Wednesday 14th April at the University of Ferrara, a round table discussion coordinated by Col. Scirocco, Head of the Legal Affairs Office of COFA
At the round table, moderated by Colonel Roberto Scirocco, Head of the Legal Affairs Office of COFA and Legal Advisor to the Commander of COFA and CAOC5 (Combined Air Operation Centre), freelance journalists Andrea Semplici and Barbara Schiavulli, and special correspondent Francesco Semprini from ‘La Stampa’ took part. Following the introduction by Prof. Francesco Salerno, lecturer in International Law, Colonel Scirocco gave a lecture on the status of journalists in armed conflicts. The three professionals then took the floor, whose speeches were particularly engaging thanks also to their personal and direct experiences in the Theatres of Operations: from Dr. Semprini's participation as an ‘embedded’ journalist with the US Army in Afghanistan, to Dr. Schiavulli's experiences in Iraq, including during elections, and finally to Dr. Semplici's extensive experiences in African armed conflicts dating back to the 1980s.
In Poggio Renatico itself, the training of young Officers as Legal Advisors for air operations has been established for some years; these operations can be real (such as the recent enhanced Air Defence package for the G8 Summit in L'Aquila) or exercises (such as the recent ‘Virtual Flag 2009’ exercise or the Spring Flag series).
