During the event, the 4th National Gathering of Air Force Specialists was also held in the presence of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force.
In the year that the Italian Air Force celebrates its first hundred years of history, the School of AM Specialists Caserta celebrate the 75th anniversary of its constitution. Saturday 30 September, the important anniversary was marked with a solemn flag-raising ceremony, presided over by Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Squadrone General Luca Goretti, and was held in the presence of numerous military and civilian authorities, including the Gold Medal for Military Valour Lt. Col. Gianfranco Paglia and the Mayor of Caserta, Avv. Carlo Marino.
On 30 September and 1 October, the 4th National Rally of Italian Air Force Specialists, organised in collaboration with the Caserta section of the Air Force Association – Aviators of Italy.
“In circumstances such as these, it truly is fitting to say that we are ‘dwarves on the shoulders of giants’, on the shoulders of those who have come before us, of our values, our history, our traditions.”, the Commander of the Air Force Specialists' School, stressed, Colonel Francesco Sassara, addressing the rally-goers in his speech. “The relationship between the Specialists’ School and the local Caserta area has been inseparable and undeniably exceptional since 1948: suffice it to say that almost all the Specialists who today enable the Italian Air Force to fully accomplish its missions have passed through this School and acquired the necessary professional skills here. It is precisely to bear witness to this deep bond that the Specialists, of every specialisation and rank, from all over Italy, are today paraded before us.
“”The seventy-five years of the Caserta School represent a solid foundation for who we are today.”, he declared, at the closing of the ceremony, the General Goretti. “A cutting-edge Armed Force, recognised and appreciated by all, not only in Italy but also abroad”. Addressing the participants, he said: “I must thank you, you – with your passion, your knowledge, and the enthusiasm with which you have worked in active service for so many years – are an example to the younger generation.”. Addressing the attendees, the specialists of tomorrow, he added: “We have an obligation to give you all the tools possible to improve; your task is to study, prepare yourselves, and be professionals, also to honour those who have gone before you.
At the end of the military ceremony, the gates of the Air Force Specialist School were opened to the public for a Open Day, within which visitors were able to observe the educational and training facilities, aircraft on static display, a flight simulator of the Frecce Tricolori, a historical-photographic exhibition, an exhibition of uniforms curated by the Cameri Airport Command, as well as stands from the Italian Red Cross, Civil Protection, and the National Alpine and Speleological Rescue Corps. The public was also able to admire the exhibition “IV Domain – to conquer Space”, a contemporary art exhibition curated by Claudia Mazzitelli and Alfredo Avagliano, as well as other exhibitions set up by the Caserta section of the Arma Aeronautica Association and a model aircraft exhibition, including a scale model of the Fiat G-12 aircraft, the so-called “Flying classroom”, used in the 1960s for educational and familiarisation flights for students with operational activities at Capua Airport, which housed some of the School's facilities. A special commemorative postmark was also issued in collaboration with Poste Italiane for the anniversary.
On Saturday evening, the Band of the Air Force School Command/3rd Air Region, led by 1st Lieutenant Nicola Cotugno, held a concert open to the public and the many attendees at the Auditorium of the Air Force Specialists' School, which was also attended by local authorities. On Sunday, 1st October, the specialists who participated in the 4th National Gathering, after laying a wreath at the Monument to the Fallen alongside the Mayor of Caserta and the Commander, paraded along Corso Trieste to reach the Parade Ground of the Air Force Specialists' School, where the closing ceremony of the events took place.
Even in this circumstance, as during the course of the other events of the Centenary of the Air Force, the initiative “A gift from heaven for AIRC”, collection of donations volunteers that the Armed Force has promoted – with the collaboration of the Arma Aeronautica Association – throughout the national territory to finance the purchase of state-of-the-art medical equipment for the Institute for Molecular Oncology of the AIRC Foundation (IFOM) and thus support scientific research activities for cancer treatment.
The Specialist School, based in Caserta, is a military educational institution for initial basic training, specialist technical training, instruction, updating, specialisation, qualification, and retraining of personnel from the Air Force, other Armed Forces, and State Armed Corps and non-armed bodies, as well as personnel from foreign Armed Forces. It reports to the Schools Command/3rd Air Region, based in Bari.
