On Tuesday, 26 July, General D.A. Valter Mauloni, Commander of the 3rd Division of the Logistics Command, was welcomed at Poggio Renatico by General S.A. Mario Renzo Ottone. Following a brief meeting with Air Force General Mario Renzo Ottone, Commander of the COA and CAOC5, General Mauloni visited the facilities of the Combined Forces Air Component Command (CFACC), the command and control centre managing the air operations of the NATO ‘Unified Protector’ mission in Libya. He then attended a briefing outlining the activities carried out by the COA, given by Air Brigadier General Paolo Mazzi, Head of the Operations Planning Department at the COA, and had the opportunity to visit the Command’s facilities, the National Operations Centre (AOC – Air Operational Centre) and the Air Defence Reporting and Control Group (GRCDA). Finally, General Mauloni visited the facility housing the operations centres where the ACCS (Air Command and Control System) – the new command and control system currently being procured by NATO – is being implemented. The visit concluded at the COA’s Operations Preparation Department where, amongst other things, the Air Operations Training Centre (AOTC) organises training and qualification courses for personnel with command and control duties to be deployed within the Joint Force Air Component Command (JFACC). On leaving the unit, General Mauloni thanked General Ottone for his kind hospitality and expressed his appreciation for the professionalism demonstrated on a daily basis by the personnel serving at the Poggio Renatico base. The COA, established at the Poggio Renatico base on 4 October 2010, is responsible for exercising command and control over Search and Rescue (SAR) assets, so-called “operational” air transport (including transport to and from theatres outside national borders, but excluding state flights) and air defence. These tasks are carried out every day of the year, without interruption, through the COA’s National Operations Centre (AOC), which manages and coordinates all assigned assets and resources. In addition to its routine operational activities, the COA may be called upon to provide an appropriate air security framework for “high-profile” events, as was the case, for example, with the G8 summit in L’Aquila in 2009. Furthermore, the COA acts as the link between the NATO Command and Control chain and the national organisation, as its Commander fulfils the dual role of Commander of the COA and of the CAOC5, that is, the NATO Command and Control Centre for air defence operations in Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, Croatia and Albania.
