General Inspector-in-Chief Langella succeeded General Inspector-in-Chief Esposito. General Esposito, who left active service after 46 years, in his speech expressed heartfelt thanks to the Armed Forces and the Corps of the Air Corps for allowing him to serve with pride for the homeland. He then addressed his colleagues from the “Grifo III” course, thanking them with affection for their participation. Subsequently, General Esposito recalled the years spent as Chief of the Corps of the Air Corps, thanking all the personnel who, with humility and maximum efficiency, performed their duties: “[…]
because the Corps of Engineers is an integral part of the connective tissue of the Armed Forces; as such, it must live in symbiosis with the other components and be an operational member of the large structure of the Air Force […]”, in the awareness “[…] that the path must be built day by day with dedication and sincere and passionate commitment in the daily work. One must be a hero day after day through commitment, dedication, altruism and honesty […]”, reminding everyone of the importance of being ”as faithful guardians of our most beautiful traditions, we must respect the teachings of our founding fathers and use them as a reference for nobility of spirit and motivation.”. General Esposito concluded his speech by wishing everyone a warm and sincere wish to live the relationship of love with the Blue Army with strength such that they are always able to overcome contingent and environmental difficulties and to experience the same pride and emotion felt by him at the moment he leaves active service. General Langella thanked the Chief of Staff of the Air Force for the trust placed in him in assigning him the task, and at the same time took the opportunity to extend a warm greeting to General Esposito, whose person has meant so much to the Air Force and to all the organizations in which he carried out his tireless work. He expressed his emotion because”[…] I receive a witness who has passed through illustrious hands. The hands of the men who contributed to writing, together with the operational component of the Armed Forces, the history of the Air Force”.General Langella, finally, declared that he accepted this assignment with pride”[…] having full awareness of the difficulties and challenges that will have to be faced in a general situation not easy in terms of resources”. At the conclusion of the ceremony, the Chief of the Air Staff took the floor and thanked General Esposito for the fruitful work carried out during his period of command, and, addressing General Langella, wished him the best of success in leading the Corps of the Air Corps.
