Friday 19 February: Berets, daggers and certificates awarded following demanding training to new Special Operations personnel. After an intensive training course that involved special operations trainees in numerous theoretical and practical phases of increasing difficulty at the 9th “Col Moschin” Assault Regiment of the Italian Army (Livorno) and at the 17th Wing, they were awarded the sand-coloured special operations beret and the dagger, which reflects the tradition of the Arditi Distruttori of the Regia Aeronautica (ADRA). General Lamanna, in awarding the certificates, expressed his satisfaction with the Wing's growth: ‘I am very proud of your commitment to achieving your goals, but remember that this is not an end point but a starting point to always give your best’. At the end of the ceremony, Colonel Roberto Camera, Commander of the 17th Wing, presented General Lamanna with the special operations unit's distinctive dagger, on the blade of which is engraved the unit's motto: ‘Sufficit Animus’ (‘Courage is enough’). The new special operations personnel will be integrated into the Operational Group, whose task is to maintain operational readiness suitable for conducting the full spectrum of special operations, particularly those contributing to the achievement of Air Power. The 17th Special Operations Wing, part of the Air Squad Command (CSA) in Rome, is hierarchically subordinate to the 1st Air Brigade 'Special Operations' and is currently engaged in Afghanistan as part of Operation ISAF under the Joint Command for Special Forces Operations (COFS).
