The handover ceremony was attended by the Commander of the Schools/3rd Air Region, Gen. S.A. Franco Girardi. The ceremony, conducted in the utmost simplicity, took place in the presence of the highest civil and military authorities of Caserta and the Province, and was presided over by the Commander of the Schools/3rd Air Region of Bari, Air Force General Franco Girardi. Also present were the 3rd Air Region Band that marked the highlights of the ceremony, as well as the banners of the Province and the Municipality of Caserta and the flags of the Combatant and Military Associations. Colonel Felli leaves the position of Commander of the School of Specialists of the A.M. and the Air Guard of Caserta after three years of intense activity, to take up the position of Inspector at the National Civil Aviation Authority. In his speech, visibly moved, after thanking the authorities present and all the institutional entities in Caserta who in various ways offered their cooperation during his period of command, he stated, addressing the staff of the School: “[…] You are the best staff I have ever had under my command and I will be eternally grateful for the satisfaction you have given me. Staff of the Specialist School, the honor of being your Commander is the highest reward for me.”. “From you I received the incentive to ensure that the School was appreciated and known even more for what it could offer, both to our beloved Armed Forces and to the citizens of Caserta.” “Together – he added the Coil. Felli – we chose a motto that would unequivocally identify us over time, namely saying YES to all the internal and external requests that were made to us”. Colonel Felli then concluded his speech by outlining a summary of his time in Caserta: ” When About three years ago I took over command of SSAM. I made a solemn promise to the Commandant of the Schools at the time. I promised that I would base my command actions on the values that my first training institution, my family, had instilled in me from the very earliest years of my life: namely honesty, respect for traditions, a sense of belonging, and love of the Fatherland.”. “[…] In these years we have expanded the accessibility of our educational facilities, revised the Plan of Studies and the programs of the courses, organized the 89th Anniversary of the Constitution of the AM, hosted approximately 170,000 people in our accommodation facilities in 2012, performed miracles in the maintenance activities of the infrastructure and the arboretum entrusted to us, through the creation of dedicated teams of civilian and military volunteers, which allowed a significant reduction in costs, offered our professionalism to the institutional and civic entities of this city, with joy and generosity, so that full integration with the outside world could be achieved..”Colonel Santoro, during his speech, addressed a greeting to the authorities and the staff, focusing on how he will approach his command duties: “The last twenty years – hadetto – they have seen the Armed Forces engaged in the continuous process of transforming and adapting their forces, doctrine and the capabilities they can express, in order to be able to respond to future challenges. In a single sentence: operating while we transform. It is precisely along these lines that I will fulfill my responsibilities, aware that I can count on motivated men and women who are ready to face any difficult situation with dedication and a spirit of sacrifice..The new commander of SSAM closed his speech by thanking ”All the School Commanders who preceded me, for giving me the opportunity to inherit an efficient and effective Department, well rooted in the territory and which maintains a splendid relationship with all the local institutions.”General Girardi, in his speech, after paying his respectful salute to the School’s Institute Flag, decorated with the Bronze Medal for Civil Valor, emphasized that “[…] The regular rotation of commanders is evidence of the guarantee of consistency that the Armed Forces pursue and characterizes the value of renewal.”Subsequently he praised Colonel Felli for the brilliant results achieved, for his “”a careful and farsighted command action” and for his own sake“operate with enthusiasm, consistency and commitment, contributing in a decisive way to the achievement of the department’s mission by enhancing its image and bringing the satisfaction of the Armed Forces to the precious work carried out, together with the staff employed, also on the occasion of the 1st National Assembly of the Specialist of the Air Force”.
The Commander of the Schools/3rd Air Region then turned to Colonel Santoro: “[…]I wish to express my full confidence in him – he said – and “I am certain that thanks to his talents, he will be able to continue the important work of those who preceded him, and the sentiments expressed in his speech will be the guarantee of success.” “I am certain – General Girardi concluded – who in his command will know how to listen and motivate, and will rely on the staff of the School, who have great professional skills and a great sense of duty.”. Colonel Veniero Santoro, born on March 20, 1959 in Brindisi, graduated from the regular courses of the Air Force Academy, attending them from 1979 to 1983, with the “Vulcano III” course. Until July 2013, he held the position of Chief of Operations and Exercises within the Permanent Military Representation at the Military Committees of NATO and the European Union in Brussels. During his career, he served, among other things, from 1986 to 1996 at the 36th Squadron of Gioia del Colle (BA) and, during that period, was also employed, from September 1990 to March 1991, as a navigator assigned to the Flight Group of the Autonomous Flight Department A.M., deployed in the Persian Gulf at the Al Dhafra air base (UAE), during air operations for the liberation of Kuwait.
Colonel Santoro has an accumulated flight time of approximately 1800 hours, most of which on a Tornado IDS aircraft, and is, among other honors, a Knight of the Merit of the Italian Republic, a Gold Medal for Long-Range Air Navigation, a NATO medal for operations related to the former Yugoslavia, and a Cross for Meritorious Service for participation in operations in the Persian Gulf. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Aeronautical Sciences from the ’Federico II“ University of Naples, is married and has two daughters.
