which have involved and continue to involve the Wing. At the conclusion of the ceremony, General Vecciarelli thanked the Wing Commanders, the instructors and the families of the new flight crews, and above all the ‘new pilots and navigators’ who, thanks to their own ‘hard work’, have achieved such an important milestone, thus concluding a journey that began in 2003, the year they joined the Armed Forces. A particularly significant moment was when, from the line-up of instructors and trainees standing together, the former returned to their places, signifying to the latter the start of a new phase in their operational lives as flight crews. This year, for the first time, the ‘best performer’ award was introduced, a recognition for a trainee who has particularly distinguished themselves through their flying activities, the missions carried out on the simulator and their results in the study and testing phase. The ‘Silver Plate’ – a silver plate bearing the insignia of the 102nd Flight Group – will bear the name of each ‘best student’ at the base, and each will be presented with a commemorative plaque. The award went to Pilot Lieutenant Lorenzo Pesaresi and was presented by General Luciano Fiorini, a model of a fearless instructor and an exceptional patron of the 102nd Group. The 6th Wing, equipped with Tornado IDS (Interdiction Strike) aircraft, is responsible for maintaining the Combat Readiness of flight crews, cooperating with civil authorities in the event of natural disasters, and ensuring operational conversion and standardisation for flight crews assigned to the Tornado line prior to their subsequent deployment to operational units. It is structured around two ‘operational’ Flight Groups, the 154th and the 156th, and one ’training‘ Flight Group, the 102nd. From September 1998, following the closure of the TTTE (Tri-national Tornado Training Establishment) at Cottesmore (England), the 102nd Flight Group assumed the new role of ’Operational Conversion Unit‘, thus beginning to train pilots and navigators from flight schools in the operation of the Tornado aircraft.
