The ceremony was presided over by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Force General Alberto Rosso. On Thursday, April 4, at the School of Marshals of the Air Force/Air Force Command Viterbo, the solemn swearing-in ceremony of the 21st Regular Course of Marshals was held. The ceremony, presided over by the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Force General Alberto Rosso, was held in the presence of the Commander of the Air Force Schools and the 3rd Air Region of Bari, Air Force General Aurelio Colagrande, of civil, military and religious authorities of Viterbo and the Air Force Band. The Commandant of the School of Marshals of the Air Force, Colonel Leonardo Moroni, in complimenting the students of the 21st course, recalled that “the solemn commitment you are about to assume will be the main source of inspiration for your future actions.” The oath of allegiance to the Italian Republic represents a moment of the highest moral value, as it coincides with the most significant act of life that you have chosen to undertake in the intent of serving the homeland with responsibility and loyalty.“ For the Chief of Staff of the AM today ”we have celebrated a strong passage in the lives of the students: the oath, the act by which they professed absolute loyalty to the Homeland, committing themselves to defend it, if necessary, to the utmost sacrifice. The very wording of the Oath embodies the essential traits of the status of military personnel, our inherent vocation to perpetual service to the country.“ Furthermore, General Rosso added that: ”The ceremony consists in fact in a formal and solemn promise that permeates our service, to be honored with pride, self-sacrifice, humility and discipline.“ Particularly emotional was the moment of the ”Lo giuro“ (I swear), emphasized by the flight of a formation of Eurofighter aircraft from the 4th Stormo of Grosseto, as well as the reading of the ”Aviatore’s Prayer“ and the blessing of the course’s flag. The 21st Course of Officer Candidates, incorporated at the Air Force Officers School/Air Force Command Viterbo last September 24, consists of 139 participants. Of these, 133 are attending the three-year Bachelor’s Degree courses in Political Sciences and International Relations at the University of Tuscia; six are attending the courses in Nursing at the Viterbo branch of the ”La Sapienza” University of Rome.
In addition to the 21st Course for Junior Officers, which was named Blazar II, the other two Normal Courses currently in training at the Viterbo Institute were also included in the formation under the command of the Course Commander, Lieutenant Colonel Davide Rosellini: the 19th Course Zephir, which has reached its final year of study, and the 20th Course Altair II, in its second year; the color guards of the previous courses; and the Air Force Band that accompanied the highlights of the ceremony; and a representation of the participants of the Blazar I Course, present to witness the spirit of unity that symbolically links the two courses with the same name but belonging to two different generations, separated by nineteen years.
The Air Force Marshal School/Viterbo Airport Command is under the command of the AM Schools Commander and the Third Air Region; the department carries out a dual mission: on one hand, as a university-level institution, it is responsible for the military and moral training and specific professional instruction of Marshal-Rank Non-Commissioned Officers, as well as the refinement and updating of such training; on the other hand, as a military airport open to civilian traffic, it ensures the provision of Air Navigation Services and guarantees, in accordance with sector operational plans, the efficiency of airport facilities essential for flight activities.
