The Initial Planning Conference laid the foundations for the conduct of Virtual Flag 2014 in October of this year.
The purpose of the conference was the preliminary definition of the different planning processes for the exercise, with the involvement of all the entities that will provide personnel in the subsequent execution phase. In fact, personnel from the Major Defense States, the Army, the Navy and the Air Force participated in the proceedings, as well as representatives of the Directorate for Military Personnel of the Air Force (DIPMA) and the High Air Command.
At the opening of the proceedings, Brigadier General Paolo Mazzi, Deputy Commander of the COA and Head of the Operations Preparation Department, emphasized the inter-service nature of Virtual Flag 2014, pointing out that this exercise constitutes the main instrument for developing the capabilities of military personnel to operate, in a synergistic and effective manner, within Command and Control structures of air operations.
Virtual Flag 2014 represents the main event of the Air Force aimed at testing the capabilities of the Armed Forces to plan and conduct a joint air operation in a NATO-led Crisis Response Operation (CRO). This year, the exercise will take on a significant inter-service character by merging with the Eagle Joker 14 of the NATO Rapid Deployable Corps (NRDC – Solbiate Olona) in the Joint Eagle 2014 exercise.
