The final phase of the preparatory course and the air operations orientation module in Poggio Renatico and Florence. The course, coordinated between the AOTC and the ISMA Studies Directorate, focuses on the command and control of air operations, which doctrinally stems from the Air Component Command, or JFACC (Joint Force Air Component Command) in jargon.
This course is structured into two phases: the first, which involved all attendees, consists of initial academic indoctrination conducted at ISMA by personnel from the Air Operations Command. This first theoretical phase is followed by a second, practical phase, at AOTC, during which a select group of officers plans the employment of air power in an exercise scenario, producing the Air Task Order (ATO), one of the significant products of the Joint Force Air Component Command.
The Captains, not involved in the practical phase of the CPO course, deepened their understanding of command and control concepts thanks to a specific orientation module coordinated by AOTC staff in Florence.
The activities carried out by AOTC for the officers of the 79th normal course conclude a cycle of courses which, in 2013, qualified 138 officers and non-commissioned officers for “air operations”. These courses, divided into CPO1 (Basic), CPO2 (Intermediate), CPO3 (Managerial) and CPT (Targeting), are part of a broader Armed Forces plan aimed at raising knowledge of command and control of air operations which, in the medium term, will aim for NATO certification of the Italian Joint Force Air Component Command.
