The ceremony for the awarding of wings to the student pilots of the Italian Air Force flight schools was held on the morning of Wednesday 23 March at the Galatina air base.
Twenty-three new pilots have completed a complex and highly selective training course held at the 61st Wing in Galatina, the 72nd Wing in Frosinone, and the MultiCrew Crew Training Centre in Pratica di Mare. Achieving this prestigious milestone, alongside thirteen new pilots from the Italian Air Force, were four servicemen from the Carabinieri, one from the Coast Guard, and two from the Fire Service. Furthermore, bearing witness to the recognised value of the Italian training sector internationally, a pilot from the Royal Saudi Air Force and two from the Republic of Singapore Air Force also “graduated”.
The event, which took place in strict compliance with the restrictions imposed by the ongoing health emergency, was presided over by Air Squadron General Silvano Frigerio, Commander of the Italian Air Force Schools / 3rd Air Region of Bari, upon which the three flight departments depend, and was attended, in addition to civil and military authorities, by representatives of the Saudi and Singaporean air forces. Also present for the occasion were the families of the student pilots, who arrived in Salento to celebrate a moment that, according to long-standing aviation tradition, represents one of the most important milestones in a pilot's life.
Colonel Filippo Nannelli, Commander of the 61st Wing, welcoming those present, thus exhorted the young pilots: “You wear different uniforms, but you share a common characteristic: the choice to put your passion for flying at the service of your nation. Continue to cultivate this passion! Spare no energy in putting yourselves at the service of your Homeland and your peoples, and always remember that your successes will be those of the people who believed in you.”
Presenting the coveted “Aquile” was not only the Commander of the Schools and the respective commanders of the three training units, but also Air Squad General Giovanni Fantuzzi, godfather of the Turbine III Course, and Colonel Fabio De Michele, Godfather of the Turbine IV Course, bearing witness to the strong and unbreakable bond that unites the different generations of aviators.
“These qualifications mean professionalism, responsibility, courage, altruism, being ready to give one's all to achieve the assigned objective and, if necessary, pushing oneself to the limit of one's abilities to get where others fear to fail,” General Frigerio emphasised during his speech, continuing: “The presence of foreign personnel and from other Armed Forces and State Armed Corps is a clear indicator of the excellence of our training system, which is among the most advanced in the world and today involves three units of the Italian Air Force: the 61st and 72nd Wings and the Multi-Crew Aircrew Training Centre.”.
The 61st Wing of Galatina (Lecce), a flight school with a long tradition, provides jet training for student pilots. Today it is effectively an international reality that hosts pilots and instructors from all over the globe: excellence therefore in the service of the country, offering one of the most advanced integrated training systems on the world stage.
