The “Turreted Eagles” were pinned onto the chests of the trainees who have completed the training phase at the Salento flight school. Among them were officers from the Hellenic Air Force, the Luftstreitkräfte, and the Royal Saudi Air Force.
Two months after the similar ceremony held in Lecce in Piazza Duomo in the presence of the President of the Republic, the 61st Wing Thirteen trainee pilots have been awarded their wings by the Lecce Air Force Base: five lieutenants from the Italian Air Force, two Austrian officers, four Greek officers, and two from the Royal Saudi Air Force. The ceremony took place on the morning of Friday, 2nd December, at the Galatina air base. Alongside local authorities and a contingent of airport personnel, the event was attended by the trainees' families, who travelled to Puglia to celebrate a moment that, according to long-standing Air Force tradition, represents one of the most significant milestones in a pilot's life.
The Salento flight school is today an advanced, multinational and modern training reality, with over 75 years of experience and tradition in the “flight training” sector behind it; a training centre, therefore, of absolute and recognised international standing, possessing cutting-edge technological systems and hosting students and instructors from all corners of the Globe.
Colonel Vito Conserva, Commander of the 61st Wing and of Galatina Air Base, during his speech, wished to highlight how the formal ceremony for the awarding of the eagles is the best recognition of the work carried out by the men and women of the Department, always characterised by team spirit, passion for the 'Arma Azzurra' (Italian Air Force), and daily commitment. After publicly thanking his personnel, he then congratulated the new young aviators, urging them to consider the prestigious milestone achieved, not as an endpoint, but as the beginning of a new fantastic adventure in service to the country and its people.
Addicted to AM Schools Command / 3rd Air Regiona in Bari, the 61st Wing has the task of providing phase 2 jet fighter pilot training Primary Pilot Training, common to all military pilot trainees, aimed at identifying the lines on which they will flyFighters, remote piloting, helicopters, transport); phase 3 – Specialised Pilot Training, exclusively for student pilots selected for the “Fighter“which concludes with obtaining a military pilot’s licence (winged eagle); and phase 4 – Lead-in to Fighter Training – LIFT, preparatory to the subsequent use on latest-generation fighter aircraft. The training activity of the 61st Wing is aimed at trainee pilots of the Italian Air Force, of the other Armed Forces and of allied/partner countries, in all flight phases according to the requests of each country.
