On Thursday 24 May, Colonel Maurizio Epifani, Commander of the Italian Air Operation Center (IT-AOC) of the COA, Poggio Renatico, visited the Military Air Coordination and Control Service (SCCAM) of Brindisi. Welcomed by the Commander of the Department of Military Air Coordination and Control (RSCCAM) at Ciampino and by the Head of the SCCAM of Brindisi, Colonel Epifani initially attended a presentation on the activities of the Agency, then met a large representation of staff. On this occasion, the Commander of the IT-AOC highlighted the importance of visits to the agencies under its responsibility as a means of reducing the “distances” in the performance of the daily assigned mission and strengthening synergies within the chain of Command and Control. The visit continued at the Operations Room, the heart of the Agency, which has recently been modernized in terms of equipment and operating consoles; at this location, Colonel Epifani was able to witness the complexity and effectiveness of the direct civil-military coordination, which is fundamental both for the safety of air navigation for all flights in the national airspace and for achieving the objectives set by the AM for military training activities and institutional air operations. The Coordination and Control Services of the Air Force, co-located at the adjacent ENAV Control Centers, are responsible for managing operational air traffic and the associated airspace reserved for it, as well as collecting and transmitting to the relevant agencies the information necessary for fulfilling the service of monitoring the national airspace. In the national structure of the area’s navigation services, characterized by a very high level of civil-military collaboration, qualified military personnel are employed at the SCCAM as air traffic controllers, at the highest level of national qualification and holding a Community license.
